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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume 2, Number 47 January 5 - 11, 2003 Quezon City, Philippines |
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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume 2, Number 47 January 5 - 11, 2003 Quezon City, Philippines |
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Pope
"Deeply Worried" Over Iraq By
The Associated Press
VATICAN CITY (Jan. 4) - Pope John Paul II is ''deeply worried'' as tensions increase over a possible war in Iraq, a top Vatican official said, adding that no country can act alone to police the world. The
comments by Archbishop Renato Martino, prefect of the Council for Justice and
Peace and the Holy See's former U.N. envoy, came amid a series of Vatican
criticisms of a possible war in Iraq. In the last two weeks,
the pope himself has called for peace in the Mideast, although without explicit
reference to Iraq. Martino,
in an interview with Rome's La Repubblica newspaper published Saturday,
described the pontiff as ''deeply worried.'' ''The
pope lives the drama of the moment, he feels involved personally,'' Martino
said. Martino
argued that ''unilateralism is not acceptable.'' ''We
cannot think that there is a universal policeman to take a stick to those who
behave badly,'' he said. Asked
about the idea that some in the United States want the country to act alone, he
said: ''It's because American society is very close-knit and it feels sure of
itself. Then there's the aggression it suffered on Sept.
11. The fact that they hadn't ever suffered aggression on their own territory
played a role in the reaction, which can be understood. ''Yet
it's clear that - being part of the international assembly - the United States
must also realize the needs of others.'' Several
Church officials have expressed grave concerns about a possible U.S.-led war
against Iraq. The pope's Christmas message called on the world to ''extinguish
the ominous smoldering of a conflict,'' although the pontiff did not mention
Iraq by name. The
Bush administration has threatened to use the American military to disarm Iraq
if it does not give up its banned nuclear, biological and chemical weapons as
required by U.N. Security Council resolutions. Iraq maintains
it has no more banned weapons. 4 Jan 2003 Bulatlat.com We want to know what you think of this article.
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