The vast antiwar movement in the world shows that a "large part of humanity" has repudiated the idea of war as a means of resolving conflicts between nations, Pope John Paul II said in a message released Tuesday. The pope, a staunch opponent of the U.S.-led war in Iraq , sent his message to Roman Catholic military chaplains attending a Vatican-organized course on humanitarian law.
He said the course was being held "at a difficult moment in history, when the world once again is listening to the din of arms" and that thoughts about the victims, the destruction and the suffering produce "deep worry and pain." By now, he said, "it should be clear" that except for self-defense against an aggressor a "large part of humanity" has repudiated war as an instrument of resolving conflicts between nations.
