Vatican Condemns Saddam Execution
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY, (Reuters) - The Vatican on Saturday condemned the execution of Saddam Hussein as a "tragic" event and warned that it risked fomenting a spirit of vendetta and sowing fresh violence in Iraq.
"A capital punishment is always tragic news, a reason for sadness, even if it deals with a person who was guilty of grave crimes," said Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi.
"The position of the Church (against capital punishment) has been restated often," he said.
The Catholic Church teaches that capital punishment today is unjustifiable because modern society has developed ways of protecting society from further crimes by the guilty party and that because only God can end a life.
"The killing of the guilty party is not the way to reconstruct justice and reconcile society. On the contrary, there is a risk that it will feed a spirit of vendetta and sow new violence," he said.
The Vatican, which opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, said Saddam's execution would likely worsen the situation on the ground.
"In these dark times for the Iraqi people, one can only hope that all responsible parties truly make every effort so that glimmers of reconciliation and peace can be found in such a dramatic situation."
Saddam was hanged for crimes against humanity in Baghdad at dawn, a dramatic, violent end for a leader who ruled Iraq by fear for three decades before he was toppled by a U.S. invasion four years ago.
The war in Iraq was the cause for one of the biggest rifts between the Vatican and the United States government.
In the build-up to the invasion in 2003, the late Pope John Paul sent senior cardinals to U.S. President George W. Bush urging him not to invade and to Saddam urging him to abide by international resolutions.
Relations worsened after Saddam was captured in 2003, when the Pope's justice minister, Cardinal Renato Martino, criticised the United States military for treating the former Iraqi leader "like a cow".
6 Readers' Comments:
Ok, I finally stopped laughing and caught my breath enough to say about the Vatican: "Look who's calling the kettle black?!" Capital punishment is their expertise. Just ask them how many Christians were murdered by the Pope in the last 1,000 years. Germany's Holocaust X10 or more. "When a coin in the coffer rings, a soul in pergatory springs..." Look at all the millions of dollars Rome is paying out over priest pedeophilia and homosexuality. They should fear the mega-busting class action suit someday for false advertising and mal practice. Boy, if Catholics ever started studying the Bible, Vatican City would turn into Italy's biggest amusement park. "Ciao."
This is the type of thing I rant about all the time. Who really cares what happened over the last 1000 years? You are living in the now. Now is when it matters and what is to come. It is the type of attitude that you have "amos" that has suppressed the human race and kept us at war for many thousands of years.
Amos,
You are an idiot. If you want to be ignorant, that is your choice, and you have done quite well. But, you shouldn't waste the time of others by posting things you obviously know nothing about.
Who care about what happened 1000s of years ago? The Vatican - that's who. Without the last 1000s of years no one would care what they have to say - they rely on their weighty historical presence to give weight to the words they say now.
2 things they have to come to terms with:
1) the bible (God) condones capital punishment for grevious crimes. Is the bible correct or not?
2) the Vatican wasn't as fast to condemn sodomy of innocent children as they seemingly are of the justice done to a murdering thug.
Amos,
I agree with you. As a recovering Catholic I looked at the history of the Catholic Church and was ashamed to call myself Catholic. I applaud your speaking up.
If we do not remember our history then we will repeat it. Even if it happened MORE than 1000 years ago. The Catholic Church dominated for many years by killing or having 'governments or monarchies' kill for them any opposition.
I also know the Bible well enough to duke it out with the Baptists, no mean feat that!
A little-known fact is that the Church encouraged the killing of children with birth defects such as being a hermaphrodite. I am waiting for two hermaphrodites to attempt to get married. Should we deny marriage to someone born with both male and female genitalia?
Paka.
Amos,
You know very well that those were past generations. Times changes, they aren't the same organization anymore, they are made up of an entirely different populous. You are bitter about something, and thus you wrote a comment mocking the Catholic church and belittling their efforts to come to peaceful resolution. Go vent somewhere else please.
revbshaw said it perfectly "It is the type of attitude that you have "amos" that has suppressed the human race and kept us at war for many thousands of years."
Now for those that come and read these comments, please don't fuel the fire by responding to Amos, talk about the GOOD stuff the world is doing so we can keep this from becoming into a flame war.
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