Pope says despite threat of war it's possible to create peace

Published: 2008-05-28

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Despite desperate times and the threat of war, it is possible to create real peace and have hope for the future, Pope Benedict XVI said at his weekly general audience. During a "disastrous time, indeed, desperate," St. Gregory the Great "was a man who was immersed in God" and "knew how to create peace and give hope" to his people, Pope Benedict said. The pope dedicated his May 28 audience talk in St. Peter's Square to this sixth-century pope and doctor of the church. Pope Benedict said the saint's hard work, administrative abilities and fatherly concern for people's welfare meant that he often successfully faced the "grave problems" society and the church were facing, notably the constant threat of a Lombard invasion. St. Gregory wanted to find a solution that "was truly peaceful," the pope said. He did not share the opinion of the reigning Byzantine emperor who saw the Lombards as being "just rough individuals and predators to conquer and exterminate," the pope said.

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