Three Popes's peacemaking efforts

Conflict in the Middle East: Will the Work of Three Popes Inspire World Leadership?


by VICTOR GAETAN

Pope Francis is following the lead of his immediate predecessors, St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, in his peacemaking efforts for the war-torn region.

In scanning the confusing array of conflict today in the Middle East and North Africa, one thing is certain: President George W. Bush should have listened to St. John Paul II, who beseeched his administration, and other Western leaders, not to invade Iraq in 2003.

The Holy See feared three things would happen: An invasion would destabilize the region; it would put 2,000-year-old Christian communities at grave, existential risk; and it would provoke Islamic extremism.

As then-Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano asked in 2003: “We want to say to America: Is it worth it to you? Won’t you have, afterward, decades of hostility in the Islamic world?”

And so, it has come to pass.

By looking at some key stands taken by St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI with regard to the Middle East, we can understand better both the regional challenges facing Vatican diplomats today and what informs Pope Francis’ response.

Each of our last three popes, building one on the other, has employed and promoted dialogue and diplomacy to tame conflict in Christianity’s homeland.

• A Prophet - St. John Paul II ...
• Iran and Shiite Muslims ...
• Catholic-Shiite Connection ...
• Lebanon ...
• Israel and Palestine ...
• Pope Benedict ...
• Pope Francis ...

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