Pope calls for dialogue to end war in Middle East

“I renew my appeal for the weapons to fall silent,” he added, “and for the path of dialogue to be pursued.”

Pope Leo went on to say that “the announced truce in Lebanon is a sign of hope, offering relief to the Lebanese people and to the wider Levant.”

“I encourage those engaged in seeking a diplomatic solution to continue along the path of peace, so that the end of hostilities throughout the Middle East may become lasting,” he appealed.

Pope Leo, who is in Angola on the third leg of his four-nation apostolic journey to the African Continent, concluded the celebration of Holy Mass in Luanda’s Kilamba esplanade, inviting the faithful to join him in prayer.

“With this joyful hymn, we do not wish to silence or drown out the cry of those who suffer,” he said, “Rather, we seek to embrace it and join it to our own voices in a new harmony, so that even in pain the light of faith may remain alive, and with it the hope for a better world.”