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Pope sending peace envoy to U.S.

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The pope is sending a letter to Bush in an effort to avoid war in Iraq.

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VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -- Pope John Paul will send a senior cardinal to Washington on a personal peace mission to try to avert a war in Iraq, the Vatican said on Saturday.

Cardinal Pio Laghi, for many years the Vatican's ambassador to the United States, will leave in the next few days and will deliver a letter from the pope to U.S. President George W. Bush.

"The cardinal ... will illustrate the position and the initiatives taken by the Holy See to contribute to disarmament and peace in the Middle East," the Vatican said in a statement.

The Vatican does not believe an attack on Iraq could be considered a "just war," opposes U.N. economic sanctions against Iraq and argues that diplomacy is the only way to settle the dispute.

Last month the 82-year-old pontiff sent a special envoy to Baghdad to try to persuade Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors.

Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, a Frenchman who has carried out sensitive papal missions in the past, met Saddam in February for 90 minutes and handed him a message from the Holy See.

The pope has become increasingly involved in diplomatic efforts aimed at averting a U.S.-led attack on Iraq, and has received a long line of foreign leaders.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, Iran's deputy parliamentary speaker Mohammed Reza Khatami and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan have all met the pontiff in the last month.



Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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