Pope condemns violence in Russia, Spain, Maluku

Pope condemns violence in Russia, Spain, Maluku

VATICAN CITY (Reuters): Pope John Paul on Wednesday condemned
bombings in Russia and Spain and made a renewed appeal for an end
to fighting between Christians and Muslims on the Indonesian
Maluku islands.

Speaking to thousands of pilgrims packed into St Peter's
Square for his weekly audience, the Pope made special mention of
the bomb blasts which killed eight people in Russia and one
person in Spain on Tuesday.

"I deeply deplore this grave attack and wish to express my
solidarity which I accompany with prayer," the Pope said of the
bomb blast in a Moscow underpass, which also injured more than 90
people.

"I wish to express equal feelings for the victims of the
attacks which, unfortunately, continue in Spain," the 80-year-old
Pontiff added.

The two car bombs which exploded in Spain on Tuesday killed a
prominent businessman and injured 11 people in the latest
incidents in an escalating campaign of violence blamed on the
Basque separatist group ETA.

The Pope also repeated previous calls for an end to the
bloodshed in Maluku where fighting between Muslims and Christians
erupted in January 1999.

"Once again I feel the need to invite you to pray for an end
to the violence which is shaking the Indonesian archipelago of
the Moluccas (Maluku)," the Pope said.

"While entrusting the numerous victims of that tragedy to the
mercy of God, we send thoughts of intense spiritual closeness to
those who are suffering over the deaths of their loved ones, who
have been stripped of their means of survival and over the
destruction of their holy sites.

"Many of them were forced to leave their land where they have
the right to live in dignity and safety. We pray to the Lord
that, once order is restored, harmony can be found again and
Christians and Muslims can live in peace," the Pope said.

Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country, with about 90
percent of its population of around 210 million following Islam.

But the Maluku spice islands are almost evenly divided between
Christians and Muslims and were once held up as a symbol of
religious harmony.