In Defense of John Paul II, Peacemaker: In life, the War Party attacked him: now they pretend to mourn his death

In Defense of John Paul II, Peacemaker- by Justin Raimondo: "April 4, 2005

Unfazed by the antiwar demonstrations that thronged the streets of London on the eve of war with Iraq, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was more concerned with the Pope's disapproval as he prepared to meet with the Holy Father. After all, this was the man who had brought down the Soviet empire through the sheer power of his moral authority, and now he was threatening to strangle the emerging Anglo-American imperium in its crib.

'A defeat for humanity' is how John Paul II characterized the Iraq conflict. The Vatican rejected the arguments of neoconservatives, who sought to replace the 'just war' theory that had ruled the Church since the time of St. Augustine with their own preemptive war doctrine, a throwback to the pagan era. As Bush and his British poodle prepared to go to war over nonexistent 'weapons of mass destruction,' the Pope sent a message to Roman Catholic military chaplains attending a Vatican-sponsored course on humanitarian law expressing the great 'comfort' given to him by the antiwar movement, which was taking to the streets in massive numbers: 'It should be clear' at this point in human history, he declared, that a 'large part of humanity' has rejected war as a means of resolving conflicts between nations. (Self-defense, he averred, is another matter). Hailing the 'vast contemporary movement in favor of peace,' the Holy Father backed up his rhetoric with action, calling on Catholics to fast in protest against the coming war and sending a diplomatic mission to Baghdad."