Pope Calls for Fast Against War in Iraq (Catholics to fast on Ash Wednesday)

ap ^ | 2/23/2003 | ap

[TLBSHOW]

Pope Calls for Fast Against War in Iraq

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II called on Catholics to fast on Ash Wednesday in the name of peace and said again on Sunday he worried a U.S.-led war against Iraq could unsettle the entire Middle East.

Looking wan and tired, John Paul opened his traditional Sunday remarks from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square by denouncing war as a way to resolve the conflict.

"We Christians in particular are called upon to be sentinels of peace," John Paul said, calling on Catholics to dedicate their fasting on Ash Wednesday, March 5, for the cause of peace.

On that day, the pope said, faithful will pray for "the conversion of hearts and the long-range vision of just decisions to resolve disputes with adequate and peaceful means."

He said that the fast, which Catholics traditionally conduct at the start of Lent to prepare themselves for Easter, is an "expression of penitence for the hate and violence which pollute human relations."

Fasting, an ancient practice shared by other religions, he said, also lets faithful "shed themselves of all arrogance."

Rainbow-hued peace banners fluttered in the crowd of tourists and pilgrims in the square. Surveys have shown Italians and many other Europeans oppose war, even if waged under the aegis of the United Nations (news - web sites), and earlier this month, about 1 million Italians marched through Rome to protest against the United States and its push for using military force.

"For months the international community is living in great apprehension for the danger of a war, which could unsettle the entire Middle East region and aggravate the tensions unfortunately already present in this beginning of the third millennium," the pontiff said.

"It is the duty of all believers, to whichever religion they belong, to proclaim that we can never be happy pitted one against the other; the future of humanity will never able to be secured by terrorism and by the logic of war," John Paul said.

While the pope has been hailed as a champion of peace by anti-war demonstrators ranging from environmentalists to communists, some in Italy challenged his view.

Radical Party leaders Sunday denounced what they saw as the pontiff's "equating terrorism and war, whatever war." Led by Marco Panella, the Radicals say they would like to see Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) in exile and a democratic government under U.N. auspices to replace the Iraqi leader.

John Paul has been holding practically daily meetings with key players in the crisis over Iraq. In his latest effort, on Saturday, he met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites), who has been trying to line up support in Europe and elsewhere for Washington's insistence that military force is necessary if Baghdad doesn't quickly and completely comply with U.N. disarmament resolutions.

John Paul, 82 and struggling with Parkinson's disease (news - web sites) and other health problems, appeared weary, his voice trailing off in the final words of his appeal, "blessed are the peacemakers," a phrase from the Gospel of Matthew.

John Paul made similar calls against conflict in the months before the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites), but in this campaign, with the memory of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks making the world particularly apprehensive, he has seemed more determined than ever to do his part to persuade decision-makers against going to war.

[T Minus Four]

Quite nicely, thank you :-)

[GirlShortstop]

Don't you just hate it when someone says "I'll pray for you" as a tactic to gain the upper hand and the last word in an argument?

Absolutely!    Pray for me.... (oops, that would be me assuming the *you* don't need prayers ~ why, are you who I think you must be?!?!!).     LOL. FReegards.

[spunkets]

"That power is in the hands of God."

War is a clash of wills where the 2, or more parties attempt to dominate the other. Unless you haven't noticed God does not force folks to do anything. In this case the will of sodom is nothing but evil, driven by evil intent. The will of the opposition is that he cease and desist, nothing more, nothing less. Unless one takes the side of those who would bow to the will of sodom and his sodomite forces, the finger points to the sodomites as the ones responsible for the clash.

[spacebuffalo]

This from the one who fastidiously resorts to mocking his opponents in argumentation. Everyone, repeat after me "Name-calling will not bolster my arguments!"

[Just mythoughts]

Ok I left my computer mulled over in my mind and I respond to you likewise.

I said nothing against praying for peace, if that was all that was said by this man, there would be no reason to say anything. This has nothing to do with who and who doesn't pray, I would imagine that all faced with death would be saying a prayer.

I responded initially to the fact that Reuters SUN FEB 23 8:59am et to this "The vatican has refused to bless a possible U.S. led attack on Iraq, which it believes could unleash terrorism and lead to the killing of civilians."

Terrorism has already been unleash, and civilians are being killed. So please help what he claims make sense.

I responded that since our Heavenly Father is responsible for passing out blessings and cursings this guy's blessing was not necessary. (not sure word for word)

Then AP comes out with further explanation about "We Christians in particular. In one or the other of the articles he is quoted as saying appeal to all sides to try to "resolve with pacific mean".

Last week a red carpet treatment was laid out for Saddam's mouthpiece, there were no reports that the pope was requiring Saddam to destroy his weapons and stop killing cilivians. Now his words describe this as two sides. He also find the word of Matthew "peacemakers" fit this picture. Someone needs to fill him in that sometimes to have peace the enemy "Saddam" must be taken care of.

The words out of his mouth and his actions are what destroy his credibility not his request for a day of prayer and fasting.

[Admin Moderator]

Cool it.

[Barnacle]

Meek?

Disrupter, Agitator, Troublemaker... take your pick.

[GirlShortstop]

 
Dear AM sir or madam, since you are in the editing mood (post fifty something), perhaps removing the long, and unnecessary reply 51 to CTID is worthwhile?

[Conservative til I die]

Based on post 57?

[Conservative til I die]

This from the one who fastidiously resorts to mocking his opponents in argumentation.

SOme posts leave themselves open to mockery. There's really not much to debate with "The Pope is a moron."

[Conservative til I die]

Yawn.....so tiresome.

[Conservative til I die]

Need I mention that the "rainbow" is a homosexual symbol.

Let me guess, the Pope's a queer right? Hey, why not. Seems no other slander is off limit on FR. Nazi popes, Jew-hating popes, gay popes, killer popes, whatever you want. But it's the Catholics that get smacked when they respond by the Admins. Ridiculous.

[DontMessWithMyCountry]

yawn...no sense of humor

[Conservative til I die]

Everyone, repeat after me "Name-calling will not bolster my arguments

That would assume all my posts are meant to make an argument. The posts where bigots are spewing their low class bigotry, I respond approrpriately. Where someone says something serious, I respond again in kind. People calling the Pope a moron and the Church pulling the strings behind the Holocaust don't deserve debate or diginification of their posts. Someone who says "This is a just war and the Pope is wrong" without calling him a "drooling faggot senile moron" I'll debate with and in some cases, agree with.

But anti-Catholicism is institutional on FR it seems, and fully supported by the mods.

[Conservative til I die]

Dear AM sir or madam, since you are in the editing mood (post fifty something), perhaps removing the long, and unnecessary reply 51 to CTID is worthwhile?

Only Catholics get spanked on FR.

[Barnacle]

Hmmm, there's a great Chinese buffet in my town where you can really pig out. I'm putting it on the calendar.

Yeah baby!

[Jhoffa_]

"We Christians in particular are called upon to be sentinels of peace," John Paul said.."

Aren't we called upon to do justice also?

Provided we were justified in the first gulf war, then this one is morally justified also.

Saddam made a deal to end that war, and then he broke it. Thus, the war should resume.

Further, he comitted war crimes (hitting the Jews, who were bystanders, with SCUD missles and torching the Kuait oil fields during his retreat.)

This would have been forgotten and everything would be just dandy if he had upheld the agreement that ended the war.

[Conservative til I die]

OK, I gotta apologize here, Admin Moderator let me know what post he was responding to. That one was more appropriate than "been in america long?"

[Admin Moderator]

thanks.

[Barnacle]

I agree with you.

Sometimes it’s hard to be a Catholic, just as it is sometimes hard to be an American or a Conservative.

Catholic, American Conservatives are trice blessed.