Bishops from Arab countries in Vatican for Sept. 17-20 meeting

(ANSAmed) – VATICAN CITY – Speaking before a crowd of 40,000 in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis on Wednesday issued another impassioned call for peace through dialogue in Syria ahead of the UN International Day of Peace, which falls on September 21.

The pontiff touched on the difficult situation in the Middle East in his greeting to Arab-speaking faithful, especially the Holy Land Latin Church bishops of Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia and the Gulf countries, who were present today in St.

Peter’s Square and are attending a September 17-20 meeting at the Vatican. ”Every year on September 21, the United Nations celebrate the International Day of Peace, and the Ecumenical Council of Churches calls on its members to pray for peace on that day,” said Francis. ”I invite Catholics around the world to join other Christians to continue imploring God to bring the gift of peace to the most tormented places on our planet. May peace, a gift from Jesus, live always in our hearts and sustain the ideas and actions of United Nations leaders and those of all men of good will.” ”Let us all be committed to efforts for a diplomatic and political solution in the hotbeds of war that are still a cause for concern. My thoughts go out especially to our dear Syrian people, whose human tragedy can only be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, in the respect for justice and the dignity of each person, especially the weakest and the most defenseless,” the pope said.

The crowd applauded Francis at the mention of the Syrian people. His September 7 prayer vigil for peace through dialogue in Syria was joined in St. Peter’s Square not just by Catholics, but by many people of other faiths and non-believers as well.