MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pope Benedict offers first Easter view

In his first Easter message as pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI urged countries yesterday to use diplomacy to defuse nuclear crises, apparently alluding to Iran.

He also prayed that one day, Palestinians would have their own state alongside Israel. On Christianity's most joyous day -- which fell on Benedict's 79th birthday -- the pontiff also prayed for Iraq's violence to cease.

From the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, Benedict reflected on the globe's troubled regions shortly after he celebrated Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square, which was packed with 100,000 pilgrims and tourists on a breezy, hazy day.

''Today, even in this modern age marked by anxiety and uncertainty, we relive the event of the Resurrection, which changed the face of our life and changed the history of humanity," Benedict said in the traditional papal message ''Urbi et Orbi," which is Latin for ''to the city and to the world."

Benedict also alluded to fears that Iran might be working toward building a nuclear arsenal. ''Concerning the international crises linked to nuclear power, may an honorable solution be found for all parties, through serious and honest negotiations," Benedict said. He did not name a country.

The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said recently that his country had successfully enriched uranium using 164 centrifuges, a significant step toward large-scale production of material that could be used to fuel nuclear reactors for generating electricity, or to build nuclear bombs. Iran insists that it wants only peaceful use of nuclear power. Western nations suspect that Tehran wants to develop weapons. Some Western countries are demanding a halt to enrichment activities.

Pilgrims marking Easter also filled Jerusalem's Old City.

The alleys were more crowded than in recent years, reflecting a decline in Palestinian-Israeli violence.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Rev. Michel Sabbah, who is the leading Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, celebrated a Mass in the dark, incense-filled Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

The church was built near the spot where many Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross.

After leading black-robed priests into the church singing the Lord's Prayer, the Palestinian-born patriarch lit worshipers' candles.

''This is like a dream come true for us to be here in the Holy Land," said Rona Arida, 29, a Philippine worker in Israel, after she prayed with her friends at the church. ''I prayed for all of my family back home."

At the Vatican, Benedict's message was interrupted by applause when he said of Iraq: ''May peace finally prevail over the tragic violence that continues mercilessly to claim victims." ''I also pray sincerely that those caught up in the conflict in the Holy Land may find peace, and I invite all to patient and persevering dialogue, so as to remove both ancient and new obstacles," the pontiff said.

There has been heavy pressure from abroad on the Palestinian government, led by Hamas, which was elected in January, to renounce violence and to recognize Israel's right to exist.

''May the international community, which reaffirms Israel's just right to exist in peace, assist the Palestinian people to overcome the precarious conditions in which they live and to build their future," Benedict said. He added that the Palestinians could move ''toward the constitution of a state which is truly their own."

The pope lamented the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region, and denounced the ''deplorable scourge of kidnappings" in Latin America.

Millions of people in Latin America, he said, should have better living conditions. Thus, he said, democratic institutions must be ''consolidated in a spirit of harmony."

The pope offered holiday wishes in 62 languages, and gave his blessing.

Among the prayers read by faithful during the Mass was a wish, in French, that the pope receive a birthday gift of ''serene" days.

Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, died six days after Easter last year, and was so weak that he was unable to address faithful in the square on Easter , only raising his hand in a blessing.

Benedict looked tired during yesterday's Mass. He had had only a few hours to rest after leading a long Easter vigil ceremony Saturday night in St. Peter's Basilica, which lasted past midnight.