Pope calls Sept. 11 attacks challenge to see strength of God's mercy

Published: 2007-09-17

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI said that although the Sept. 11 terror attacks "darkened the dawn of the third millennium," God's mercy is still stronger than evil. The pope made the remarks Sept. 16 at his summer villa outside Rome, where hundreds of pilgrims crowded the courtyard for a Sunday blessing. The pope spoke about divine mercy as illustrated in Gospel parables, especially shown to those who "stray from the right path." In our time, he said, "humanity needs the mercy of God to be proclaimed and witnessed with vigor." He said his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, had been an "apostle of divine mercy" and understood its importance for the modern world. "After the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, which darkened the dawn of the third millennium, he (Pope John Paul) invited Christians and people of good will to believe that the mercy of God is stronger than any evil, and that only in the cross of Christ is found the salvation of the world," he said.

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