Pope says he prays daily for, suffers with Iraqi victims of terrorism

Published: 2004-10-27

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II made a special appeal for Iraq, saying he suffered with the victims of terrorism there. At the end of his weekly audience Oct. 27, the pope said he prayed daily for the people of Iraq who are "intent on the reconstruction of their country." He expressed his "affectionate participation" in the pain of the families of victims and the suffering of hostages "and of all the innocent people struck by the blind barbarity of terrorism." Christians, he said, should continue to "offer their fundamental contribution for the reconciliation of hearts" in the violence-torn country. In his talk at the audience, the pope returned to the same theme he discussed the previous week: the illusion that money, power and success can postpone the inevitability of death.

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