Vatican speaks out against war
Pope John Paul today prayed for those “threatened in these hours by war” as the deadline approached for a US-led attack on Iraq.
The pontiff has been a staunch opponent of a war against Iraq, and he again raised his voice to implore peace as he addressed his weekly public audience in St Peter’s Square.
The Pope prayed that St Joseph, whose feast day the Church marked today, “obtain for all humanity, especially those people threatened in these hours by war, the precious gift of harmony and peace.”
For weeks, the Pope and top Vatican officials have spoken out against a war, saying there was no moral or legal justification and that it would harm relations between Christians and Muslims.
Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls yesterday said “whoever decides that all peaceful means available under international law are exhausted assumes a grave responsibility before God, his own conscience and history.”
