26 December 2001
Christians Worldwide Pray for Peace
By BETH GARDINER, Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) - Christians around the world prayed for peace Christmas
Day after a year filled with terror and war.
Reminders of conflict abounded Tuesday - Jesus' birthplace was at the
center of a dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) denounced the United States and the commander
of America's Afghan war warned of more fighting to come elsewhere.
Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II said the world was celebrating Christmas
in a millennium ``which began with so much hope but is now threatened by
dark clouds of violence and war.''
``Let us beg from Christ the gift of peace for all who are suffering
as a result of conflicts old and new,'' the pontiff said from St. Peter's
Basilica in Vatican (news - web sites) City. ``May God's holy name never
be used as a justification for hatred.''
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (news - web sites) echoed those sentiments
in her annual Christmas message.
``Christ's birth in Bethlehem so long ago remains a powerful symbol of
hope for a better future,'' she said. ``After all the tribulations of this
year, this is surely more relevant than ever.''
The Sept. 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
(news - web sites) left thousands of families facing Christmas without
a loved one, and thousands of soldiers celebrating far from home.
In Kandahar, Afghanistan (news - web sites), U.S. Marines tried to celebrate
despite a state of alert for what officials said was a possible Christmas
Day threat.
``It's always very hard to be away from my family at a time when we usually
all come together,'' U.S. Marine Sgt. Joseph Chenelly said.
British troops joined Americans for a Christmas dinner of turkey and
pumpkin pie at Bagram air base near Kabul. Soldiers used satellite telephones
to call home and the Brits and Americans faced off in a game of football.
About 3,500 American peacekeepers in Kosovo ate Christmas dinner
and had a snowball fight, while American soldiers in Kuwait ate a 161/2-foot,
3,300-pound Yule Log cake donated by a Kuwaiti.
The 5,500 sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier
in the northern Arabian Gulf heard John Lennon and Yoko Ono's ``Happy Christmas
(War is Over)'' over flight deck loudspeakers and were visited by Gen.
Tommy Franks, commander in chief of the U.S.-led military operation in
Afghanistan.
He also visited the USS John C. Stennis.
Franks said the United States would strike at other countries harboring
or sponsoring terrorists.
``September 11 put us on course ... to root out this terrorist problem
around the world,'' he said. ``If you look within this region ... and other
places around the planet, you find a lot of states which we categorize
as sponsors of terrorism.''
Strife also tarnished Christmas in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus.
Fifteen months of violence between Israelis and Palestinians kept pilgrims
and tourists away this year.
On Christmas Eve, Israel barred Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news
- web sites) from attending midnight Mass.
Speaking by video from Ramallah, Arafat accused Israel of laying siege
to Bethlehem and Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.
``There will never be any security for any worshipper in the shadow of
a tank,'' Arafat said.
Israel said Arafat could not visit Bethlehem until he arrested those
who assassinated an Israeli Cabinet minister in October.
Christmas made it to most corners of the world, even Bangladesh, where
the Muslim-led government extended messages of goodwill and a small Christian
community celebrated with masses and carols.
Worshippers marked ``a day of sadness'' at St. Dominic's Roman Catholic
Church in Behawalpur, Pakistan, where 16 people were gunned down two months
ago.
In Istanbul, Turkey, about 500 worshippers attended a Cathedral of St.
George service by the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians,
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.
In Britain, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey advocated justice and
tolerance and said he hoped this year would strengthen people's faith.
``Bethlehem, too, was a kind of ground zero,'' he said, referring to
the World Trade Center wreckage, ``one from which waves of new hope and
new life have spread, rather than waves of destruction and despair, waves
that have rippled out over centuries rather than seconds.''