VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI denounced the "ferocious" attack on a Baghdad Catholic church and called Monday for renewed international efforts to broker peace in the region.
Benedict said two priests were among the estimated 52 people killed Sunday after militants took an entire congregation hostage at the Our Lady of Deliverance church, one of the main places of Catholic worship in the Iraqi capital.
Iraqi security forces stormed the church, but it wasn't clear if the dead were killed during the initial hostage-taking or the Iraqi rescue effort.
