Word: vaticaners
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There are no speeches or writings, no public records to tell us what Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - the future Pope Benedict XVI - thought of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. But the influential prelate, then head of the Vatican's office for internal doctrinal matters, clearly had a forceful opinion. Soon after the bombs fell on Baghdad, the topic came up in April 2003 as Ratzinger talked with fellow Cardinals Carlo Maria Martini of Italy and Paul Poupard of France at an intimate Vatican diplomatic reception. A Church official present that evening remembers the typically soft-spoken German shaking his fists...
...which includes a White House visit, an address at the United Nations and a prayer at Ground Zero - may be the best opportunity for the theologian pontiff to define his leadership in international relations. "The Pope per se is simply the custodian of the Catholic tradition," says a senior Vatican official. "He can become a global leader if he manages to embody a battle of ideals that is present in the world...
...almost certain that the Pope will not chide Bush for his decision to invade Iraq, but rather focus - as he did in their Vatican meeting last year - on how to improve the lives of Iraqis, notably the increasingly persecuted Christian minorities. A resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict also remains a priority of the Pope, who wants to see sustained American involvement in negotiations...
...speech, and the violence it provoked from some corners of the Muslim world, became a watershed moment in Benedict's papacy. And though the Pope clearly wanted to speak out about Islamic-inspired violence, Vatican officials pointed out that the Pope's other aim in the Regensberg speech was to challenge the West to rediscover its own religious roots. This twin clarion call - to Christians who have lost their religious passion and Muslims who may have too much - was supposed to create a "more frank" dialogue among the world's two leading faiths. After the uproar quieted, there has indeed...
Some of those most directly involved with the issue remain deeply skeptical of a Vatican leadership they say has largely washed its hands of the pedophilia scandal, calling it an "American problem" and blaming the media for blowing it out of proportion. David Clohessy, head of the SNAP sex abuse victims group, said the Vatican continues to lack real measures for combating sex abuse within its ranks. "[Benedict] will totally avoid reference to the ongoing complicity and duplicity and recklessness of top church officials," he said "That's the scandal." Clohessy also called on the Pope...