Italian PM to Sheetrit: I'll do what I can to help free troops

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi on Sunday told visiting minister Meir Sheetrit that he would do all he can to help ensure the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces troops.

During their talks in Rome, Prodi and Sheetrit also discussed the Middle East peace process and the Iranian nuclear threat.

Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI told Sheetrit that he planned to visit Israel.

Pope Benedict told religious leaders, including Christians, Jews and Muslims, on Sunday during an interfaith conference that religion must never be allowed to become a vehicle of hatred.

The Pope spoke forcefully against invoking the name of God in any religion "to justify evil and violence."

"Faced with a world lacerated by conflict, where violence is still justified in the name of God, it is important to reiterate that religions must never become a vehicle of hatred," the Pontiff said.

"On the contrary, religions can and should offer precious resources to build a humanity of peace, because they speak of peace at the heart of man."

The Pope addressed scholars and religious leaders attending a three-day inter-faith gathering in the southern Italian port city of Naples. The conference is called "For a World Without Violence: Religions and Cultures in Dialogue."

Less than two weeks ago more than 130 Muslim scholars called for peace and understanding between Islam and Christianity, and said the world's survival could be at stake.

The Pope sat down to lunch on Sunday with one of them, Izzeddin Ibrahim, a cultural adviser to the government of the United Arab Emirates.

"With respect for the differences between different religions, we are all called to work for peace and an effective effort to promote reconciliation between peoples," the Pope said.

The Pope also met religious leaders including Israel's Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger, the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the head of the world's Anglicans.