VATICAN CITY, March 5: Pope John Paul issued a ringing appeal for peace on Wednesday, saying world leaders must examine their consciences and pull back from the brink of war in Iraq, as his special envoy prepared to meet US President George Bush.

“Everyone has to assume their responsibilities and make a common effort to spare humanity another dramatic conflict,” said the pope, who has for weeks been wielding his influence to try to stop US battle plans.

He delivered his address to mark Ash Wednesday, one of the holiest days in the Western Christian calendar — when the faithful are reminded of their mortality — as his special envoy headed for the White House.

“I believe that when peace is at stake, it is never too late for dialogue,” the pope told thousands gathered at St Peter’s Square. “We must pray and fast for peaceful coexistence between peoples and nations.”

The pope had urged the world’s Catholics to fast on Wednesday to remind people of the long years of suffering endured by Iraqis as a result of the international embargo imposed on their country in 1990.

At the square, a group of demonstrators unfurled a huge rainbow-coloured banner for peace, while across Italy several anti-war rallies were being staged.

The pope’s envoy Cardinal Pio Laghi, the former papal nuncio to Washington, was due to meet Bush in the US capital to deliver a personal plea from the head of the Roman Catholic Church to avoid war.—AFP