Annan calls pope 'tireless advocate of peace'

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said Saturday he was "deeply saddened" by the death of Pope John Paul II and called him "a tireless advocate of peace."
"I was deeply saddened by the death of Pope John Paul II," Annan said in a statement. "Quite apart from his role as a spiritual guide to more than a billion men, women and children, he was a tireless advocate of peace, a true pioneer in interfaith dialogue and a strong force for critical self-evaluation by the Church itself."
The UN secretary general said he was always struck by the pontiff's commitment to having the United Nations become a moral centre where all the nations of the world feel at home.
Annan offered his "deepest condolences" to Catholics and others around the world who were touched by the pope's life of prayer and lifelong dedication to nonviolence and peace.

04/02/2005 20:49 GMT