Pope calls for religious tolerance

ASTANA, Kazakstan -- Pope John Paul II issued a powerful call Sunday for Christians and Muslims to work together against bloodshed and strife following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. "I beg God to keep the world in peace," he declared.

The pope's special prayer at the end of an outdoor Mass in the Central Asian nation of Kazakstan, a country of mixed faiths in a region that is bracing for a threatened American strike against nearby Afghanistan.

"I wish to make an earnest call to everyone, Christians and the followers of other religions, that we work together to build a world without violence, a world that loves life and grows in justice and solidarity," the pope said.

"We must not let what has happened lead to a deepening of divisions," he said. "Religion must never be used as a reason for conflict."

It was John Paul's first public comment on the terrorist attacks since he arrived Saturday on a four-day visit to Kazakstan, which he held up as a model of peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims whose numbers are almost equal in the nation of 15 million.

His spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, said the pope supports measures to "bring those responsible to justice." He declined to say what specific measures the pope would back.

The trip brought John Paul to a region where many fear Islamic extremism emanating from nearby Afghanistan but are also wary of what will happen if the United States attacks the country for harboring the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks, Osama bin Laden.