"A herald of peace who never stopped crying against war. He did all he could to avoid conflicts all over the globe, but I remember in particular his commitment to avoiding the wars in Iraq, the war with Iran, then the first Gulf War and lastly the current one". John Paul II’s commitment to peace, three years after his death, has not been forgotten in Iraq, which today pays for the fact that, as told to SIR by mgr. Shlemon Warduni, auxiliary bishop of Baghdad, "back then, no one wanted to listen to the words of the Pontiff who said that the war causes only evil and solves nothing. And to understand what he meant, you only have to walk today through the streets of Kirkuk, Baghdad, Mossul. There’s only destruction". "I remember when he sent here in Iraq his delegate, card. Roger Etchegaray, in a last attempt to avoid the war. All Iraqis still remember the efforts made by this good Pope, whose protection and intercession they ask today to have peace". As to the abduction and murder of mgr. Rahho, archbishop of Mossul, mgr. Warduni repeats that "there are no news about the investigation, no one says anything, while the Christians keep rallying for justice in the province of Mossul. Who guarantees justice in Iraq today? Perhaps the coalition troops, or maybe the Government? No one is doing anything for us".
