AFRICA/LIBYA - “I trust that something will give way to a peaceful solution,” the Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli tells Fides

Tripoli (Agenzia Fides) - “There is complete calm in Tripoli. The city appears tranquil and silent. There are no cars on the streets,” Bishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli, in Libya, tells Fides. “I don't know what to think,” continues Bishop Martinelli. “I want to think that underlying these hours of silence a peaceful outcome to the crisis is being negotiated. I trust that something will give way to this. I believe that moral and other pressures at certain levels may shift the situation.” He pointed to the appeal launched by Pope Benedict XVI at the Angelus on Sunday 6 March for the people being attacked in Libya. Bishop Martinelli affirms: “the appeal for prayer for Libya by Pope Benedict XVI gave us great comfort. It was an important message for us to understand that we are not on our own.” (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 9/3/2011)