Pope appeals for Middle East peace

The Pope made his Easter addresses despite ill-health

Pope John Paul II has issued an urgent appeal for peace in the Middle East, saying in his Easter Sunday address that "nothing is resolved by war".

It seems that war has been declared on peace! But nothing is resolved by war

Pope John Paul II

Addressing a crowd of 50,000 pilgrims in St Peter's Square in Rome, he said it seemed that "war has been declared on peace".

"No one can remain silent and inactive, no political or religious leader," he said.

Plagued by Parkinson's disease and arthritis, the 81-year-old pontiff has nonetheless insisted on making his traditional Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) Easter address.

"With trepidation and hope I ask you to proclaim that Jesus is truly risen, and to work so that his peace may end the tragic sequence of attacks and killings that bloody the Holy Land, plunged again in these very days into horror and despair," he said.

The Pope went on to say it was not enough merely to denounce violence. "Practical acts of solidarity are needed to help everyone rediscover mutual respect, and to return to frank negotiations," he said.

Pilgrims came from around the world for the service

The BBC's David Willey in Rome said that, while he did not mention Israelis and Palestinians by name, the Pope's meaning was crystal clear.

The Pope asked the congregation also to remember those suffering throughout the world.

"From Afghanistan, terribly afflicted in recent months and now stricken by a disastrous earthquake, to so many other countries of the world where social imbalances and rival ambitions still torment countless numbers of our brothers and sisters," he said.

He finished by blessing those assembled and wishing them happy Easter in 60 languages.

Health concerns

Despite the concern about his health, the pontiff has undertaken a gruelling programme of Easter duties, including celebrating midnight mass in St Peter's Basilica - though he was seated in a chair for most of the time.

The Pope was unable to perform all Easter duties for the first time

During the service, he spoke and chanted in a firm voice, at times closing his eyes and bending his head forward.

He baptised as Catholics nine people from Albania, Japan, Poland, the Democratic Republic of Congo, China and Italy.

But many of the prayers at the service were read by Vatican cardinals in his place.

Workers at the Vatican had installed a specially designed altar so the Pope would not need to climb steps for the vigil, the climax of the holiest week in the Catholic calendar.

Archbishop Piero Marini, a close aide to the pontiff, said the Pope's condition had improved over Holy Week, but he has been unable to walk unaided.

Concerns had grown for his health when he sat out Palm Sunday Mass for the first time in his 23-year pontificate.

Nor was he able to participate actively in a traditional feet-washing ceremony on Thursday, or to carry a cross during Good Friday's Stations of the Cross.