By John Thavis

    VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As fighting in Lebanon entered its fifth week, Pope Benedict XVI again urged all sides to lay down their weapons and end the “tragic conflict.”

    The pope quoted Pope Paul VI’s famous invocation at the United Nations in 1965: “No longer one against the other, no longer, never again! ... If you wish to be brothers, let the arms fall from your hands.”

    Pope Benedict made his remarks at the end of his weekly general audience at the Vatican Aug. 9, as diplomats worked to reach an agreement on the terms of a possible cease-fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants.

    The pope offered moral encouragement for the efforts and said they should lead to a cessation of hostilities and a just and lasting solution to the conflict.

    Citing a speech by Pope John Paul II, he said peace is possible when reason and good will are made to prevail, along with trust in others, the implementation of prior commitments and cooperation between responsible partners.

    Pope Benedict closed his audience by asking everyone to intensify their prayers for peace. The evening before, the pope led prayers for peace in the Middle East and for victims of the recent Mideast fighting during an unannounced visit to a Marian sanctuary in Rocca di Papa, not far from his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo. About 150 surprised pilgrims joined him for vespers at the sanctuary.

    Since fighting in Lebanon began in mid-July, the pope has used each of his public appearances to appeal for peace.

    On Aug. 6, in a talk that marked the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the pope said Christ’s salvation was sorely needed in a world threatened by the “shadows of evil,” including fratricidal conflict in the Middle East.
“We well know that peace is first of all a gift of God, to implore with insistence in prayer, but at this moment I also want to recall that peace is the task of all people of good will. Let no one shrink from this duty,” he said.

   “Faced with the bitter fact that up to now the calls for an immediate cease-fire in that martyred region have been disregarded, I feel impelled to renew my pressing appeal to that effect, asking everyone to offer their real contribution to the construction of a just and lasting peace,” he said.

    Pope Benedict donated two ambulances and emergency medical supplies to Caritas Lebanon; the U.N.’s World Food Program announced the papal gifts were placed on a cargo ship and left the port of Brindisi, Italy, Aug. 7. The ship was supposed to go to Cyprus to take on more supplies, then sail to Beirut.

    Fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militia continued to escalate. On Aug. 9, Israeli ground forces pushed deeper into Lebanon, and Israeli officials indicated to Western diplomats they were ready to expand their offensive. Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon since July 12 had killed nearly 1,000 people — mostly civilians — and destroyed roads and bridges, while Hezbollah rocket attacks against northern Israel had killed about 100 people, including at least 36 civilians.

    Pope Benedict, who has urged an immediate end to the fighting since it began, explained the reasons for his appeals in an interview Aug. 5 with four German-language media. The interview was to be broadcast Aug. 13, but the Vatican made available a transcript of the pope’s comments on the Middle East.

    The pope said the Vatican was motivated in its actions not by political considerations but by the conviction that “war is the worst solution for everyone. It brings nothing of good for anyone, not even for the apparent victors. We know this well in Europe, after the two world wars.”

   “Politicians must find a way to make this happen as quickly as possible and above all in a lasting manner,” he said.