Holy fucking jumping shit balls... THE POPE IS RIGHT! It's the Middle East DUHHHHH! They are Muslims... DUHHHH. No matter what side wins it is still going to suck.... DUHHHH! That has been the pattern there DUHHHH!
Military solution in Syria would be futile, Pope tells G20
By Philip Pullella
http://news.yahoo.com/military-solution-syria-futile-pope-tells-g20-133932802.html
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in a letter to Russian
President Vladimir Putin for the G20 summit, urged world leaders on
Thursday to "lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution" in
Syria.
The United States and France are considering military action against
Damascus in response to a chemical attack on August 21 that killed
hundreds of people.
The Vatican released the letter as the Holy See briefed ambassadors
about the pope's initiatives, including an unprecedented international
day of prayer for peace in Syria which he has called for this Saturday.
The U.S. and French envoys were among some 70 envoys at Thursday's
meeting with Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican's foreign
minister.
"It is regrettable that, from the very beginning of the conflict in
Syria, one-sided interests have prevailed and in fact hindered the
search for a solution that would have avoided the senseless massacre now
unfolding," the pope said.
"To the (G20) leaders present, to each and every one, I make a
heartfelt appeal for them to help find ways to overcome the conflicting
positions and to lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution."
He said the international community should instead press for "a peaceful solution through dialogue and negotiation".
G20 host Putin is trying to talk U.S. President Barack Obama out of
air strikes to punish President Bashar al-Assad for the chemical weapons
attack, which the West blames on the Syrian government. Assad's
government denies it was responsible.
In the letter, Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, asked the Russian president to pray for him.
Putin always attends major religious festivals of the Russian
Orthodox Church and has deepened his ties with the Church in recent
years as part of a conservative course he has taken as president to
rally voters behind him following street protests by the opposition.
The Vatican has been pressing its message on Syria all week since the pope announced his peace initiative last Sunday.
The Holy See's deputy justice minister said the Syrian conflict had
"all the ingredients" to spark a global conflict and the leader of the
worldwide Jesuit order said a military intervention by the United States
or France would be "an abuse of power".
Francis has called on the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics to
join him on Saturday in a day of prayer and fasting to end the Syrian
conflict. He has invited members of all faiths to join him around the
world in whatever way they see fit.
He will lead a prayer service in St Peter's Square expected to draw
tens of thousands of people. At about five hours, it will be one of the
longest events ever at the Vatican.
(Additional reporting by Timothy Heritage in St Petersburg, editing by Barry Moody and Mark Trevelyan)