The Pope and the War
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January 13, 2003
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II spoke out against a possible war against Iraq, telling Vatican-accredited diplomats that military force always must be "the very last option," even when motivated by legitimate concerns.
In an annual "state of the world" address Jan. 13, the pope said the future of humanity depends partly on the earth's peoples and their leaders having the courage to say "no to war."
"War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity," he said.
"And what are we to say of the threat of a war which could strike the people of Iraq, the land of the prophets, a people already sorely tried by more than 12 years of embargo?" he said.
"War is never just another means that one can choose to employ for settling differences between nations," he said.
Thursday, March
6, 2003 Posted: 9:41 AM EST (1441 GMT)
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."