The pope’s special prayer came at the end of an outdoor mass in the Central Asian nation of Kazakstan, a country of mixed faiths in a region that is bracing for a threatened U.S. strike against nearby Afghanistan.
“I wish to make an earnest call to everyone, Christians and the followers of other religions, that we work together to build a world without violence, a world that loves life and grows in justice and solidarity,” the pope said.
It was the pope’s first public comment on the terrorist attacks since he arrived Saturday on a four-day visit to Kazakstan, which he held up as a model of peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims, whose numbers are almost equal in the nation of 16 million.
His spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, said the pope supports measures to “bring those responsible to justice.” He declined to say what specific anti-terrorism measures the pope would back.
The trip brought the pontiff to a region where many fear Islamic extremism emanating from nearby Afghanistan but are also wary of what will happen if the United States attacks the country for harboring the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks, Osama bin Laden.
The pope, switching from Russian to English, urged believers to pray for a world where there is “no room for hatred, discrimination or violence.”
Pilgrims began arriving at the square before dawn. A military helicopter circled above while policemen and guards scrutinized the crowd.
Later in the day, the pontiff met with Kazak President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The president thanked the pope for making the trip in spite of the Sept. 11 attacks, which had raised fears about the pope’s security.
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