A century ago, Benedict XV was an energetic and courageous man who mobilized the Vatican diplomatic corps to end World War I and to arrange a negotiated peace. Benedict XV was hated especially by the British, who considered him a sympathizer of the Central empires.
Something of the spirit of Benedict XV lived on in Wojtyla, the Polish pope. When the Panamanian leader Noriega took refuge in Panama in 1989, the Vatican resisted enormous US pressure to turn him over immediately. John Paul II opposed the first [Persian] Gulf War in 1991. In January 2003, John Paul II, referring to Iraq, told the Vatican diplomatic corps that war is not just another tool of statecraft, but must be “the very last option.” In March 2003, two days before Bush’s attack on Iraq, John Paul II argued that it is never too late for negotiations to bring about peace. Pio Laghi, the Vatican’s nuncio in Washington, told the press that this war was “unjust” and “illegal.” In June 2004, Wojtyla -- although crippled by illness and old age -- told Bush to his face that the Holy See opposed the Iraq war, and according to some accounts berated him quite strongly.
Something of the spirit of Benedict XV lived on in Wojtyla, the Polish pope. When the Panamanian leader Noriega took refuge in Panama in 1989, the Vatican resisted enormous US pressure to turn him over immediately. John Paul II opposed the first [Persian] Gulf War in 1991. In January 2003, John Paul II, referring to Iraq, told the Vatican diplomatic corps that war is not just another tool of statecraft, but must be “the very last option.” In March 2003, two days before Bush’s attack on Iraq, John Paul II argued that it is never too late for negotiations to bring about peace. Pio Laghi, the Vatican’s nuncio in Washington, told the press that this war was “unjust” and “illegal.” In June 2004, Wojtyla -- although crippled by illness and old age -- told Bush to his face that the Holy See opposed the Iraq war, and according to some accounts berated him quite strongly.
