Stardate 20030119.1435

(On Screen): They're pulling out the stops. As it becomes more and more apparent to everyone that we are going to attack, those who still hope to prevent a war are cranking up the volume and emphasis and leaving no hyperbole unturned in attempts to bring pressure to bear on Bush to get him to back down.

Give Peace a Chance, World Religions Say. Thus the headline from Reuters. Apparently the only people in the world who don't oppose the war are atheists. Who knew?

But dig into the story, and the reality shrinks and shrinks.

Leaders of world religions appealed to believers in all faiths to work to avert a conflict in Iraq as anti-war protests gathered pace around the world.

The "anti-war protests" which were "gathering pace" were feeble and warped. And now it turns out that it's just the leaders of the world religions. But which leaders? Keep reading; it turns out that it was 38 leaders from 15 countries who were hand-picked by the Pope, because they would agree to join him in a call to avoid war. They're not necessarily the top leaders of their particular religious denominations, and they don't necessarily speak for their groups.

"Opting for peace does not mean a passive acquiescence to evil or compromise of principle. It demands an active struggle against hatred, oppression and disunity, but not by using methods of violence. Building peace requires creative and courageous action," the statement said.

Conspicuous by its absence is any indication of what kind of "creative action" short of war would actually prevent Saddam from developing nuclear weapons. What should be done instead? Well, they take a leaf right out of the tranzi playbook:

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington D.C. told the gathering that lasting peace will never be achieved until the world addresses the "root causes of war and conflict."

He listed these as the rich-poor chasm, oppression of minorities and the "social evils of globalisation."

And where have we heard that before, eh?

The Catholic Church has not been showering itself in glory over the last couple of years.