Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
James Martin, S.J.January 11, 2009

From AP: VATICAN CITY (by Nicole Winfield) – "Cardinal Pio Laghi, a longtime Vatican diplomat who went to Washington to try to dissuade U.S. President George W. Bush from launching the2003 invasion of Iraq, has died, the Vatican said Sunday. He was 86.Laghi died Saturday evening in Rome, said Vatican spokesman the Rev. Ciro Benedettini. He had been unwell in hospital for some time, news reports said. Pope John Paul II tapped Laghi, a former envoy to Washington, in 2003 to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush on the eve of war. Laghi was trying to prevent what he said was a morally and legally unjustified invasion.Laghi, who had been friendly with the Bush family, delivered a letter from John Paul and pressed Bush on whether he was doing everything to avert war."You might start and you don’t know how to end it," Laghi said at the time."

The full story is here.  H/T Robert Mickens (Photo courtesy of CNS).

Laghi’s visit was a pointed reminder that while the Vatican and the Bush administration were often closely aligned on many issues--abortion among them--they were not always in agreement.  Laghi’s visit was among the strongest of the Vatican’s efforts against the Iraq war.

James Martin, SJ

 

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Frank Turnbull, S.J., a longtime editor at 'America' who died earlier this week, is remembered as a humble, quiet and yet forceful presence to those who knew him during his 85 years of life.
James T. KeaneJuly 18, 2025
A Reflection for Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Zac Davis
Zac DavisJuly 18, 2025
Trauma-informed spirituality knows better than to promise that prayer will take away all the pain. But it can offer the hope that, even in the midst of pain, there can be moments of feeling whole.
Nicole KirpalaniJuly 18, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned Pope Leo XIV, who urged Israel’s leader to revive negotiations and enact a ceasefire.