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Vatican warnings on Iraq
were prophetic
By John Thavis
8/9/2006
Catholic News Service
ROME (CNS) – Pope Benedict XVI's choice as the next secretary of
state,
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said the current situation in Iraq
demonstrates that
the Vatican's warnings against the war were "prophetic."
At the same time, the cardinal said he has argued
against a precipitous
pullout of Western forces from Iraq because it would be
leave local Iraqis
exposed to dangers.
Cardinal Bertone, archbishop of Genoa, Italy, made the
comments in a lengthy
interview with the Italian magazine 30 Giorni (30 Days),
published Aug. 9.
Cardinal Bertone, who takes up his new duties Sept. 15,
also said he had been
following the fighting in Lebanon and was praying every
day that the country
be spared further "useless massacres." He expressed
support for the strongly
worded appeals of Pope Benedict and the outgoing
secretary of state,
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, both of whom have called for an
immediate cease-fire in
Lebanon.
On Iraq, Cardinal Bertone said he had agreed with the
Vatican's position
against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and added,
"The current situation
in Iraq shows how prophetic that judgment was."
Although not a diplomat by training, Cardinal Bertone
has traveled
extensively and has been involved in global issues,
including economic relations
between the world's poorest and richest countries.
In the interview, the cardinal said he considered
international lending by
the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and by
richer countries a form
of usury that "should be declared illegal." He said
loans become usury when
they violate the right to life and other basic human
rights.
"Some technocrats, especially those of multinationals,
the World Bank and the
(International) Monetary Fund, have imposed unacceptable
conditions on the
poor populations, like forced sterilization and
obligatory closing of Catholic
schools," he said. He did not elaborate.
He said the church's social teaching calls for a
"popular democratic
capitalism" that benefits the greatest number of people
and favors economic
creativity and healthy competition.
On the question of Islam, Cardinal Bertone said that as
archbishop of Genoa
he had not opposed the construction of a mosque in the
city, because he
believes it is important to protect the human dignity of
Muslim believers.
At the same time, he said, it would be good if "a
certain reciprocity" were
shown to Christian minorities in Muslim countries.
The cardinal said he was also open to the idea of
Islamic religious
instruction for Muslims in Italian public schools, as
long as the content respected
the constitutional values of Italy – something that
might prove difficult, he
added.
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