Pope Sees 'Intolerable' Violence

VATICAN CITY, April 8 — Pope John Paul II said today that violence in the Holy Land had reached "unimaginable and intolerable" levels.

In an address hours after a gun battle was reported around the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the pope said, "The land of our Lord's birth, death and Resurrection, a land held sacred by the three great monotheistic religions, has increased to unimaginable and intolerable levels."

The Vatican also put out a statement today calling on Israel to respect holy sites and demanding an explanation for the fighting around the church, where Christian monks and nuns have been trapped, along with about 200 armed Palestinians.

The pope has repeatedly called for peace talks, and deplored violence on both sides. But in recent days, Vatican officials have used increasingly tough language to challenge Israel's military response to a wave of suicide bombings. Pro-Palestinian feeling is strong in Italy, and the Vatican's foreign policy is often seen as leaning in that direction as well, though church officials categorically deny that characterization.

Officials in the Vatican secretary of state's office have let it be known that they did not sign off on a report in last Tuesday's L'Osservatore Romano, a Vatican newspaper, that used the word "extermination" to apply to the current situation.