Pope John Paul II, speaking yesterday during his weekly Angelus address in St Peter's Square, once again appealed for peace in the Balkans, saying that "the time to make peace is always".
Last weekend, on the eve of the NATO raids on Yugoslavia, the Pope had called on the international community to resolve the crisis by diplomatic rather than military means, a call he repeated during the week.
Reminding his listeners that yesterday was Palm Sunday, the day that marks the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem, the Pope said: "On this day we fervently pray that the Prince of Peace will come to us in our helplessness and that he will move all those who have taken up arms. May fraternity and understanding triumph over the forces of hate, particularly in that part of Europe.
"The Pope is with all those who are suffering and he declares to everyone: the time to make peace is always. It is never too late to meet one another and to negotiate."
Celebrating a Palm Sunday mass in Saint Peter's Basilica, the Pope said that olive branches adorning the church could serve as symbols of the peace which the people of the Balkans sought.
"These olive branches can be a symbol of the peace that the people of the Balkans are looking for," he said.
The Pope's call for peace yesterday followed a similar statement on Thursday when he had said that the "conflict in Yugoslavia prompts deep concern both for the victims and for the consequences it can have on Europe and the world".
The Vatican's line throughout the last week, extending its "solidarity to all, Serbs and Albanians, Muslims and Christians, Orthodox and Catholics", is in sharp contrast with the views expressed by the Pope many times during the Bosnian war.
On that occasion, the Vatican aroused extreme Serbian anger by calling on the international community to "intervene to end that city's [Sarajevo] martyrdom".