THE VATICAN: Pope John Paul II yesterday issued another fervent appeal for a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis when he called on Catholics to hold a day of prayer and fasting next week "for the cause of peace, especially in the Middle East".
The Pope, who was speaking during his Sunday Angelus in St Peter's Square, called on Catholics to dedicate "particular attention" to Ash Wednesday, the traditional beginning of Lent.
Saying that Christians are called on to be "sentinels of peace", the Pope once more argued against US-led military intervention in Iraq, adding: "Terrorism and the logic of war can never hold guarantees for the future of mankind, never, never, never. \ could disturb the whole Middle East region and aggravate already existing tensions." The Pope was speaking on the day after he had received the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, for an historic Vatican audience on Saturday.
Although the Vatican and Mr Blair have radically opposed views on the Iraq crisis, their half hour meeting was described by senior Vatican spokesman Dr Joaquin Navarro-Valls as "extremely cordial".
Furthermore, Dr Navarro-Valls suggested that, after this audience, hopes for a peaceful solution to the crisis had been "strengthened", adding that the Pope had called on Mr Blair to use "every possible force in order to avoid creating new divisions in the world".
After meeting the Pope, Mr Blair also met senior Vatican advisers, Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, and "Foreign Minister", Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran.
In the official Vatican communique, Dr Navarro-Valls summed up the morning's diplomatic activity, saying: "In this morning's talks in the Vatican, it was once again stressed that all parties involved in the Iraq crisis must collaborate with United Nations and that they should make full use of the resources offered by international law in order to head off the tragedy of a war which many people still believe can be avoided. From the humanitarian viewpoint, special consideration was also given to the situation of the Iraqi people, already so hard hit by long years of embargoes."
On what was his first Vatican audience, Mr Blair, an Anglican, was accompanied by his wife Cherie, a Catholic, and their four children, Ewan, Nicky, Kathryn and Leo. On greeting the Pope, Mr Blair shook hands respectfully and cordially withoutm, however, bowing his head.
After their meeting, Mr Blair then introduced his wife and family to the Pope.
Unlike her husband, Mrs Blair greeted the Pope in the traditional Catholic manner, not only bowing when presented but also kissing the papal ring.
Meanwhile, Downing Street officials said Mr Blair has embarked on "a final push for peace" this week to force Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to disarm or face a US-led war by as early as mid-March.
"The prime minister expects there could be a period of a few weeks that will pass before that resolution will be voted on in the United Nations" in mid-March, a spokesman for Blair said.
The move represents a "last push for peace", he said, with the onus squarely on Saddam to end the crisis by fully co-operating with UN inspectors trying to verify Baghdad's claim that it no longer has weapons of mass destruction.
Amid public scepticism in the UK about a possible war, Mr John Major, Britain's prime minister during the 1991 Gulf War, said a new attack on Iraq would be far more dangerous with Saddam Hussein backed into a corner and likely to lash out in all directions.
Major sent tens of thousands of British troops to the Gulf to help the United States force Iraq's armed forces out of Kuwait.
"This time he is threatened . . . he knows at the end of this war he is likely to be dead, or fled or on trial," Mr Major said. - (Additional reporting PA)