POPE JOHN PAUL II Contact info:

E-MAIL ADDRESS:

pcjustpax@justpeace.va

ADDRESS:

His Holiness John Paul II

Apostolic Palace

00120 Vatican City State Europe

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Pope urged to become Iraq human shield

Paris: THE only way left to avoid war in Iraq is for Pope John Paul to rush to Baghdad to

be ‘‘the protector of humanity,’’ a French Parliamentary deputy has said.

Didier Julia, a maverick Conservative who has visited Iraq twice in six months, noted the

Pope would be a suitable ‘‘human shield’’ because he has spoken out forcefully against

war.

‘‘Right now the only thing that seems useful to me is if the Pope goes at the last minute to

block aggression against Iraq,’’ he said. ‘‘I would like the Pope to serve as protector of

humanity’s values,’’ he said.

The Pope issued a passionate plea for peace on Sunday, saying he had lived through WW

II and felt obliged to tell the world: ‘‘Never again war.’’

Julia, a member of the Centre-Right UMP party of France’s anti-war President Jacques

Chirac, said he visited Iraq to try to help protect Iraq’s many archeological treasures.

Reuters

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War in Iraq a crime, says Vatican

From correspondents in Vatican City

18mar03

MILITARY intervention against Iraq would be a crime against peace demanding

vengeance before God, the head of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace

has said.

"War is a crime against peace which cries for vengeance before God," said Archbishop

Renato Raffaele Martino, speaking on Vatican Radio.

He stressed the deeply unjust and immoral nature of war, saying it was condemned by

God because civilians were the worst sufferers.

Martino, formerly Vatican permanent representative to the United Nations, strongly

denounced the determination of the United States and its allies to disarm Iraq by force.

"Do not reply with a stone to the child who asks for bread," he said.

"They are preparing to reply with thousands of bombs to a people that has been asking for

bread for the last 12 years."

Stressing the Roman Catholic church would continue to insist on the need and the

urgency of peace, he said: "As always, it will be the Good Samaritan who will bind the

wounds of a wounded and weakened people."

Pope John Paul II, one of the most prominent opponents of war on Iraq, urged UN

Security Council members yesterday to continue negotiations on the disarmament of Iraq

and avert a looming military conflict.

"I want to remind UN members and particularly those who make up the Security Council

that the use of force is the last resort after having exhausted all peaceful solutions, as

stipulated by the UN charter," the Pope told tens of thousands of worshippers gathered in

St Peter's Square.

"I lived through World War II and I survived the Second World War. For this reason, I

have the duty to say 'Never again war'.

"We know that it is impossible to say peace at any price, but we all know how important

our responsibility is."