Former Vatican diplomat says war not best way to fight terrorism

Published: 2003-11-11

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- International cooperation and gathering accurate intelligence about terrorist groups are preferable to war in combating terrorism, said a former Vatican diplomat who has helped formulate church policy on world issues. "Violence, even where it is legitimate, is a blunt weapon in the fight against terrorism," said Coadjutor Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin Nov. 10 during the U.S. bishops' fall general meeting. Archbishop Martin addressed the bishops on challenges to world peace 40 years after Pope John XXIII's social encyclical "Pacem In Terris" ("Peace on Earth"). Before being named Dublin coadjutor in May, Archbishop Martin represented the Vatican at U.N. agencies in Geneva. Prior to that he was secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace at the Vatican. In a discussion session after his speech, Archbishop Martin reiterated Vatican opposition to U.S. military intervention in Iraq. U.S. intervention was done without U.N. authorization and there is still a difficulty today because "the U.S. has presented no link between Sept. 11 and Iraq," he said, referring to the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

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