Cardinal Achighari today in Baghdad, delegated by the Pope

The French Cardinal Roger Achigari heads today, Monday, for Baghdad, delegated by Pope John Paul II, on a peace mission in an attempt to avoid the eruption of a war.

The spokesman for the Vatican Khuwakin Navaro Vals said that the "aim of this Papal mission is to reveal the commitment of the Pope to peace and to help the Iraqi authorities to think of its actual cooperation with the international community .. in order to ensure peace for the Iraqi people."

An Italian TV network said that Achighari's mission to Iraq in the name of the Pope is the third in 15 years, and will convey a personal message from the Pope to the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Cardinal Achighari visited the holy lands in Palestine in May 2002 and sought the solution to the besiege of the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, where several Palestinian resistance men hid from the Israeli occupation forces.

Yesterday, Sunday, the Pope called for prayers in all parts of the world to prevent the eruption of the war.

The Pope is also expected to meet with the Iraqi deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz on Friday. He will be also meeting the UN secretary general Kofi Annan later this month regarding Iraq.