VATICAN CITY -- Decrying the "inhuman ferocity" of the Sept. 11 attacks, Pope John Paul II said Wednesday no justification exists for terrorism, but urged an end to the "scandalous" injustices that make it.

The pope also asked for forgiveness for those who carried out the attacks, even while saying their consciences needed to be examined for a "barbarous and cruel" act.

The pontiff dedicated his Wednesday general audience to the anniversary, repeating his message in a dozen languages to 8,000 gathered in a Vatican auditorium.

"Terrorism is and always will be a show of inhuman ferocity that, precisely for this reason, will never be able to solve conflicts among human beings," he said.