Asking for forgiveness and granting forgiveness, "are essential for peace", especially where there are wars under way, such as the Holy Land and the Middle East. In receiving the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, the Pope recalled John Paul II’s "bright words": "There is no peace without justice, there is no justice without forgiveness". "I repeat them, humbly and with deep love said Benedict XVI to the people in charge of the nations, especially those where the physical and moral wounds of conflicts are most stinging and the need for peace is most pressing. One would naturally think of the birthplace of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, who had words of peace and forgiveness for everyone; of Lebanon, whose population must find again, also with the aid of international solidarity, its historical bent for honest and fruitful cooperation between communities of different faiths; and of all of the Middle East, especially Iraq, the cradle of great civilisations, which in these years has been ravaged every day by bloody acts of terrorism". As to the Holy Land, the Pope mentioned again to the Diplomatic Corps the position of the Holy See, for which "the State of Israel must be able to exist peacefully under the rules of international law" and, at the same time, "the Palestinian people must be able to calmly develop their democratic institutions, for a free and thriving future". A comment on Africa as well, especially the Lake Regions and the "helpless people of Darfur".
