Pope decries violence in Iraq, Afghan unrest

VATICAN CITY – On Christianity’s most joyous day, Pope Benedict XVI lamented the “continual slaughter” in Iraq and unrest in Afghanistan.

Benedict, delivering his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” Easter address from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, also denounced terrorism and kidnappings, and “the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion.”

In his message for Easter, Benedict said suffering worldwide puts faith to the test.

“How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world,” the pontiff told tens of thousands of pilgrims, tourists and Romans gathered Sunday at St. Peter’s Square where he had just finished celebrating Mass.

Among those gathered were a group of death-penalty protesters, who had held an Easter parade through the streets of Rome, some wearing noose-shaped ropes around their necks.

They chose Easter, they said, because Jesus was the perfect pacifist who fell victim to a regime-sanctioned execution.

The Roman Catholic Church has long opposed capital punishment, which has been abolished in Italy and most of Europe. The goal now among activists is to pressure the government to promote a worldwide moratorium through the United Nations.

“There are still important countries, like the United States and China, that are a problem,” said Massimo Masotti, 33, a financial broker and member of Radicali Roma, a pro-left political association.

They took heart in the pope’s pointed advocacy of nonviolence and human rights.

“I am thinking of the scourge of hunger, of incurable diseases, of terrorism and kidnapping of people,” the pope said, “of the thousand faces of violence which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons.”

Benedict singled out Iraq for special lamentation. Although the Vatican is on record opposing the war in Iraq, Benedict’s comments were notably bleak.

“Nothing positive comes from Iraq,” the pope said, “torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees.”

He also condemned “unrest and instability”in Afghanistan and a litany of horrors, destruction and bloodshed throughout Africa and Asia. And he had harsh words about the “underestimated humanitarian situation” in Darfur as well as other African places of suffering. These included violence and looting in Congo, fighting in Somalia, and the “grievous crisis” in Zimbabwe, marked by crackdowns on dissidents, a disastrous economy and severe corruption.

In contrast to his sorrowful address were the bright red, pink, yellow and orange splashes of color from flowers that adorned the steps of the basilica and surrounded the outdoor altar where he celebrated Mass under hazy sunshine.

In an unusual touch for the Vatican’s Easter Mass, black-robed clerics intoned a long chant from the Byzantine liturgy. This year, Eastern and Western celebrations coincided. The two rites often celebrate Easter on different dates because of different church calendars.