U.S. ambassador defends Iraqi war, says Vatican agrees troops needed

Published: 2004-04-01

ROME (CNS) -- Before an audience of church officials and diplomats, U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Jim Nicholson defended the war in Iraq and said the United States and the Vatican agreed on the need for foreign troops to help build peace in the country. Nicholson made the remarks in Rome March 31, a day that illustrated the human cost of the continuing military occupation of Iraq. Five U.S. soldiers died in a bomb explosion; four U.S. civilian experts were killed in a separate ambush, their bodies burned and mutilated by a mob. U.S. bishops visiting the Vatican called the killings "barbaric" and "horrible." The Vatican newspaper said the mistreatment of the bodies had prompted "horror and indignation" around the world. Nicholson spoke in broad terms about the war, saying it had created an opportunity for Iraqis and the region, but at a continuing cost. "The people of Iraq now have a chance to live in freedom and to move beyond the era of mass graves, torture and repression," the ambassador said.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .