Pope urges Iraqi authorities to ensure fair elections

Published: 2004-11-15

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II urged Iraq's interim authorities to ensure fair elections and resolve internal conflicts through dialogue, using military force only as a last resort. In a speech to the new Iraqi ambassador to the Holy See Nov. 15, the pope reiterated his closeness to "the dear people of Iraq," tried by war, violence and terrorism. The pope spoke as U.S. and Iraqi forces were concluding the largest military operation in many months against insurgents based in Fallujah, Iraq. Albert Ismail Yelda presented his credentials as Iraq's new representative in a private meeting at the Vatican. He told the pope that Iraq and the Vatican would "be working together relentlessly" to reach the common objectives of peace, justice, freedom and democracy. Copies of the pope's and Yelda's speeches were released by the Vatican.

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