http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/2003/documents/rc_seg-st_20030219_migliore-security-council_en.html
INTERVENTION OF H.E. MSGR. CELESTINO MIGLIORE
AT THE MEETING IN THE CHAMBER OF THE
SECURITY COUNCIL OF THE UNITED NATIONS
ON THE IRAQI ISSUE
Wednesday, 19 February 2003
....
The Holy See is closely following the developments on the
ground and expresses its support for the efforts of the
international community towards resolving the crisis within
the sphere of the international legality. For this purpose
and with this in mind, His Holiness Pope John Paul II has
recently sent a Special Envoy to Baghdad, who met with
President Saddam Hussein and delivered him A MESSAGE FROM THE POPE STRESSING, INTER ALIA, THE NEED FOR CONCRETE COMMITMENTS IN FAITHFUL ADHERENCE TO THE RELEVANT RESOLUTIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS.
A similar message has also been conveyed to Mr. Tarek Aziz,
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister,
who visited the Pope on 14 February last.
To his Excellency Saddam Hussein
President of Iraq
...
. I am confident that you too, Mr President, will make the most appropriate decisions and will take courageous steps which can be the beginning of a true journey towards peace. As I said publicly last Sunday, A DEMONSTRATION OF READINESS ON YOUR PART cannot fail to bring you honour before your beloved Country, the region and the whole world. In these dramatic hours, I pray that God will enlighten you and GRANT YOU THE STRENGTH TO MAKE A GENEROUS GESTURE WHICH WILL AVOID WAR: it will be a great step before history, for it will mark a victory of international justice and the triumph of that peace to which all people of good will aspire.
From the Vatican, January 15, 1991.
IOANNES PAULUS PP. II
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1991/january/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19910115_saddam-hussein-bush_en.html
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/2003/documents/rc_seg-st_20031018_sodano-xxv-pontificate_en.html 25th ANNIVERSARY OF THE PONTIFICATE OF JOHN PAUL II:
SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZED BY THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS
INTERVENTION BY CARDINAL ANGELO SODANO
A 25-YEAR PONTIFICATE AT THE SERVICE OF PEACE
18 October 2003
......
11. For Peace in Iraq
War is never just another means that one can choose to employ
for settling differences between Nations. As the Charter of the United Nations Organization and international law itself remind us, war cannot be decided upon, even when it is a matter of ensuring the common good,
EXCEPT AS THE VERY LAST OPTION and in accordance with
very strict conditions, without ignoring the consequences for the civilian population both during and after the military operations"
.....
"The Holy See has learned with deep pain of the development of the latest events in Iraq. ON THE ONE HAND, IT IS TO BE REGRETTED THAT THE IRAQI GOVERNMENT DID NOT ACCEPT THE RESOLUTIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE APPEAL OF THE POPE HIMSELF, AS BOTH ASKED THAT THE COUNTRY DISARM.”
(ORE, 15 January 2003, p. 3).
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/2003/doc DECLARATION BY THE SECRETARIAT OF STATE
ON THE IRAQI CONFLICT
Thursday, 10 April 2003
VATICAN CITY, APR 10, 2003 (VIS) - The following declaration was released early this afternoon:
SECRETARIAT OF STATE:IRAQ/... VIS 20030410
....
"The Secretariat of State, having been informed of the latest developments in Baghdad, WHICH MARK AN IMPORTANT TURNING POINT IN THE IRAQI CONFLICT AND A SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE FUTURE OF THE PEOPLE, hopes that the military operations underway in the rest of the country will soon end, with the aim of sparing further victims, civilian or military, and further suffering for those populations.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/special_features/peace/documents/peace_20030215_decl-card-etchegaray-iraq_en.html DECLARATION BY CARDINAL ROGER ETCHEGARAY
FOLLOWING HIS MEETING
WITH IRAQI PRESIDENT SADDAM HUSSEIN
Baghdad, 15 February 2003
....
The Church, according to words by Pope John Paul II, is the spokesman of the 'moral conscience of mankind in its purest state, of a mankind that desires peace, that needs peace'.
"It is in this sense that MY MEETING WITH PRESIDENT SADDAM HUSSEIN TOUCHED UPON CONCRETE QUESTIONS THAT I CANNOT MENTION HERE through respect for the person who sent me as well as for the person who received me: It is a matter of seeing if everything has been done to safeguard peace while establishing a climate of confidence that allows Iraq to rediscover its place in the international community.
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/2003/documents/rc_seg-st_20030620_sodan LETTER OF CARD. ANGELO SODANO
TO THE SECRETARY GENERAL
OF THE UNITED NATIONS, MR KOFI ANNAN
His Excellency
Mr. KOFI ANNAN
Secretary General of the United Nations Organization
New York
Dear Mr Secretary General,
.....
The Holy See is confident that the United Nations Organization will be able to develop more efficient and concerted forms of cooperation WHICH WILL ENABLE WORLD LEADERS TO JOIN IN COMBATING SITUATIONS OF INJUSTICE AND OPRESSION, leading to hostility between peoples, rather than building that "family of nations" of which Pope John Paul II spoke in 1995.
From the Vatican, June 5, 2003
Cardinal Angelo Sodano
Secretary of State