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Inside the Vatican News March 31 2003

Pope and Eucharist; War at Crossroads?; More SARS News...

Inside the Vatican staff *

Tensions at the top levels of the US leadership... the decision of when
to attack Bagdad seems to hang in the balance. Meanwhile, the
mysterious virus spreads
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 30, 2003 -- The war in Iraq is much on the Pope's
mind.
Pope John Paul II concluded his recitation of the noon Angelus in St.
Peter's Square today with a call to prayer, imploring the intercession
of Mary, for the victims of the war and "for peace in Iraq and in every
region of the world."
But the reality of Christ's presence in this fallen world is also much
on his mind.
And that was made clear when he announced, also today, that he would
sign and promulgate a new encyclical on the Eucharist during the Mass of
the Lord's Last Supper -- the moment when the Eucharist was instituted
2,000 years ago -- on Holy Thursday, April 17.
Why is the Pope publishing an encyclical on the Eucharist at this time?
Because he wants to emphasize to believers the reality of the presence
of "Christ with us", even though the world seems so chaotic and filled
with sin.
In the Eucharist, "Jesus, Bread of eternal life and true manna,
sustains believers on the way through the 'desert' of history toward the
Promised Land," the Pope said.
Meanwhile, at a Lenten meditation Friday in the presence of the Pope
and officials of the Roman Curia, Capuchin friar Father Raniero
Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household, said: "The impotence to change
human logic and to make reasons for peace triumph in the world makes us
feel even more urgently these days the need to make the Church shine as
a prophetic sign of unity and peace in a world lacerated by discord."
This echoes the call of many Church leaders at this time for greater
Christian unity -- for all Christians to make a renewed effort to make
the Church, as Jesus himself wished, truly "one."

-------------------

Meanwhile, many in the US, and around the world, have been waiting to
read a much-previewed article by journalist Seymour Hersch in "The New
Yorker" magazine which will appear in the April 7 issue but which was
posted on the web on Sunday, March 31, after being discussed in excerpted
form for several days on the internet.

The article details the debate within the US leadership over the
conduct of the Iraq war, and argues that a key struggle over many months was
fought between Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and some of his top
generals over the size of the American ground force to be deployed.

It begins: "As the ground campaign against Saddam Hussein faltered last
week, with attenuated supply lines and a lack of immediate
reinforcements, there was anger in the Pentagon. Several senior war planners
complained to me in interviews that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and
his inner circle of civilian advisers, who had been chiefly responsible
for persuading President Bush to lead the country into war, had
insisted on micromanaging the war’s operational details. Rumsfeld’s team took
over crucial aspects of the day-to-day logistical
planning—traditionally, an area in which the uniformed military excels—and Rumsfeld
repeatedly overruled the senior Pentagon planners on the Joint Staff, the
operating arm of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “He thought he knew better,” one
senior planner said. “He was the decision-maker at every turn.”

Here is a link to the complete article:

http://www.newyorker.com/printable/?fact/0.../030407fa_fact1

American writer Joshua Marshall sums up the message of this argument:
"We've got a great military, great commanders and great troops. They can
do this. But we owe them far better civilian leaders." (Find his entire
argument here: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/)

In short, there is a profound criticism building in the US of how the
war has been handled thus far, to the point that "heads may roll" if
something positive and dramatic does not happen soon.

This is very dangerous.

Evidently, politics always plays some role in war planning.

But, as of March 31, it seems that the chief hope the neoconservative
advisors of President Bush have of retaining their positions is if they
turn out to be right and Saddam Hussein's army folds soon a la the
Taliban army in Kabul a few months ago.

The US military seems opposed to attacking Bagdad before more
reinforcements arrive.

As one commentator in america observes: "If they send the 3rd division
in alone, it will be because Cheney and Rumsfeld are desperately trying
to hang on to their jobs. This is exactly what the Iraqis are praying
for. It would be very bloody and here the tally (of casualties on both
sides) would be a lot more even."

Associated Press, Mon, Mar. 31, 2003
Italian Gays Denounce Vatican Dictionary

* * *VATICAN CITY - A new Vatican dictionary describing homosexuality as a
condition "without any social value" was denounced by an Italian gay rights
leader Monday as insulting and cruel.

* * *The Vatican published the 1,000-page Lexicon of words like
"reproductive rights," "gender" and other terms dealing with sexuality in an
effort to clarify what it says are neutral-sounding terms that can mask
meanings contradictory to Roman Catholic teachings.

* * *The Lexicon reflects Vatican teaching that homosexual acts are
"intrinsically disordered," and Pope John Paul II has said such acts are
"contrary to natural law."

* * *The church, however, says homosexuals should be treated with
compassion and dignity.

* * *The dictionary counsels against "stigmatizing" as homophobic those who
raise questions about homosexuality.

* * *But leading gay-rights activist Franco Grillini said the dictionary
makes plain "the pathological homophobic obsession of the Catholic Church."

* * *"In my opinion, it's almost racist and it is at the limit of cruelty,"
said Grillini, a Chamber of Deputies lawmaker.

* * *Grillini wrote on his Web site Sunday that the Lexicon moves "from
homophobic invective to insult against homosexuals and homosexuality."

* * *Earlier this year, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo said the Vatican
decided to compile the work after hearing complaints from nongovernmental
organizations about "ambiguous" terms used at the United Nations and other
international organizations.

* * *The Vatican long has been at odds with the United Nations over
policies it believes contradict church teaching. For example, the Vatican
often opposes U.N. documents concerning sex education and the use of condoms
as a way to prevent HIV infection.
**************

Although the Vatican strongly opposes to war, it's still far behind in time regarding most of its ideas.


(Edited by Larissa at 8:23 pm on April 1, 2003)

Headlines I'm waiting to see...

Pope Condemns War Against Iraq as "Unjust, UnChristian"

Pope Orders Catholic Chaplains Out of Iraq

Pope Threatens Excommunication for "All American Catholics" if War Continues

...but I ain't holding my breath.

If that'd happened, I'd convert to Catholicsm. *Okay, I lied.

I *am not Catholic just nosey.