Pope prays that world be spared more terrorism

Rome, May 2 : Pope Benedict, visiting a shrine in Rome's outskirts, prayed that the world be spared more wars and terrorism.

The 79-year-old German Pope flew by helicopter from the Vatican to the Divino Amore (Divine Love) shrine just south of the city on the first day of the month traditionally dedicated to the Madonna and the praying of the rosary.

''Even today, there is a need for conversion to God, the God of love, so that the world be freed of wars and terrorism,'' he said in a brief address yesterday after praying the rosary with the faithful.

The Pope, who was spending little more than an hour at the shrine, which is very popular with Rome's Catholic community, paid tribute to the three Italian soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq last week.

Reuters