Pope condemns Syria attack as unjustifiable use of 'instruments of extermination'

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday deplored the gas attack reported in Syria as an unjustifiable use of "instruments of extermination". "There is no such thing as a good war and a bad war. Nothing, but nothing, can justify the use of such instruments of extermination on defenseless people and populations," he said at the end of a Mass in St. Peter's Square. He urged that "military and political leaders choose another path, that of negotiations, which is the only one that can bring about peace and not death and destruction". (Reporting By Philip Pullella, editing by Larry King)