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The Weblog at The View from the Core - Tue. 04/01/03 02:49:04 PM
   
   

More on the Pope and the War

A reader forwarded the following e-mail message:

Dear Correspondent,

One has received the impression from the media that the Pope is against our war in Iraq. I have searched for documentation of this. Though I personally had no success, a layman friend of mine in the Dominican Third Order did, and sent me the following three brief articles, in which you will see that:

1. The Pope is against war in general, as should be expected from the Vicar of Christ, the Prince of Peace. He deplores America's attack on Iraq, but puts the blame mostly on Iraq.

2. "But the Pontiff stopped short of any moral condemnation of the war." .... This is the most important documentation to bear in mind. Nor could he condemn the war because according to Catholic teaching the practical judgment as to whether a particular situation meets the requirements for a just war is the responsibility not of the Church but of the legitimate civil authority, and ours has decided it is a just war.

3. The Pope asks for prayer for a speedy and just peace as the only solution.

Pax et fides.
Fr. Bartholomew de la Torre, O.P.

It goes on to quote two Vatican Information Services articles, which I omit, and the following CWN article, Mar. 24:

.... The Pope said: "When war, like the one underway in Iraq, threatens the future of humanity, it is even more important to proclaim, in a strong and decisive voice, that peace is the only way to build a more just and unified society." He added that "violence and arms can never resolve men's problems."
The Pope's words -- his first public statement on the issue since the war began -- left no doubt that he hoped for an early end to military action. But the Pontiff stopped short of any moral condemnation of the war....

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Tue. 04/01/03 02:49:04 PM
Categorized as Religious.

   

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