Vatican says Iraqi prisoner abuse is scandal which 'offends God'

VATICAN CITY (AFP) - The abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers is a scandal offensive to God himself, the Vatican said, in its first public comment.

"Violence against people offends God himself, who made humans in his own image," the Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, said in a pre-recorded television interview due to be broadcast later on Friday.

He condemned the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, made public last week, as "episodes of brutality, contrary to the most elementary human rights and radically contrary to Christian morals".

"The scandal is even worse if these episodes were committed by Christians," Lajolo said in the interview, due to be shown on Italian state television's TG2 news programme.

"You have to emphasize, all the same, that in a democracy such offences are not hidden away -- as is the case in the United States, where those responsible are judged and punished along with their superiors who did not fulfil their duty to monitor them," he said.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040507/wl_afp/us_iraq_prisoners&cid=1512&ncid=1480

I am sure the soldiers who go around killing and torturing Arabs at the very least have rationalized it this way in order not to go clinically insane, but in the process just very well may have become sociopathic.

DU is double-posting me for some reason today.

It is funny, everytime I see the pope or vatican make a statement... I feel it is a 'nothing' they did nothing about the priest abuse. So who are they to talk.

This is now how many probably feel about powell or rummy or bush or the rest of the minions when they make statements condemning other countries for their behavior....

who are they to talk? Lost of respect for those supposively in authority who did nothing to prevent, fix or change the problem.... leaves one to put them on ignore.

From the point of view of electing Kerry, this statement from the Vatican will have a lot more resonance with American Catholics than the fussing over whether or not Kerry deserves to take communion for supporting choice.

This is good news for our side.

a little known fact

"episodes of brutality, contrary to the most elementary human rights and radically contrary to Christian morals".

Yup...

GWB that war is o.k. but torture isn't if you get caught.

Vatican tried to cover up/ignore the Priest molestation scandal. Ditto the rather overt attempts by many US bishops/cardinals to prop up this administration over abortion-- including attempts to target DEM Catholics and disallow communion, while ignoring the capital punishment/war mongering Repugs

who voted for the war communion?

The Catholic Church enabled Hitler, and then helped spirit hundreds if not thousands of Nazis out of Germany (and away from prosecution) after WWII - abetted, of course, by the CIA.

altar boys.

..."in a democracy such offences are not hidden away -- as is the case in the United States, where those responsible are judged and punished along with their superiors ..."

I.E. Ain't The US of A the bestest place in the goll darn world because we have DEMOCRACY which says that when (or IF, wink nudge) situations like this happen, they will be made public, and someone will be disciplined.

Nary a word of HOW THE FUCK DOES AMERICA THINK IT CAN DO THIS, IT SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN IN THE FIRST PLACE !?!?!?!?

Where is the OUTRAGE ?!?!?

:hippie:

How many different gods are getting blamed for all of this? Bush's god versus the pope's god versus the Shi'ite god versus the Sunni god versus al-Quieda's god versus Sadr's god versus Pat Robertson's god...

There is a reason to separate gods from governments. Every time a politician claims his god is behind something, that politician needs to be tranquilized and placed in a little room to speak with his god to his little heart's content.

Except Carter and Gore. At least their god guides them, rather than being used by them. And at least the Pope has been consistently against the invasion, and does have a reason to talk about his god, since that's his job.

Once the argument leaves the earthly realms, it no longer has to use logic.

No offense meant to any sincere belief, it's the politicians and their misuses of religion I'm complaining about.

him using God as an excuse for anything.

As you are saying, there is nothing wrong with being Christian or religious in any way (or not, imo). The problem arises when somebody claims that they are "directed by God" to do something, and a bunch of followers believe him. That is called a cult. That is what we have right now with Shrub. A bunch of people who will blindly follow him no matter what, because they've been convinced that he is speaking for God.

What will it take to wake them up and throw down the kool-aid?

to having a direct feed to God.

They were just "blowing off steam." Rush Limbaugh- Blowhard

and the Catholic church one of those many false prophets their literal reading of the Bible warns them about.

This reminds me of Ruben Bolling's God-man strips in Tom The Dancing Bug. The mind boggles at the notion of an ostensibly omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and benevolent being whose only apparent reaction to a crime that 'offends' Him is to tell his mortal buddies to say a few words on His behalf.

Any practicing Catholic in the Bush Defense Dept. should be REFUSED Communion by their priests!:eyes:

B-)

"The scandal is even worse if these episodes were committed by
Christians" - Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo

I guess if these atrocities were carried out by godless atheists whose "soul" was already condemned to the fires of hell it would somehow be more understandable?

No, the scandal is what it is regardless of the perpetrators you sanctimonious pile of shit.

the scandal is even worse ((for them)) if these episodes were committed by christians.

Only the hardcore Christian fundamentalists still in Bushler's camp!

Especially after his Bob Jones University visit.