Easter Unrest Widespread As Pontiff Calls For Peace

Embracing the victims of unrest, Pope John Paul II sent a message of peace Easter Sunday to people seeking “recognition of their deepest aspirations,” including the Palestinians and Kurds.

In Jerusalem, thousands of tourists and Palestinian Christians thronged the Old City as drums and church bells reverberated.

But Palestinians said Israeli restrictions kept many West Bank believers away - a reminder that despite ongoing Israel-Palestine Liberation Organization talks, peaceful coexistence is not yet at hand.

Elsewhere on the day Christians celebrate their belief in Jesus Christ’s resurrection, armored personnel carriers and troops guarded worshipers in the Philippines amid rising tensions between Christians and Muslims. A Muslim group is suspected of raiding a mostly Christian town there two weeks ago, killing 53 people.

In Sarajevo, war-torn Bosnia’s besieged capital, sniping and shellfire kept many in the city’s Christian minority away from a traditional Easter concert.

In his traditional Easter address from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope directed his message to the people of Algeria, BosniaHerzegovina, Burundi and southern Sudan.

“To families torn apart by war, to the victims of hatred and violence, … the church does not hesitate to renew the Paschal message of peace, reminding everyone of our common origin in the one God,” he said.

More than 50,000 people filled St. Peter’s Square under an icy drizzle.