Pope John Paul has called for a world day of prayer on Sunday

Pope John Paul calls for a world day of prayer on Mercy Sunday, April 7th...

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul has called for a world day of prayer on Sunday for peace in the Middle East "to change the hearts of even the most obstinate men", the Vatican said on Thursday.

"The dramatic situation in the Holy Land induces me again to appeal to the Church in order to intensify prayers...for those people now facing unheard of violence," the Pope said in an open letter to Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano.

In the past week, Israel has sent tanks and troops into a string of Palestinian towns in the West Bank following a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings against Israelis. Alarmed by the escalating violence, the Vatican sharply criticized Israel on Wednesday for imposing "unjust conditions and humiliations" on the Palestinians and denounced acts of terrorism directed against the Jewish state.

The Pope said he hoped Sunday's prayers would reach out "to those who have the responsibility and power to take the necessary steps...to lead the opposing parties towards an agreement that is just and dignified for all". His appeal came amid reports of fighting around the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, one of Christianity's holiest sites, where about 200 Palestinian militants, some of them armed, have been holed up since Tuesday.

The 81-year-old Pontiff urged Christians across the world to send a "message of stable and lasting peace" and to pray to God "to change the hearts of even the most obstinate men". Earlier this week the Pope sent a private letter to U.S. President George Bush in which he was believed to have asked Washington to do more to bring about a ceasefire.

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