Pope of Vatican to Iraq on December
Iraq-Vatican, Politics, 8/28/1999

The patriarch of the Catholic Keldans, Rapheal Bedawid, which has Baghdad as a main headquarters, announced that Pope John Paul II will pay a 48-hour visit to Iraq between the second and fifth of next December.

Diplomatic sources in Jordanian capital Amman said in press declarations that the visit of the Pope - which will be witnessed by the whole world - will form a victory and support for the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein that the latter did not look for before.

Sources added that the meeting of the Pope with the Iraqi president will be as "forgiveness for Saddam and a shock for the USA" that seeks to try Hussein as a war criminal, thus the visit will be an important obvious message from the Pope to the whole world, while "Saddam" will consider it as an important and diplomatic victory.

The Pope has called several times for uplifting the sanctions imposed on Iraq since 1990.

Previous Stories:
  US - Israeli objection to pope's visit to Iraq   (8/27/1999)
  Iraqi religious delegation to visit the Vatican   (4/1/1999)
  Babel's Patriarch in Iraq to lead delegation to thank the pope   (2/23/1999)

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