Frail Pope pleads for peace in Holy Land

Afflicted by Parkinson's disease and arthritis, the 81-year-old Pope John Paul II summoned his strength yesterday to address 50,000 people at St Peter's Square in the Vatican, calling for peace in his Easter Sunday message.

The ailing pontiff, who has been forced to cut his gruelling Holy Week schedule because of persistent knee pains, used much of his traditional Urbi et Orbi (To the City and the World) Easter Sunday address to denounce the violence in the Middle East.

Yesterday it emerged that he is considering knee surgery to combat the condition. Doctors have been urging him to cut back on his activities.

Last week, ill-health prevented him from participating in Palm Sunday mass and a symbolic foot-washing that forms part of one of the Catholic Church's holiest ceremonies. It was the first time in 23 years of religious leadership that the Pope had failed to perform the ritual, which is part of the commemoration of the "Last Supper". On Saturday night, his strength was tested at a three-hour-long Easter Eve service at St Peter's basilica, where a special altar was built for him to save him climbing the steps.

He delegated cardinals to take his place at the altar for Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday masses. Also for the first time, he abstained from carrying a wooden cross in a Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum.

But the Pope nonetheless insisted on giving his main Easter address himself yesterday, and in a strong voice said: "It seems that war has been declared on peace!"

Without referring to Israelis or Palestinians, the Pope, sheltered under a canopy from brilliant sunlight, said: "With trepidation and hope I ask you to proclaim that Jesus is truly risen, and to work so that his peace may end the tragic sequence of attacks and killings that bloody the Holy Land, plunged again in these days into horror and despair."

Speaking in Italian, the Pope called for an end to the "dramatic spiral of abuse of power and killings".

"Nothing is resolved by war," he continued, "It only brings greater suffering and death. Neither do retaliation and reprisals resolve anything."

He called on the world to act, saying: "No one can remain silent and inactive, no political or religious leader. Denunciations must be followed by practical acts of solidarity that will help everyone to rediscover mutual respect and return to frank negotiation."

In the message, broadcast around the world, the Pope said too many people were subject to misery: "From Afghan-istan, terribly afflicted in recent months and now stricken by a disastrous earthquake, to so many other countries where social imbalances and rival ambitions still torment countless numbers of our brothers and sisters." He finished by blessing the crowd and wishing them a happy Easter in more than 60 languages.

Whenever he stood up, John Paul's suffering was particularly evident. He gripped the prayerbook lectern for extra support, and his face was often screwed up in pain.

The Rome daily Il Messaggero reported yesterday that the Pope would have knee surgery shortly. However, the surgeon who will reportedly carry out the operation, Alfredo Carfagni, said nothing has been decided. The surgeon said he has yet to examine the Pope's right knee but confirmed that the Vatican had contacted his hospital about the possibility of surgery.