Pope John Paul II presides over a
morning Mass in St. Peter's Basilica
Thursday, to mark the World Day of
Peace.

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VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope John
Paul II rang in the New Year on
Thursday with a renewed call for
peace in the Middle East and Africa
and the creation of a new world
order based on respect for the
dignity of man and equality among
nations.

John Paul presided over a morning Mass
inside St. Peter's Basilica to mark the World
Day of Peace, which the Roman Catholic
Church celebrates every January 1. He
appeared in good form, delivering his entire
homily in a strong and clear voice despite a
relatively tiring holiday schedule.

This year, John Paul directed his thoughts
to continuing conflicts around the globe. But
he stressed that to bring about peace, there
needs to be a new respect for international
law and the creation of a "new international
order" based on the goals of the United
Nations.

He called for "an order that is able to give
adequate solutions to today's problems
based on the dignity of the human being,
on an integral development of society, on
solidarity among nations rich and poor, on
the sharing of resources and the
extraordinary results of scientific and
technical progress."

The pope lamented continuing violence
between Israel and the Palestinians, and
also offered his prayers for his ambassador
to Burundi, Archbishop Michael Courtney,
who was gunned down by assailants this
week as he returned from a funeral.

John Paul said Courtney was killed "while
he carried out his mission in favor of
dialogue and reconciliation" in the central
African country, which has been wracked by
violence for a decade.

"Let us pray for him, hoping that his
example and sacrifice will bring about the
fruits of peace in Burundi and the world," he
said.

Earlier this month, John Paul issued a
formal document marking the World Day of
Peace in which he called for a reform of the
United Nations and international law to deal
with the evolving threat of terrorism.