Ironic that the Pope dies on the day Abu Garib, whose

torture he spoke so fervently against , erupts, causing many casualties.I am sure Bush didn't reference that!

that the pope had spoken out on Abu Ghraib? I would love to read what he said. You wouldn't by chance have a link? Thanks.

THE POPE REMINDS BUSH OF THE "UNEQUIVOCAL POSITION" OF THE VATICAN AGAINST THE WAR, REFERS TO "DEPLORABLE EVENTS" MEANING ABU GHRAIB. Bush had a private talk with the Pope, after which there was a public ceremony with John Paul II reading his prepared speech and receiving the Freedom Medal from Bush. In his speech, the Pope said: "Mr. President, your visit to Rome takes place at a {moment of great concern} for the continuing situation of grave unrest in the Middle East, both in Iraq and in the Holy Land. You are very familiar with the unequivocal position of the Holy See in this regard, expressed in numerous documebnts, through direct and indirect contacts, and in the many diplomatic efforts which have been made since you visited me, first at Castelgandolfo on 23 July 2001, and again in this Apostolic Palace on 28 May 2002."

In a sentence excluded by the Vatican official record, the Pope then referred indirectly to the Abu Ghraib tortures and the decapitation of Nicholas Berg, saying: "In the past few weeks, other deplorable events have come to light which have troubled the civic and religious conscience of all." Those events, he said, "made more difficult a serene and resolute commitment to shared human values. In the absence of such a commitment, neither war nor terrorism will ever be overcome.

"It is evident desire of everyone that this situation now be normalized as quickly as possible with the {active participation of the international community} and, in particular, the United Nations, in order to ensure a speedy return of Iraq's sovreignity, in conditions of security for all its people. The recent appointment of a Head of State in Iraq and the formation of an interim Iraqi government are encouraging steps towards the attainment of this goal. May a similar hope for peace also be rekindled in the Holy Land and lead to new negotiations, dictated by a sincere and determined commitment to dialogue, between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority."

http://www.cecaust.com.au/main.asp?sub=iraq&id=060504.html


OK, I give JP extra credit for this one.

Which still remains a possibility as far as I'm concerned.

Of course, part of many fundie Antichrist scenarios, including the Left Behind book series, is that the False Prophet, the sidekick of the Antichrist, would be a corrupt Catholic pope who would become the leader of the Antichrist's world religion.

Which means the fundies will be very interested in whomever the cardinals elect to replace JP.

was the very Conservative Nigerian Cardinal....

"Mr. President, your visit to Rome takes place at a moment of great concern for the continuing situation of grave unrest in the Middle East, both in Iraq and in the Holy Land," he said.
"It is the evident desire of everyone that this situation now be normalized as quickly as possible with the active participation of the international community and, in particular, the United Nations organization, in order to ensure a speedy return of Iraq's sovereignty, in conditions of security for all its people."
The appointment of a new government in Iraq, he said, is a step in the right direction.
In an apparent reference to the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison, the pope said that "other deplorable events have come to light which have troubled the civic and religious conscience of all and made more difficult a serene and resolute commitment to shared human values."
"In the absence of such a commitment, neither war nor terrorism will ever be overcome," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/06/04/bush.italy/index.html

For instance for people who say things like "I didn't do it, I didn't know anything about it, it was only a few "bad apple" soldiers" when in fact he did know about it, his policies permitted it and he didn't do anything to stop it until certain pictures were leaked to the public and he was forced to address the issue?