Pope’s first appeareance of the year: called for peace, children and the environment

Pope Benedict XVI on Friday, in his first appeareance of the year, asked to all those who belong to “armed groups of any kind” to lay down the arms and end with the violence.

The pope, from St. Peter´s Basilica, said “I ask you all to stop, think and abandon the ways of violence.”

Adding that “Start peace projects, lay down weapons of any kind and work together to build a better world for humankind.”

He also referred to the suffering of children who die or are injured during wars, saying “Sometimes the innocent children represent a silent call to our responsibility.”

About peace he stated that “Peace begins with a respectful glance, which recognizes the face of another person, whatever the color of their skin, their nationality, their language or their religion is.”

He spoke about the environment and its degradation, saying “If man is degraded, the eviroment where he lives is also also degraded”.

About children´s education, he reported that is important to teach them “a deeper and broader ecological responsibility. Only then will the work for the environment become a real peace education and achieve a peaceful world”.