“Let us pray for the Russian people, for the children and adults assassinated in the school of Beslan in Ossetia”: that is the intention of a novena for peace, begun in Germany on 8 September. The nine days of prayer are an initiative of Jugend 2000, the Cologne-based youth organization established in 1990 as a community of work with the objective of involving other young people in participation in World Youth Days the next WYD is due to take place in Cologne in August 2005 and in evangelization in the world. The novena intends to contribute to the end of terror and violence in Russia. “All of us still have before our eyes the terrifying images of the tragedy of the hostages in Beslan”, says Jugend 2000 in its appeal to youth, asking them to pray “also for the assassins, for the soldiers, and also for the youth of Russia”.
