POPE GREETS FAITHFUL GATHERED FOR ANGELUS – Pope Benedict XVI greets the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square for his weekly Angelus prayer at the Vatican Oct. 29. The pope, who said he receives requests from around the world to intervene on behalf of kidnapped individuals, assured victims and their families of his prayers. (CNS/Reuters)

Speaking Oct. 29 after the midday recitation of the Angelus, the pope said he receives requests from around the world to intervene on behalf of kidnapped individuals.
"While I reaffirm the strongest condemnation of this crime, I assure all the victims, their families and friends that I remember them in my prayers," he said.
In his main Angelus address, the pope said the Sunday Gospel story of Jesus healing the blind man, who then goes on to follow Jesus, is a model for what each believer's life should be like.
"Faith is a journey of enlightenment," he said. "It starts from the humility of recognizing that you need salvation and goes to a personal encounter with Christ, who calls you to follow him on the path of love."
The pope prayed that, like the man whose sight was restored, every Christian "would feel called to proclaim to all, with the witness of his own life, the love of God."
Greeting a group of young Italian Catholics, the pope announced that he would meet their peers from all over the country Sept. 1-2, 2007, in Loreto in preparation for the celebration of World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia.