Mgr. Cremona urges faithful to pray and ponder God's words

The faithful should not close their eyes to the events unravelling in Syria and foreign shores, Archbishop Paul Cremona said during the Pontifical Mass celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Victories.

Addressing the congregation inside St John's Cathedral, Mgr Cremona urged Catholics to pray for a peaceful outcome of the Syrian conflict.

Devotion to the Holy Mary brings with it respect and love irrelevant of skin colour, race and religion, the Archbishop said. He appealed fellow countrymen to end racial hatred and prejudice. "Jesus Christ was born for all people, whatever their skin colour", he said. Solidarity should be practised amongst all nations and while practical problems can be encountered authorities should make every possible effort to solve them, Mgr Cremona held while calling for further European solidarity.

"Every Catholic has the duty to look at the world around him and act. We should pray for those in need, for the oppressed and for those who are being victimised. However, more than pray we should be moved by the events happening around us and seek refuge in the words of God", archbishop Paul Cremona said.

Locally the feast of Our Lady of Victories celebrates the end of the Great Siege of 1565 and the end of Malta's involvement in the Second World War in 1943.