Pope stresses role of family

Pope Benedict XVI opened the new year with an appeal for world peace, calling it a "divine gift" and stressing the role of family as the foundation for it.

The Catholic Church celebrates January 1 as its World Day of Peace, and during a mid-morning Mass in St Peter's Basilica, the pope called for "the gift of peace: for our families, our cities and the whole world."

"We all aspire to leave in peace, but real peace ... is not the simple conquest of man or the result of political agreements: It is above all a divine gift," Benedict said.

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