Pope says world must work to heal wounds left by Iraq war

VATICAN CITY (AFP) Apr 10, 2003
Pope John Paul II appealed to nations and religions Thursday to work to salve the wounds left by the US-led war on Iraq, in his first public declaration since the fall of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime.

The pope told a Catholic youth celebration in St Peter's Square that it was "only by committing ourselves to building peace, will it be possible to relaunch cooperation between nations and harmonise the divergent interests of cultures and institutions."

Though he made no direct reference to the conflict in Iraq, the pope was voicing a key Vatican concern throughout the war, the need to avoid a clash between Mulsim and Christian civilizations.

John Paul II made the comments during a celebration in St Peter's Square for tens of thousands of youths from Rome and the surrounding province of Lazio, ahead of the 18th World Youth Day celebrations on Palm Sunday.

SPACE.WIRE