VATICAN CITY Nov
10 (AP) — Iraqi President Jalal Talabani met
Thursday with Pope Benedict XVI amid tight security
that closed down the main boulevard leading to the
Vatican.
Talabani is on a weeklong visit to Italy and has met
with the country's top officials, including Premier
Silvio Berlusconi.
Benedict met with Iraq's foreign minister in August
and discussed religious freedom in Iraq and the
country's constitution.
The Vatican has expressed concern about Iraq's
constitution, fearing that any legal system based on
Islamic law might not guarantee the rights of
religious minorities.
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said after his Aug.
25 meeting with the pope that he had sought to
assure the pontiff that the constitution would aim
to safeguard religious freedom for all Iraqis.
Iraqi Christians number around 800,000 — about 3
percent of Iraq's 26 million people. Most of them
belong to the Chaldean Church, an Eastern-rite
church that is loyal to the pope but does not follow
the Roman church's Latin rite.
The Vatican opposed the war in Iraq, and Benedict's
predecessor, the late Pope John Paul II, spoke out
strongly against it.
Talabani said Tuesday after meeting with Berlusconi
that "war is not the best way, but it was the only
way to topple Saddam Hussein." He said Iraqi forces
should be ready to begin taking over from coalition
troops around the end of next year. |
Jalal Talabani (L)
Pope Benedict XVI
Photo: AP
Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, left, welcomes
Iraq's President Jalal Talabani upon his arrival at
Palazzo Chigi premier's office, in Rome Tuesday,
Nov. 8, 2005.
Photo: AP |
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