Pope denounces terrorist acts

VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul II declared Tuesday that nations have a moral and legal right to defend themselves against terrorism but must refrain from targeting the countries, ethnic groups or religions to which terrorists belong.

The Roman Catholic leader, in his most extensive statement on the subject, called terrorism "a true crime against humanity" and said nothing can justify the kind of "horrendous massacre" that occurred in the United States on Sept. 11.

Vatican officials declined to interpret the pontiff's words as either an endorsement or a criticism of the U.S.-led military campaign to capture Osama bin Laden and destroy the Taliban regime that harbored him in Afghanistan.

Pope John Paul made his remarks in writing as part of his annual message for the church's upcoming World Day of Peace. The message is sent to heads of state and international organizations.

In it, the pope employed the same ambiguity as in his previous pronouncements on the conflict, expressing anguish about a "new level of violence introduced by organized terrorism" without judging the specific steps taken to combat it so far. Ultimately, he said, forgiveness of evildoers is the only lasting solution.

"The pope sees the situation through the eyes of afflicted populations ... not (those) of any government," Msgr. Frank Dewane, an official of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, told reporters at the Vatican.

The pope's statement was issued exactly three months after hijackers slammed jetliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon -- attacks that the 81-year-old pope said had stirred "the depths of my heart" like the evils caused by Nazi and Communist rulers in his native Poland.

Without a clear papal signal, Vatican officials and U.S. Catholic bishops have voiced specific but limited approval for the 2-month-old American bombing and ground war in Afghanistan, applying the church's centuries-old "just war" doctrine to justify attacks that target aggressors but not innocent civilians.

Pope John Paul's remarks Tuesday echoed some principles of that doctrine without using the word "war" or even mentioning the events in Afghanistan.

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