AFTERMATH OF WAR: The Diplomatic Front : At the Vatican

POPE JOHN PAUL II said the “dramatic scenes of human suffering and material destruction” shown on TELEVISION during the Gulf War “ought to spur us to pray unceasingly for the advent of a just peace.” At a special audience to members of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the Pope said: “It can well be said that the current conflict has been waged not only with the weapons of war, but also, to some degree, through the media. While the means of social communication have been instrumental in keeping the world informed of events, we have also seen that where respect for the truth is lacking, they can be a powerful force for injustice.”