Castel Gandolfo, Italy - Pope Benedict XVI expressed concern Sunday at the rise in international tension and the danger of a deteriorating global political climate. Speaking from his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, the head of the Roman Catholic Church spoke out against a return to nationalist confrontation, without making explicit mention of the conflict in Georgia.
"This has had so many tragic consequences in other epochs of history," Benedict said in his Angelus, calling for the danger to be opposed.
Benedict said politics should not resort to violence, and the consciousness that humankind was joined "by a common fate" should be enhanced.
The permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, also expressed concern at a crisis in international cooperation.
The multilateral system currently faced a crisis, and the conflict between Russia and NATO was a sign of this, the archbishop said.
