Mideast war brings pope's foreign policy agenda into clearer focus

Published: 2006-08-04

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With the war in Lebanon, the Vatican's Middle East policies under Pope Benedict XVI have come into clearer focus. To the surprise of some, they look just like the policies of Pope John Paul II. The Vatican's insistent call for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon has highlighted a basic disagreement with the United States and some other Western governments. Backing Israel, the U.S. wants a cease-fire conditioned on a wider accord ultimately aimed at disarming Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon. The pope, on the other hand, has urged all sides to lay down their weapons now, saying nothing can be gained by the current fighting. In a sense, the root difference may be over the usefulness of war -- or the lack thereof.

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