Pope John Paul condemned today attacks on a Christian school and hospital in Pakistan this week that left nine people dead, declaring that such "heinous crimes" could not be "condoned or tolerated".
Three Pakistani nurses were killed yesterday when militants lobbed two grenades at a crowd of women leaving a missionary hospital chapel. A total of 23 people, mostly female nurses, were injured.
Earlier in the week, three suspected Islamic militants shot their way into a school for children of foreign missionaries and killed six Pakistanis.
"The Holy Father offers ardent prayers for the dead, the injured and all who are suffering as a result of these heinous crimes," Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state, said in a telegram sent on the Pope's behalf to a religious leader in Pakistan.
Islamic militants, angered by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's support for the US-led war on terror, have stepped up attacks on Christian and foreign targets in the past year, killing dozens of people.
The victims have been mostly Pakistanis but have included 11 French engineers and an American diplomat's wife and daughter.
The Pope was "deeply grieved at the news of the terrorist attacks in Pakistan this week", according to the telegram, which was included in the Holy See's daily bulletin. "He unequivocally condemns all acts of violence and destruction."
"He calls on the international community to redouble its efforts aimed at building a world of mutual understanding and respect, a world of peace and justice, where such offences to human life and dignity are neither condoned nor tolerated."
