Pope prays for kidnapped victims, pleads for their release

Published: 2006-10-30

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI offered his prayers for kidnapped victims held in many parts of the world and pleaded for their release. Speaking Oct. 29 after the midday recitation of the Angelus, the pope said he receives requests from around the world to intervene on behalf of kidnapped individuals. "While I reaffirm the strongest condemnation of this crime, I assure all the victims, their families and friends that I remember them in my prayers," he said. In his main Angelus address, the pope said the Sunday Gospel story of Jesus healing the blind man, who then goes on to follow Jesus, is a model for what each believer's life should be like. "Faith is a journey of enlightenment," he said. "It starts from the humility of recognizing that you need salvation and goes to a personal encounter with Christ, who calls you to follow him on the path of love."

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