Pope John Paul II met on November 18 with a delegation of religious leaders from Azerbaijan

Pope John Paul II met on November 18 with a delegation of religious leaders from Azerbaijan. The Pope told his visitors that Christians, Jews, and Muslims should unite to end "the murderous violence" all over the world. "No one has the right to present or use religion as an instrument of intolerance, as a means of aggression, of violence, of death," the pope told the group, Associated Press reported today. Christians, Muslims and Jews must appeal together for an end to violence in the world "with justice for all," he said. He mentioned specifically his hope "that peace returns to Azerbaijan, and that the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh is soon resolved." Armenia occupied former autonomous Nagorno-Karabakh region and also seven other Azerbaijani districts in 1991-94 war, forcing over 700,000 Azerbaijanis to leave their homes. Despite an armistice signed in May 1994, no final solution has been achieved to the conflict between the two countries. John Paul II reminded the religious leaders-- representing the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities-- of his own trip to Azerbaidjan in 2002. He praised the Muslim majority of the former Soviet republic-- who constitute 98 percent of the population-- for their open attitude toward other faiths. And he sent his "affectionate greetings" to the country's tiny Catholic community, comprised of only about 300 people.