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9-11-2002: Pope Prays for Terrorists
At a general audience, Pope John Paul II closed with a prayer for the eternal rest of the victims of the attacks on September 11, 2001. To the surprise of everyone gathered, he also asked that God would “grant mercy and pardon to the authors of this terrible terrorist attack." Maintaining that truth and justice must be the ground for liberty and peace, the pope made clear that “no situation of injustice, no sense of frustration, no philosophy or religion can justify such an aberration."
The Pope's prayer for God's mercy came within 24 hours of a statement by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which called for collaboration with the world community and largely non-military action in the war on terrorism. The bishops asserted that "firm resolve in defending innocent life and the common good against terrorism is still required of our nation. In this necessary task, we must ensure restraint in the use of military force, insisting that traditional moral norms governing war and protecting the innocent must be observed."
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