Pope expresses concern over Iraq in Christmas message
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VATICAN CITY  - In a Christmas shadowed by violence and the threat of conflict around the world, Pope John Paul II expressed &quot;great apprehension&quot; over the situation in Iraq but optimism at the outlook in the Palestinian crisis.
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With the lighting of a candle for peace in his window, Pope John Paul began Christmas holiday celebrations that posed a new test for his frail health not long after visitors celebrated in Bethlehem.
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Pope John Paul condemned the reported killing of an Italian hostage, and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Friday vowed Italian troops would not leave Iraq, denouncing the
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VATICAN CITY, DEC. 8, 2004 .- John Paul II expressed his closeness to Iraqi Catholics shaken by two new terrorist attacks which destroyed an Armenian-Catholic church and the Chaldean bishop&#39;s palace in Mosul.
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The U.S. ambassador to the Vatican said Tuesday that Vatican officials want the United States to remain in Iraq and pacify the country despite Pope John Paul II's opposition to the war.
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President George W. Bush said on Saturday he felt "awe" in the presence of Pope Benedict, who urged the U.S. leader to seek "regional and negotiated" solution to Middle East conflicts like Iraq.
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Britain's most senior Catholic bishop was due to use his Christmas message to criticise the "billions" spent on the war in Iraq, saying the money could have been better used on poverty relief.
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Pope John Paul II prepares to deliver his Christmas message, expected to focus on conflicts around the world.
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President George W. Bush said he discussed the fate of Iraqi Christians as well as AIDS and U.S. immigration with Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday. Bush said he found himself "in awe" of Benedict, whom he described as a "smart, loving man." Earlier, the pope seemed to catch the president off-guard when he asked him about a meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
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Pope Benedict told U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday that the Vatican would like a "regional and negotiated" solution to Middle East conflicts, as anti-U.S. protesters converged on Rome.
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Pope John Paul ushered in Christmas on Friday by lighting a candle for peace in his window and then celebrating midnight mass in a new test of the 84-year-old pontiff&#39;s frail health.
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Iraq's government called on Muslims on   Saturday not to attack the country's small Christian minority   in response to remarks by Pope Benedict that have angered   Muslims.
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US President George W. Bush sought Saturday to reassure Pope Benedict XVI over the plight of war-torn Iraq&#39;s minority Christians, less than a week after a Chaldean priest and three deacons were murdered.
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Pope John Paul II issued a new appeal for peace in Iraq and the Middle East, condemning the &quot;horror&quot; of violence as well as &quot;the terrorism that cruelly targets the innocent&quot;.
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VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul II offered Christmas wishes yesterday for a world where he said timid but hopeful efforts at peace coexist with worries over Iraq, the Holy Land, and Africa.
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President Bush, denounced by tens of thousands of anti-American protesters on the streets of Rome, defended his humanitarian record on Saturday to Pope Benedict XVI, who expressed concern about "the worrisome situation in Iraq."
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Pope John Paul II today said he was praying for the Iraqi people after militants bombed two churches in Mosul, the latest anti-Christian violence in the country.