War In The Balkans: Papal Address - The Pope cuts war remarks from speech

DISAPPOINTMENT AND determination were etched in the face of Pope John Paul II as he led the traditional Via Crucis procession at the Colosseum.

The Pope, with a frail step, his head tilted to one side, has had to accept that the much-touted Two Easter Truce, running from the Christian celebration through to the Orthodox Easter a week later, will not come about. The mission by his Foreign Minister, Monsignor Jean Louis Tauran, to Belgrade on Thursday proved fruitless. Monsignor Tauran, an experienced diplomat, was greeted with smiles by President Slobodan Milosevic, who "appreciated the efforts of the Pope", but went no further. The summoning of Nato ambassadors to the Holy See also failed to stimulate a European peace initiative.

In his address at the end of the Via Crucis, attended by thousands of faithful, the Pope had been expected to refer to the war in the Balkans, but he did not read a prepared text in which he called the war in Kosovo a triumph of a "culture of death". The Pope spoke off the cuff, and concentrated on the final words of Christ on the cross.

The Vatican newspaper, l'Osservatore Romano, yesterday said Europe must regain a political role. With the end of the two superpower blocs, the paper declared, Europe could no longer delegate defence issues to the United States. It was one of the most outspoken stances on the issue taken by the Vatican.

Meanwhile, the Italian government, which had earlier given signs of wobbling on its Nato commitments, is trying to focus press attention on Italy's role in the humanitarian relief effort rather than it playing host to Nato bombers.

But the Italian Communists have said that unless there is an Easter truce their ministers will resign from the government. They hold the portfolios of Justice and Regional Affairs. However, the party leader, Armando Cossutta, has said that while their action is coherent with their anti-war stance, they will not withdraw their votes in parliament, provoking a crisis.

"We want to see greater efforts to resolve the situation through diplomacy, but we don't want to consign the country to the right-wing forces," Mr Cossutta explained.

Italy's Prime Minister, Massimo D'Alema, leaves by ship tonight to spend Easter Day seeing for himself the extent of the refugee crisis in Albania. As well as difficulties with his more pacifist allies, Mr D'Alema faces discontent within his own party, Democratici di Sinistra. The leader of the DS in the Senate has said that while they have a duty towards Nato, they have reservations about the third phase of the operation.