Pope John Paul called for the speedy return of Iraq's sovereignty during a meeting at the Vatican today with US President George W. Bush.
"It is the evident desire of everyone that this situation now be normalised as quickly as possible with the active participation of the international community and, in particular, the United Nations organisation, in order to ensure a speedy return of Iraq's sovereignty, in conditions of security for all its people," the 84-year-old Pontiff said.
US President meets Pope John Paul II
The Pope strongly opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq last year but failed to dissuade Mr Bush from embarking on the battle when the two met beforehand.
Mr Bush, in Rome for 36 hours to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the city's liberation in World War Two, met the Pope in his private study in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.
In opposing the US-led invasion of Iraq last year, Pope John Paul sent top envoys to both Mr Bush and former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and made many public appeals for a diplomatic agreement.
Vatican officials have expressed dismay over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers, which has inflamed the Arab world and embarrassed Washington.
Last week the Pope publicly condemned torture as an affront to human dignity, seen as a veiled reference to US abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
The Pope and Mr Bush, a born-again Christian, do have views in common in that they both oppose abortion and homosexual marriage.