EDITORIAL - Praying for peace

In New Delhi, six men stormed Parliament, opened fire with automatic rifles, lobbed grenades and unleashed a human bomb, killing seven policemen. Initial reports yesterday blamed the suicide attack on Islamic militants angry at India’s role in Kashmir.

Over in the Middle East, the region edged closer to war as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pronounced Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat "history" and the Israeli air force blasted targets in Gaza and the West Bank. The attacks were in retaliation for yet another Palestinian suicide bomb attack on a bus in the West Bank on Wednesday, which left 10 Israelis dead. In the past three weeks 44 Israelis and 60 Palestinians including 10 suicide bombers and 19 armed assailants have been killed.

Meanwhile, the bombings in Afghanistan continue. Reports yesterday said suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden was finally surrounded by hostile forces in southern Afghanistan. Whatever fate befalls him, however, the human suffering in that battle-scarred country is bound to worsen. In the refugee camps thousands have starved to death; others have been killed or maimed by land mines. With the Taliban gone, victorious tribal groups are bound to kill each other over turf.

Will there ever be peace in these conflict areas? Even before the resumption of violence in the Middle East, Pope John Paul II had already called on Catholics to observe a day of prayer and fasting on Dec. 14. It wasn’t just coincidence that yesterday Muslims recited their final prayers for the holy month of Ramadan, which the Pope compared with the Christian celebration of Advent. Concerned about events since Sept. 11, the Pope has also called on religious leaders around the globe to join him in a prayer for peace on Jan. 24 in the birthplace of St. Francis of Assisi.

The terror attacks on Sept. 11 changed the world, and brought to the surface simmering conflicts among different societies. There are those who fear that the world has not seen the worst of these deep-seated differences. Amid grave uncertainties we turn to prayer, reaching out to all faiths in a quest for peace.