08/09/2003

Pope says peace hopes fell along with Twin Towers

VATICAN CITY, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Pope John Paul said on Monday the world's hopes for peace seemed to have collapsed with New York's Twin Towers two years ago and that the planet was mired more than ever in wars, injustice and terrorism.

In a sombre statement, the ailing 83-year-old Roman Catholic leader said that too often governments were more concerned with military spending than development.

"In a few days we will be commemorating the tragic attack on the Twin Towers in New York," he said in a message to the annual meeting of the internationally renowned Catholic peace group Sant'Egidio.

"Unfortunately, it seems that many hopes for peace collapsed along with the Towers," he said in the message released by the Vatican on Monday.

"Wars and conflicts continue to thrive and to poison the lives of so many people, particularly in the poorest countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America," he said.

The Polish pope, who two years ago called September 11 one of the darkest days in history after the hijacked airliner attacks on the United States, said in his message that another type of war was now widespread: "The war known as terrorism."

In the message to Sant'Egidio, hosts of this year's meeting of world religious leaders in Aachen, Germany, the pope said national and personal selfishness were often to blame for the lack of peace in the world.

"Too little has been invested in these years to defend peace and support the dreams of many for a world free of wars," he said.

He also specifically attacked spiralling military spending.

"Instead, preference has been given to the development of particular interests and throwing huge resources in other directions, above all for military spending," he said.

The pope said true peace would never be achieved until governments committed themselves to resolving what he called the world's basic injustices and inequalities.

Philip Pullella