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VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged “solutions that
will safeguard peace and the common good” in Tibet, the Middle
East and Africa during his traditional Easter message.
“How can we fail to remember certain African
regions, such as Darfur and Somalia, the tormented Middle East,
especially the Holy Land, Iraq, Lebanon, and finally Tibet, all of
whom I encourage to seek solutions that will safeguard peace and the
common good,” the Pope said in his urbi et orbi (to the city and
the world) message.
Speaking as pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square
braved a steady rain, the head of the world’s 1.1 billion
Catholics wished that “the light that streams forth from this
solemn day [may] shine forth in every part of the world.”
Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Christ
after his crucifixion on Good Friday.
On Wednesday, the Pope broke his silence on the
crisis in Tibet, calling for an end to violence there and urging
“dialogue and tolerance.”
Beijing brushed off the appeal, according to
Italian press reports that quoted foreign ministry spokesman Qin
Gang as saying Thursday: “Supposed tolerance cannot exist for
criminals who should be punished by the law.”
Following the urbi et orbi message, the Pope
offered Easter greetings in 63 languages to the tens of thousands of
pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square and millions of viewers in 67
countries around the world.
Muslim baptized
Italian editor and critic of Islamic extremism
Magdi Allam, who converted to Catholicism from Islam and was just
baptized by Pope Benedict on Sunday, branded his former faith as
intrinsically violent.
“I had to do this [abandon Islam]”, Allam
wrote in a long letter to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
“Beyond … the phenomenon of extremists and
Islamist terrorism at the global level, the root of evil is inherent
to a physiologically violent and historically conflictual Islam,”
wrote the Egyptian-born journalist, who says he has received death
threats and is under police protection.
One of seven adults baptized during an Easter
vigil on Saturday evening, Allam, 55, is an editorial writer and
deputy editor at Corriere.
Regarding a combative tone that has made him
famous in Italy, Allam wrote: “Over the years my spirit has been
freed from the obscurantism of an ideology that legitimizes lies and
deception, violent death that leads to homicide and suicide, blind
submission to tyranny.”
He described Catholicism as “an authentic
religion of Truth, Life and Freedom.”
By baptizing Allam in the public ceremony, the
Pope “sent an explicit and revolutionary message to a Church that
until now has been too cautious in the conversion of Muslims …
because of the fear of being unable to protect the converted who are
condemned to death for apostasy,” Allam said.
“Thousands of people in Italy have converted
to Islam and practice their faith serenely,” he wrote.
“But there are also thousands of Muslims who
have converted to Christianity who are forced to hide their new
faith out of fear of being killed by Islamist terrorists.”
Allam adopted the Christian name of Cristiano
(Christian), not a common name in Italy.
Allam, who has been outspoken about the conflict
in the Middle East, in 2006 organized a demonstration in Rome in
support of Christians in the Muslim world.
-- AFP
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