CASSINO, Italy — Pope Benedict XVI paid homage Sunday to the victims of World War II, visiting a Polish military cemetery at the site of a decisive battle in southern Italy and praying that peace may prevail over war today.
Benedict, who was forced to join the Hitler Youth as a child in Germany, made a pilgrimage to the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino, which was leveled during a 1944 Allied bombardment and was the site of a bloody ground battle between German and Allied forces.
"In this place, where so many lost their lives … we pray especially for the souls of the fallen, commending them to God’s infinite mercy, and we pray for an end to the wars that continue to afflict our world,” Benedict said in English at the end of Mass celebrated at the foot of the monastery in the city of Cassino.
The Vatican stressed that Benedict was praying for all the war’s fallen.
Benedict also was making a pilgrimage to the Monte Cassino monastery. It was founded by St. Benedict of Nursia, known as the father of Western monasticism.
During the prayer service with Benedictine monks, the pope praised the saint for spreading the principles of study, prayer and work throughout Europe. He also cited the saint’s commitment to work during his homily and said he was particularly concerned about the plight of workers in Cassino, home to a Fiat plant at risk amid the economic downturn.
"The wound of unemployment, which afflicts this land, compels those responsible for public life ... to find valid solutions to the labor crisis, creating new jobs so families can be protected,” he said.
by the associated press
Benedict, who was forced to join the Hitler Youth as a child in Germany, made a pilgrimage to the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino, which was leveled during a 1944 Allied bombardment and was the site of a bloody ground battle between German and Allied forces.
"In this place, where so many lost their lives … we pray especially for the souls of the fallen, commending them to God’s infinite mercy, and we pray for an end to the wars that continue to afflict our world,” Benedict said in English at the end of Mass celebrated at the foot of the monastery in the city of Cassino.
The Vatican stressed that Benedict was praying for all the war’s fallen.
Benedict also was making a pilgrimage to the Monte Cassino monastery. It was founded by St. Benedict of Nursia, known as the father of Western monasticism.
During the prayer service with Benedictine monks, the pope praised the saint for spreading the principles of study, prayer and work throughout Europe. He also cited the saint’s commitment to work during his homily and said he was particularly concerned about the plight of workers in Cassino, home to a Fiat plant at risk amid the economic downturn.
"The wound of unemployment, which afflicts this land, compels those responsible for public life ... to find valid solutions to the labor crisis, creating new jobs so families can be protected,” he said.
by the associated press
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