Pope Visits Florence, Makes Plea for Peace

Pope John Paul II, in his first papal visit to this ancient center of the arts, Saturday praised culture as a means of uniting mankind and urged that industry use research only for peaceful ends.

The Pope has invited other religious leaders join him Oct. 27 in Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis, for a day of prayer for world peace. He has asked that armies, guerrilla fighters and terrorists abstain from violence on that day.

In his Florence address, John Paul said he wishes “that above all, in the field of research . . . the orientation of industry be exclusively toward peaceful ends.” It is not clear whether he was referring to research connected with the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative, the space-based missile shield commonly called “Star Wars.”