Pope says 'honorable compromises' needed for peace

(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 26 - Honorable compromises are needed for peace, Pope Francis told Luxembourg authorities as he began a trip to the country Thursday.
    In his address, the pope emphasised "the advantages of peace over the horrors of war, of the integration and promotion of migrants over their segregation, "the benefits of cooperation between nations over the harmful consequences of hardening positions and the selfish and short-sighted or even violent pursuit of one's own interests.
    "There is in fact," he said, "an urgent need for those invested with authority to engage with constancy and patience in honest negotiations with a view to resolving differences, with a spirit of readiness to find honorable compromises, which do not undermine anything and which can instead build security and peace for all".
    Francis also pointed out "the re-emergence, even on the European continent, of rifts and enmities which, instead of being resolved on the basis of mutual goodwill, negotiation and diplomatic work, break out into open hostilities, with their sequel of destruction and death.
    "It seems that the human heart does not always know how to cherish memory and periodically goes astray and returns to the tragic paths of war," said the 87-year-old Argentine pontiff.
    "In order to heal this very dangerous sclerosis, which makes nations gravely ill and risks throwing them into adventures with immense human costs, renewing useless massacres, it is necessary to focus on values that prevent the madness of reason and the irresponsible return to making the same mistakes as in past times." (ANSA).