A Pointless Quest: Bush's Mission to Europe - by Christopher Deliso: "The Cardinal expressed some ambivalence on [Bush's] decision [to meet the pope]. "…If ever there were a difficult time to ask for an audience with the pope it is now," he said, and proceeded to recite a litany of quite pointed complaints:

"…Referring to revelations this month of torture and humiliating mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers, the cardinal asked 'how is it possible to remain in Iraq if these abuses continue?' … The cardinal said he also expected the pope to tell Bush that his policies in the Middle East in general were not helping the cause of peace.

"'We must above all build cultural understanding between peoples and I do not believe that our American friends are doing that,' he said. 'Bombing mosques, going into holy places, putting women soldiers in contact with naked men shows a lack of understanding of the Muslim world which I can only call surprising,' he said.

"'We must build bridges with Islam, not dig trenches between us,' he went on. 'And we must give top priority to the Israeli-Palestinian question, which is the root cause of terrorism.' The pope would tell Bush that 'the fight against terrorism must not be purely repressive and punitive but must also proceed from the elimination of its causes, which are rooted in injustice.'

"If ever there was an utter and complete repudiation of Bush's foreign policy, it was this: ... criticizing the US occupation of Iraq, its military tactics, America' favoring of Israel, and the entire rationale on which Bush's war on terror is being justified."

A Pointless Quest: Bush's Mission to Europe - by Christopher Deliso: "The Cardinal expressed some ambivalence on [Bush's] decision [to meet the pope]. "…If ever there were a difficult time to ask for an audience with the pope it is now," he said, and proceeded to recite a litany of quite pointed complaints:

"…Referring to revelations this month of torture and humiliating mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers, the cardinal asked 'how is it possible to remain in Iraq if these abuses continue?' … The cardinal said he also expected the pope to tell Bush that his policies in the Middle East in general were not helping the cause of peace.

"'We must above all build cultural understanding between peoples and I do not believe that our American friends are doing that,' he said. 'Bombing mosques, going into holy places, putting women soldiers in contact with naked men shows a lack of understanding of the Muslim world which I can only call surprising,' he said.

"'We must build bridges with Islam, not dig trenches between us,' he went on. 'And we must give top priority to the Israeli-Palestinian question, which is the root cause of terrorism.' The pope would tell Bush that 'the fight against terrorism must not be purely repressive and punitive but must also proceed from the elimination of its causes, which are rooted in injustice.'

"If ever there was an utter and complete repudiation of Bush's foreign policy, it was this: ... criticizing the US occupation of Iraq, its military tactics, America' favoring of Israel, and the entire rationale on which Bush's war on terror is being justified."