THE Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Rev Dr Peter Selby (below) spoke this morning of his sadness that the conflict has begun.

"As Pope John Paul said, war is always a failure for humanity and a tragedy for religion.

"Now that we have failed to prevent war, our task is to pray for its innocent victims, including military personnel who find themselves required to engage in it, and all those who will have to endure it, whether as civilians suffering its results, or as family members anxious for their loved ones.

"We shall pray for them and do all we can to support them. We shall pray also that peace may come soon, and that further conflict in the Middle East and among the communities that make up our own country may be averted."