Iraqi religious delegation to visit the Vatican

An official at the Caldanian Patriarchy, who asked not to be identified, said on Wednesday in Baghdad that an Iraqi religious delegation will visit the Vatican in the middle of April to thank Pope John Paul II over his stand towards Iraq.

The Vatican has repeatedly called for lifting the sanctions imposed on Iraq since 1990 and condemned Operation Desert Fox carried out by the US and Britain in December 1998.

During his visit to Iraq in June, 1998, French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray noted the desire of the Pope to visit Iraq, "The land where Abraham was born," on the occasion of celebrating the year 2000.

On March 11, Vatican Foreign Minister Jan Touran expressed to US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright the Pope's concern over the continued state of tension in Iraq and renewed the opposition of the Catholic church to the use of force.