Ask the Pope to Go to Iraq!
(with contact information and sample letter to the Pope as written by Helen Caldicott)
An Appeal from Dr. Helen Caldicott to the Pope
Monday March 03, 2003 at 03:14 PM
Dr. Helen Caldicott and the National Council of Churches are calling for the
Pope to act as a human shield for the people of Iraq.
Imagine if this could
happen . . . She is asking for help from around to world to contact the Pope
and urge him to go to Iraq.
Subject: An Appeal from Dr. Helen Caldicott to the Pope
From: hcaldic@bigpond.com helen caldicott
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2003 11:01 AM
Dear Friends,
I write this appeal for your help as a pediatrician, a mother, and a
grandmother -- and I am writing about the lives of tens of thousands of
children.
Although the current administration has demonstrated it has no reservations
about slaughtering up to 500,000 innocents in Iraq, there is one person
whose life they absolutely will not risk. That person is Pope John Paul II.
The Pope has already formally denounced the proposed war, calling it a
defeat for humanity, and also has sent his top spokesperson. However, to
stop the war, he now must take a historically unprecedented action of his
own and travel to Baghdad. The Pope's physical presence in Iraq will act as
the ultimate human shield, during which time leaders of the world's nations
can commit themselves to identifying and implementing a peaceful solution to
a war that the world's majority clearly does not support.
To persuade the Holy Father to take this unusual but potent action, he must
hear from you and millions of others around the world who have already been
inspired to stand up and speak out for peace. A mountain of surface mail,
email, faxes, and phone calls are our devices to inspire him.
Please understand that your taking just a few minutes right now to
communicate with him may ultimately spare the lives of thousands of innocent
people who at this moment live in complete terror from the threat of an
imminent U.S.-lead military strike on their homeland.
So here is what you can do to be a part of this powerful final action to
stop the march to war in Iraq.
1. Do not simply "forward" the letter below. Its power depends upon your
sending it directly, as a personal communication to the Pope.
2. Simply cut and paste the letter below into a new email. Also cut and
paste the Vatican email address we have provided.
3. At the close of the letter, type in your name, city and state--no need to
include your address.
4. Either email, accreditamenti@pressva.va FAX ([from USA] 011-
39-06698-85378--from other countries drop the 011 prefix -- or send a hard
copy of this letter to the addresses in the letter below. DO NOT put "Italy"
anywhere on the envelope, as this will send your mail
into the Italian mail system which is separate and independent of the
Vatican system. Should you wish to phone the Vatican directly, (from USA)
dial 011-39-06-69-82--all other countries must use their appropriate
international prefix.
5. Pass this original email on to as many people you can so as to assure a
critical mass is reached in this action.
6. Note that as you and others begin sending your letters, faxes and emails,
there will be a simultaneous effort to alert the media of this action, so as
to be sure it is publicly known throughout the world.
Thank you for participating in this formal request of the Pope. We just may
stop this war in Iraq -- and save these childrens' lives .
Dr. Helen Caldicott
---------- Sample ----------
His Holiness John Paul II
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City State
Europe
Your Holiness:
I write to you today out of a sense of great urgency. As you know the
United States of America is on the verge of launching what may be
one of the most cataclysmic wars in history using weapons of mass
destruction upon the Iraqi people, fifty percent of whom are less
than 15 years of age.
Conservative estimates are that such a war will result in the death
of 500,000 Iraqis. It seems clear that, at this time, you are the only
person on Earth who can stop this war. Indeed, your physical presence in
Baghdad, will prevent the impending slaughter of hundreds of
thousands of human beings, and force the international community
of nations to identify and implement a truly peaceful resolution to
this unprecedented, preemptive aggression.
I implore you to travel to Baghdad and to remain there until a
peaceful solution to this crisis has been implemented. The lives of
the people of Iraq rest in your hands - as does the fate of the
world.
With hope,
Your name, Your City, State, Country
Pope urged to act as human shield
By Bruce Johnston in Rome
(Filed: 28/02/2003)
A leading Italian author yesterday called on the Pope to go to
Baghdad as a human shield.
Writing in the Rome newspaper La Repubblica, Luigi Malerba launched
an "urgent appeal" to the Pope, who is known for his opposition to a
war, to travel to Iraq to ward off an American-led attack.
"That which human shield volunteers have gone to Iraq to do," he
argued, "John Paul II could do with much greater authority." Mr
Malerba, 76, suggested that senior Vatican leaders could also act as
shields elsewhere in Iraq.
"It's a huge thing to ask," he wrote, "but history is decided by
extreme gestures. The last hope of peace lies in the Pope's hands."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F02%2F28%2Fwirq728.xml
Pope Presses Bush on Iraq
By David Willey
BBC Rome correspondent
Pope John Paul II has decided to send a personal envoy to Washington to deliver a message to United States President George W Bush about the threatened war against Iraq.
The Vatican has already made it amply clear that it opposes the US administration's plan for war against Iraq to remove President Saddam Hussein from power.
The Pope has either seen in person - or sent his personal envoy - to several of the main protagonists in the current international crisis.
The Vatican's peace-making efforts have included recent papal audiences at the Vatican with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Tariq Aziz, Iraq's deputy prime minister, and also the Spanish prime minister, who supports Mr Bush.
Significant gesture
Now the Pope is sending Cardinal Pio Laghi, a retired Vatican diplomat who was for many years Papal Nuncio in America, with a personal message to Mr Bush appealing to a peaceful solution to the crisis with Iraq.
A brief Vatican statement said Cardinal Laghi was to inform the US of the various initiatives undertaken by the Vatican to contribute towards disarmament and peace in the Middle East.
The Pope has no illusions about the chances of his envoy persuading Mr Bush to change his mind.
But his gesture will please the US Catholic bishops who have been telling their faithful that war is morally wrong.
It will also be appreciated by Iraq's tiny Catholic minority
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2811047.stm
