On eve of summit, pope says prayers for Mideast might be working

Published: 2006-07-25

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- On the eve of the Rome international summit for peace in the Middle East, Pope Benedict XVI said it appeared that perhaps prayers for peace were starting to work. "It seems to me that today something is beginning to move, which shows that prayers are not useless," the pope told reporters in northern Italy July 25 as he returned to the chalet in Les Combes where he has been vacationing. "Let us strongly pray that tomorrow's conference will bear fruit and bring concrete results for peace," the pope said. "I hope they find stable and lasting solutions" to the violence that has ignited in Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories. The Vatican announced late July 25 that it had been invited to participate in the July 26 summit as an official observer. Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, the Vatican's foreign minister, and two officials from his staff were to represent the Vatican at the meeting, said the announcement from the Vatican press office. The Vatican also planned to continue working behind the scenes in pushing for a peaceful solution to ongoing violence in the region, said Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state.

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