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POPE-VIOLENCE Jul-6-2009 (480 words) With photos. xxxi
Pope deplores bomb blast near Philippine church, violence in world
By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI deplored a bomb blast that killed five and injured dozens near a cathedral in the southern Philippines.
He called the July 5 attack "an ignoble gesture" and condemned "the recourse to violence which is never an appropriate way to solve existing problems."
At the end of his July 5 Angelus address to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, the pope condemned the Philippine attack and continued violence in the world.
"Human blood continues to flow as a result of violence, injustice and hatred," he said. "When will people learn that life is sacred and belongs to God alone? When will people understand that we are all brothers and sisters?"
When Cain killed his brother, Abel, Abel's blood cried out to God from the soil, and similar cries continue today from many parts of the world, the pope said.
God answers those cries "with the blood of his Son who gave his life for us," he said.
"Christ did not respond to evil with evil, but with good and with his infinite love.
"Christ's blood is God's pledge of his faithful love for humanity" and is a sign that God has forsaken no one, loves everyone and offers hope, he said.
The Philippine bomb went off at about 8:30 a.m. July 5 inside a vendor stall, sending shrapnel toward the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Cotabato City and injuring at least 43 people, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News.
The mayor of the city told reporters he believed the attack was aimed at the military because the bomb was detonated just as army members were driving by in a military vehicle.
Archbishop Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato denied reports that the attack targeted the cathedral, UCA News reported. He said he suspected extortion could be the motive, since similar bombings of businesses turned out to be linked to extortion.
The bombing did not disrupt other Masses the cathedral had scheduled for the day, according to the Web site of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines.
The military blamed the attack on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a militant group that has been fighting to establish a separate state. A Moro leader denied any involvement in the bombing.
At the Vatican, Pope Benedict also prayed for the victims of a railway disaster in the northern Italian town of Viareggio. Twenty-two people died and another 10 people were seriously injured after a train carrying gas tanks exploded as it passed through the town June 29. The blast caused two apartment buildings to collapse and set other buildings on fire.
While Italian investigators were looking into the cause of the accident, the pope said he hoped such a tragedy would never repeat itself and that safety standards would be guaranteed for all workers and people.
END
Copyright (c) 2009 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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