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Posted on 03/04/2003 11:42:42 AM PST by RCW2001
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Pope John Paul II stepped up his crusade against a looming war in Iraq, urging the world's Christians to stage a fast for peace on the same day as his envoy is to meet US President George W. Bush.
The pope said the day of fasting on Wednesday would remind people of the long years of suffering endured by Iraqi citizens as a result of the international embargo against the country.
The fast will coincide with a meeting Wednesday between Bush and the pope's special envoy, Cardinal Pio Laghi, who the pope has entrusted with a special plea to restrain the US leader from waging war against Iraq.
The fast is the latest in a series of efforts to avert a war by the pope, who has emerged as one of the most prominent opponents against a US-led conflict with Iraq.
In recent weeks, he has received leaders ranging from Iraq Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the US' key ally on Iraq, and Tuesday held talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
The pontiff said the day of fasting Wednesday should "provide greater understanding of the difficulties and sufferings or our brothers confronted by hunger, misery and war."
The appeal has also been passed on by World Council of Churches in Geneva and the Synod of the Church of England.
An informal opinion poll carried out on a private Italian television channel also found that 55.7 percent of viewers said they were willing to follow the appeal to fast.
Laghi's meeting with Bush Wednesday comes amid insistences from Washington that the pope's anti-war pronouncements will not be able to sway the United States from its hardline stance on Iraq.
Jim Nicholson, US envoy to the Holy See, on Tuesday confirmed that the pope's appeal through Laghi would not influence American thinking.
"Cardinal Laghi's mission may be useful, but Iraq must disarm," he said on the private Italian television channel "La 7."
"If Saddam Hussein were to leave his country, that would be a perfect solution," Nicholson added.
Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a firm supporter of the US stance on Iraq, became the latest of the world's leaders Tuesday to hold talks on the crisis with the pope.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said that the meeting "allowed an exchange of views on the current international situation, with special emphasis on the crisis in Iraq."
The pope had already held talks Thursday with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, another key supporter of the US position on Iraq and holder of a crucial seat on the UN Security Council.
Officials at the Vatican have said the 82 year-old-pope has thrown all his energy into efforts to stop the war, despite the crippling effects of his Parkinson's disease.
"He has been more alert in the last few days, as though he wanted to give us more strength," Laghi said.
The pope has adopted a vocal stance of principled opposition against a military conflict with Iraq, saying the future of humanity can never be ensured by the logic of war.
"Marred by long-standing and seemingly relentless conflicts, the world stands on the brink of yet another war," the pope wrote last month in a pessimistic message to newly-enthroned Anglican leader Rowan Williams.
Separately, the Vatican Tuesday denied that the pope had planned to make a personal address to the United Nations Security Council if his envoy failed to deter Bush from going to war.
"There are no plans for the Holy Father to visit the United Nations," a spokesman told journalists.
Oh I don't know, maybe 'Nothing'!.
Better to keep quiet and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
I think he's doing what he believes is right. "Do unto others" and such.
I am a Christian, and I refuse to buy in because I would argue the opposite.
"Do unto others" can quickly become "Pearls to pigs" if one is not careful.
In this scenario, the "pigs" do not appreciate the "pearls" then turn and tear the giver to pieces.
1) OK. This has nothing to do with whether he's right or not.
2) I question how much he really knows about what's going on in the world at this point in his life. And I question how many of these statements are actually made by the pope, and how many statements are made by his "Sec'y of State" and those controlling him.
...and he is doing what he believes is right.
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, even for popes. His beliefs--unclouded by any rational thought--should be of no interest to anyone, not even members of the Church of Rome. He's not speaking Ex Cathedra, after all.
What did most of you think he would say? Bomb them and let God sort them out?
The implication in your post is despicable. And, it is wrong: American politicians, war planners, and soldiers are going to sacrifice a considerable amount of treasure and a significant number of American lives in order to guarantee that we not God separate the bad people in Iraq from the good ones.
In contradistinction to this oh-so-moral leader, Americans are willing to put their lives on the line in order to rid the world of this evil, and to liberate people denied the rights granted them implicit in their humanity as a gift from God.
Luckily, Americans are neither as cloudy about their moral obligations, nor as impotent in their exercise as the people writing speeches for the pope.
Besides, it would more than a little bit weird to have a pro-war pope.
"Kill them all and let God sort them out, my children. Amen."
I know one that was, is and always will be...
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