Pope appeals to political, religious leaders to help Iraq reconstruction

[ECH1969]

Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday appealed to political and religious leaders worldwide to help Iraq in its reconstruction, and he expressed solidarity with the Christian community and all victims of the violence in the conflict-ridden country.

In his Sunday prayer in St. Peter's Square, Benedict also sent his "cordial greetings" to Muslims, who are celebrating the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, and wished them "serenity and peace."

The pope expressed worry for the "news coming out of Iraq on the very grave situation of insecurity and brutal violence to which many innocent people are subjected only because (they are) Shiites, Sunnis or Christians."

Benedict appealed to "the religious leaders, the political leaders, both local and of the world, to support those people on the path to reconstructing their homeland, in the search of a shared balance, in mutual respect, in the awareness that the plurality of its components is an integral part of its wealth."

http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/world/BO31833/

[VegasWolf]

1. Great! The mega-billionaire Catholic Church should lead the way! nt

[Chulanowa]

4. No kidding

Prayer is well and good, solidarity is nice... But they don't rebuild homes. They don't fill bellies. they don't stop the bleeding. Only hands can do those things.

[Dissenting_Prole]

2. Where the hell was the Pope before the war started?

How about this:

"Hey, Catholics. This is the Pope. I want millions of you to stop wasting your time praying for peace, get off your asses and go on strike to protest the war."

Then again, what can you expect from a guy who thinks that 7 billion people on the planet isn't enough.

The Pope can go f*ck himself.

[struggle4progress]

5. Vatican to Bush: Iraq war would be 'disaster' (6 Mar 03)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Vatican envoy who met with President Bush Wednesday said he "clearly and forcefully" conveyed a message from Pope John Paul II that a war against Iraq would be a "disaster."

"You might start, and you don't know how to end it," said Cardinal Pio Laghi said after his half-hour meeting at the White House. "It will be a war that will destroy human life. Those people that are suffering already in Iraq, they will be in a really bad situation." ..

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/03/05/sprj.irq.bush.vatican/

Benedict was not Pope at the time. But here is what he said in the months leading up to the war:


Ratizinger on Premptive Attack
Posted on Tuesday, September 24, 2002 @ 00:00:00 EDT by jbf

Cardinal Ratzinger Says Unilateral Attack on Iraq Not Justified - Gives Personal Opinion; Favors Decision from U.N.

TRIESTE, Italy, SEPT. 22, 2002 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger does not believe that a unilateral military attack by the United States against Iraq would be morally justifiable, under the current circumstances.
According to the prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith -- who acknowledged that political questions are not within his competence -- "the United Nations is the that should make the final decision."

"It is necessary that the community of nations makes the decision, not a particular power," the cardinal said, after receiving the 2002 Trieste Liberal Award. His statements were published Saturday in the Italian newspaper Avvenire.

"The fact that the United Nations is seeking the way to avoid war, seems to me to demonstrate with enough evidence that the damage would be greater than the values one hopes to save," the cardinal said ...

http://www.famvin.org/en/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1923

[aquart]

6. Everybody with half a brain told Bush it was a bad idea.

He decided to listen to those with less than half a brain.

[SharonAnn]

3. I don't pay attention to male chauvinist organizations or their leaders.

BTW, i was born and raised Catholic.

I'm so disgusted with their unending "justifications" as to why only supposedly celibate men can run the Church, that I've divorced them. Severed all relationship with them.

I won't enable them any longer, with time, money, support, or attendance. Even my Alma Mater I finally wrote to and said that as long as the Roman Catholic Church refuses to ordain women and bring them into leadership positions, they won't receive any support form me. I fell bad about that because I know that many priests at the university and the lay management can't change things, but maybe they can put some extra pressure on. In any case, I cannot support any person or institution that supports male only clergy and leadership.