NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Pope John Paul II has again raised a "special prayer" for a peaceful end to the Kosovo crisis.

      Speaking at the end of his regular Wednesday audience in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father made his prayer for "the gift of peace, which Europe and Kosovo in particular need so badly today."

      The Pope's plea for peace was his second reference to Kosovo in less than a week. On Sunday, after praying the Angelus with pilgrims at the Vatican, he expressed his desire for a peaceful solution "respectful of history and of rights."