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CNN Sunday Morning
Role of Catholic Church in War, Peace
Aired February 16, 2003 - 07:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan plans to talk with Pope John Paul II this week about Iraq. He's the latest leader to hear from the pontiff. CNN's Elaine Quijano explains the role of the Catholic Church in war and peace.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the U.S. and Iraq edge closer to a possible military confrontation, those in some religious circles are trying to show them that war is not inevitable. Pope John Paul II is opposed to any war, but last week he urged Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, a Christian, to tell his government that it could prevent a war by cooperating more fully with United Nations weapons inspectors.
In Washington D.C., Cardinal Theodore McCarrick says it's the prospect of losing lives that the pope opposes.
CARDINAL THEODORE MCCARRICK, ARCHBISHOP OF WASHINGTON, D.C.: The holy father has always said that, as have the bishops of the United States. So, it's not a question that he's on one side or the other. He wants the world to have peace.
QUIJANO: Michael Novak is a Catholic religious scholar who says, there is room within Catholic doctrine for a war in Iraq. He believes the teaching allow for a self-defensive strike, because the U.S. has already been attacked, and could be again, if Saddam Hussein produces weapons of mass destruction.
MICHAEL NOVAK, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: They find their ways into the hands of any of the terrorist groups that have declared their enmity for us, in Naples, or Triest, or Marseilles, or London, or any western city, 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 people could die. We have some obligation to prevent those weapons from finding those hands.
QUIJANO: Yet some in the Muslim community aren't convinced Iraq poses an imminent threat, and say in their holy book, the Quran, war is only justified in cases of self-defense.
IMAM FAIZUL KHAN, ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF D.C.: The Quran tells us if you kill one person, it is as though you kill the entire humanity. So, you know, we try to avoid this kind of confrontation.
QUIJANO (on camera): As with any group, there are differing views. Religious scholars point out that the beliefs of those at the top of the religious hierarchy don't necessarily reflect all attitudes, and the issue of war is no different.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 16, 2003 - 07:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan plans to talk with Pope John Paul II this week about Iraq. He's the latest leader to hear from the pontiff. CNN's Elaine Quijano explains the role of the Catholic Church in war and peace.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the U.S. and Iraq edge closer to a possible military confrontation, those in some religious circles are trying to show them that war is not inevitable. Pope John Paul II is opposed to any war, but last week he urged Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, a Christian, to tell his government that it could prevent a war by cooperating more fully with United Nations weapons inspectors.
In Washington D.C., Cardinal Theodore McCarrick says it's the prospect of losing lives that the pope opposes.
CARDINAL THEODORE MCCARRICK, ARCHBISHOP OF WASHINGTON, D.C.: The holy father has always said that, as have the bishops of the United States. So, it's not a question that he's on one side or the other. He wants the world to have peace.
QUIJANO: Michael Novak is a Catholic religious scholar who says, there is room within Catholic doctrine for a war in Iraq. He believes the teaching allow for a self-defensive strike, because the U.S. has already been attacked, and could be again, if Saddam Hussein produces weapons of mass destruction.
MICHAEL NOVAK, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: They find their ways into the hands of any of the terrorist groups that have declared their enmity for us, in Naples, or Triest, or Marseilles, or London, or any western city, 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 people could die. We have some obligation to prevent those weapons from finding those hands.
QUIJANO: Yet some in the Muslim community aren't convinced Iraq poses an imminent threat, and say in their holy book, the Quran, war is only justified in cases of self-defense.
IMAM FAIZUL KHAN, ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF D.C.: The Quran tells us if you kill one person, it is as though you kill the entire humanity. So, you know, we try to avoid this kind of confrontation.
QUIJANO (on camera): As with any group, there are differing views. Religious scholars point out that the beliefs of those at the top of the religious hierarchy don't necessarily reflect all attitudes, and the issue of war is no different.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
