Posted on 05/15/2004 12:38:44 PM PDT by yonif
Caracas, Venezuela - United States President George Bush should kneel before Pope John Paul and ask for forgiveness for abuses committed by US soldiers in Iraq, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Friday.
In his latest jibe against the US leader, the outspoken left-wing Venezuelan president urged Bush to use his planned visit to the Vatican on June 4 to announce the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
"Even though he's not a Catholic... he should ask God's forgiveness at the Vatican... go down on his knees in front of the Pope and ask for the forgiveness of the world, not just the Iraqi people," Chavez told a news conference in Caracas.
While he criticized the actions of US troops, the Venezuelan leader also condemned as "a horror" the decapitation of US businessman Nick Berg by Islamic militants in Iraq.
He made the comments after noting that senior Vatican officials had criticized the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers which has caused an international scandal.
Over the last few months, Chavez has repeatedly condemned Bush for waging the war in Iraq. He called the US president a "jerk" earlier this year and accuses his administration of seeking to topple him, a charge denied by Washington.
Last time I checked Bush isn't Cathlolic.
Chavez is a third-world punk, and acts like it.
The Muslim Terror groups should kneel before God for killing innocent people right here in New Yotk City, and around the world.
Evil has tried to destroy human rights before, Bush is stopping them.
He is a hero, and should be applauded. Chavez must have an agenda that aligns with the opposite of human rights!
Saddam, Bin Laden, and Khadafy have all been equalized, terrorr has been dealt a blow, and George W, has delivered it!
Ops4 God BLess America!
The only words that should be spoken by Pres. Bush when he meets with the Pope is -- "How many Combat Divisions are you going to commit? None! Then shut up!"
Forgivenss... for.... liberating a people from an oppressive tyrant? Eliminating a terrorist breeding ground? Removing an armed and aggressive regime from the Middle East?
Maybe we should go a step further and seek restitution. Let's put Saddam back in place as Iraqi president, and kneel before him and ask his forgiveness. In fact, let's give him a few nukes to pay him back for the emotional harm we've caused him. We may thereby assuage his wrath and avert a lawsuit.
(Am I the only one who sees these things?)
Personally I think the pope should be ignored. He's no better than leftist, Al Sharpton or Jessie Jackson. They too parade around as "religious" and are leftists who are clueless.
Tell you what:
I haven't heard WORD ONE out of the Vatican condemning the beheading of Nick Berg, the killing of a pregnant Israeli Mom and her four little kids, the butchering of four contractors who were then hung off of a bridge, or EVEN the death of that VALIANT Italian gentleman a few weeks back who probably WAS an actual Catholic.
Where IS the Vatican on this stuff?
Bush shouldn't ask for a pardon from ANYONE for this war.
LOL...of course Chavez thinks Bush is a sinner. Chavez is a Saddam wannabe.
Visualize a world in which you'd need approval of the UN AND the Vatican before going to war. The only question is, which is more corrupt?
The CIA made him do it....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/monitoring/media_reports/1926176.stm
The pope doesn't grant forgiveness. God does. And the president does not have to seek forgiveness for protecting our nation.
why? Bush isn't a catholic, so it would have no meaning for him anyway...this makes no sense.
Yes, there are some important distinctions, I guess. The whole idea of priestly celibacy and apostolic authority, among other things, but I don't really see what the big difference is.
Maybe it's just because I wasn't raised in a conventional Roman Catholic household, but I just don't see what the big deal is.
Ummmmm.....Before you bash the Pope about these comments, remember that you are reacting to remarks uttered by Hugo Chavez, not the Vatican.
I truly am living in the twilight zone. You know, after 911 I thought the world would finally turn against this terrorism thing, join together and get these cowardly mutts out of the human race once and for all, but nooooooooo. It seems 911 wasn`t enough destruction. It truly makes me wonder, if they set off a nuke that killed millions instead of thousands, THEN would that be enough? I have doubts. We`re coming up to 3 years soon since 911, like my tagline says; I`m still waiting for the protests against terrorism. I`m still waiting for the protests against terrorism. I`m still waiting for the protests against terrorism. I`m still waiting for the protests against terrorism. I`m still waiting for the protests against terrorism.
Even worse, Israel has been experiencing terrorism for over 50 years, and yet the whole world continues to push for an Arab terrorist state.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.