The Vatican is ramping up its opposition to threatened military strikes against Syria.
The Vatican has invited all ambassadors accredited to the Holy See to attend a briefing Thursday on the pope’s agenda for the four-hour vigil for peace on Saturday.
Pope Francis on Wednesday urged Catholics and non-Catholics alike to participate in Saturday’s vigil, telling more than 50,000 people gathered for his weekly general audience: “Let the cry for peace rise up across the Earth!”
The pope has earlier called for a negotiated settlement in Syria but has also condemned the use of chemical weapons. “War never again! Never again war!” he tweeted earlier this week.
In a letter Thursday on Thursday, the pope urged leaders of the Group of 20 to abandon the “futile pursuit” of a military solution in Syria and work instead for dialogue and negotiation to end the conflict.
Pope Francis lamented that “one-sided interests” had prevailed in Syria, preventing a peaceful solution and allowing the continued “senseless massacre” of innocents.
The pontiff has ratcheted up his call for peace in Syria amid threatened U.S.-led military strikes following a chemical weapons attack.
Sources
Image: Reuters/NCR Online