Pope asks Italy to continue peacekeeping missions despite risks

Published: 2004-01-09

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II encouraged Italy to continue its peacekeeping and humanitarian missions abroad, even while knowing some of the missions carry risks. Pope John Paul, meeting Giuseppe Balboni Acqua, Italy's new ambassador to the Vatican, Jan. 9, praised the country's "lively sense of responsibility and generous dedication" to helping people struck by natural disasters, war and violence. "This commitment carries risks," the pope said, citing the November deaths of Italian military police in Iraq and of Italian volunteers in other parts of the world. The pope asked the Italian people to continue their work for peace, dialogue and development abroad, particularly in the Mediterranean basin, the Balkans, the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa. While providing concrete help to suffering people, the pope asked the Italian government to press for the creation of a more just international order centered on "respect for the human person, his dignity and his inalienable rights."

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