To make an attack virtually impossible have Pope John Paul II go to Baghdad (as Helen Caldicott has suggested). It is highly unlikely that Bush would bomb the Pope. If he can be joined by the many major anti-war religious leaders (as James Twyman has suggested) and/or by other global religious leaders (like the Dalai Lama, as Deepak Chopra has suggested) and/or by Nobel Peace Prize winners like Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter and Mikhail Gorbachev (as Gar Smith has suggested), all the better. But the Pope, who has said this war would be "a defeat for Humanity," is essential. Contact the Vatican: Email <accreditamenti@pressva.va> AND <pcjustpax@justpeace.va> // FAX [from USA] 011-39-06698-85378 [from other countries replace the 011 prefix with your appropriate international prefix] // phone [from USA] dial 011-39-06-69-82 [from other countries replace the 011 prefix with your appropriate international prefix]. Contact info for Nobel Peace Laureates are given below.
NEW OPTION: Seeking a million names in one week!
This is best done AFTER sending some of the emails above.
Simply go to http://www.emissaryoflight.com and click on the link
at the top of the page. You will then be asked to read the following
statement, and if you agree, add your name:"We believe that a spiritual solution is required to peacefully resolve
the current political situation in Iraq, and we believe that the
presence in Iraq of His Holiness Pope John Paul II, His Holiness the
Dalai Lama, and other spiritual leaders from around the world,
would shift the current tide toward lasting peace. We humbly ask you
to please consider this heartfelt request from a million Spiritual
Peacemakers to take time from your schedule and travel to Baghdad.
The lives of hundreds of thousands of people, and the hope of world
peace, may lie in your hands."
TO CONTACT THE DALAI LAMA:
The Office of Tibet
http://www.tibet.com/
Tibet House, 1 Culworth Street
London NW8 7AF
Email:<info@tibet.com>
Phone: 0044-20-7722 5378
Fax: 0044-20-7722 0362
Here are the original proposals
and further information:
From: "Dianne G. Brause" <diannebr@lostvalley.org>
messages from James Twyman <james@emissaryoflight.com>
Beloved Friends,
Now and then a message comes across my desk that I know I must
pass on.
Several days ago a friend forwarded to me an
email from Helen Caldicott
regarding a way we could assure an end to possible war in Iraq,
and I have
to agree that this could work. As you probably know, Pope John
Paul II is
adamantly against this war and has called it "a defeat for
Humanity." He
sent an emissary to Iraq and Washington to deliver a personal
message and
continues to urge political leaders to protest a possible US led
invasion.
If there is one person whose life George Bush would be unwilling
to risk it
would be the Pope's. Therefore, millions of people around the
world are
being asked to email, fax or even telephone His Holiness asking
him to
personally station himself in Baghdad until a proper solution
can be found.
If he would do it, it would work.
I would like to suggest we take this request one step further.
The Pope has
been a strong voice for peace and reconciliation for many years
now, and has
called the spiritual leaders of the world together twice to pray
for peace
in Assisi. I suggest the Pope call another gathering of spiritual
leaders
opposed to war and violence in Iraq, imploring them to join him
in a
statement George Bush cannot ignore. If they gather in Baghdad
and ask the
people of the world to join them in prayer, then the war will
not happen.
Then the inspectors would have more time to do their work and
a political
solution would surely be found.
I have already emailed the Pope and I ask you to do the same.
Also, please
forward this email to as many people as you can, for it will be
hard for His
Holiness to ignore the requests of millions of people. I consider
this a
spiritual solution coming from religions that have in the past
been the
cause of so much separation. Please help us spread the word for
this
important mission.
Please send your email to: accreditamenti@pressva.va and pcjustpax@justpeace.va
If you would like to
send a fax from the US, the number is: 011-39-06698-85378 (from
other
countries drop the 011 prefix), and to phone call: 011-39-06-69-82.
Imagine the impact of such a statement of peace from the leaders
of the
world's religions from Iraq. Let this be a "Victory for Humanity."
It is the
eleventh hour. The war may begin any day now. Please do not wait
letting the
Pope hear your important voice.
In Peace,
James Twyman
http://emissaryoflight.com/
From James Twyman:
A few days ago I asked you to send an email to His Holiness
Pope
John Paul II, asking him to personally intervene in the conflict
with
Iraq by traveling to Baghdad, and to invite other religious and
spiritual leaders to join him. I believe that this would immediately
halt plans by the US government to begin bombing the Iraqi people,
giving the UN inspectors and world politicians more time to find
a
peaceful solution.
We are now going to take this a step further. I am asking for
at least a
million people to add their names to a petition that I can present
to
His Holiness as quickly as possible, imploring him to help save
the
lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Iraq. We
will
also present the same petition to His Holiness the Dalai Lama
through an emissary, asking him to join the Pope. (They have been
partners in peace before, most notably at the historic peace gathering
that took place in Assisi in 1986.)
A MILLION NAMES FOR PEACE IN ONE WEEK!
We do not have much time, and so I am asking that you add your
name today, and pass this email to as many people as you can.
I am
personally sending it to 100,000 people, so the goal is well within
our
reach. If the Pope and the Dalai Lama hear the voices of so many
dedicated Spiritual Peacemakers calling for their presence, they
may
actually respond.
Simply go to http://www.emissaryoflight.com
and click on the link
at the top of the page. You will then be asked to read the following
statement, and if you agree, add your name:
"We believe that a spiritual solution is required to peacefully
resolve
the current political situation in Iraq, and we believe that the
presence in Iraq of His Holiness Pope John Paul II, His Holiness
the
Dalai Lama, and other spiritual leaders from around the world,
would shift the current tide toward lasting peace. We humbly ask
you
to please consider this heartfelt request from a million Spiritual
Peacemakers to take time from your schedule and travel to Baghdad.
The lives of hundreds of thousands of people, and the hope of
world
peace, may lie in your hands."
There is no time to waste. The war could begin almost any day,
and so
we hope to have all million names by March 18. Help us reach our
goal in one week!!!
In the event that the war breaks out before I am able to personally
deliver this petition, we have two contingency plans:
1. Each day we will forward the names that are posted on the
site to
the Pope, the Dalai Lama, and GEORGE BUSH himself. We don't
want these men to become aware of this important campaign after
it
happens, but while it's in full force. Imagine them getting 200,000
names a day, or more, on a file. We will also post the name count
we have collected and sent each day at www.emissaryoflight.com
so
you can check in and monitor our progress.
2. We will immediately forward all million names (via Internet)
to
an emissary in Rome who will copy and deliver the document to
the
Pope. We will do the same for the Dalai Lama.
Please hold the success of peace and this mission of peace
in your
hearts. But most of all, please add your name today, and pass
this
email to everyone you know.
Peace Prevails on Earth NOW!
James Twyman
From: helen
caldicott
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2003 11:01 AM
Dear Friends,
I write this appeal for your help as a pediatrician, a mother,
and a
grandmother -- and I am writing about the lives of tens of thousands
of children.
Although the current administration has demonstrated it has
no
reservations about slaughtering up to 500,000 innocents in Iraq,
there
is one person whose life they absolutely will not risk. That person
is
Pope John Paul II.
The Pope has already formally denounced the proposed war, calling
it
a defeat for humanity, and also has sent his top spokesperson.
However, to stop the war, he now must take a historically
unprecedented action of his own and travel to Baghdad. The Pope's
physical presence in Iraq will act as the ultimate human shield,
during which time leaders of the world's nations can commit
themselves to identifying and implementing a peaceful solution
to a
war that the world's majority clearly does not support.
To persuade the Holy Father to take this unusual but potent
action,
he must hear from you and millions of others around the world
who
have already been inspired to stand up and speak out for peace.
A
mountain of surface mail, email, faxes, and phone calls are our
devices to inspire him.
Please understand that your taking just a few minutes right
now to
communicate with him may ultimately spare the lives of thousands
of innocent people who at this moment live in complete terror
from
the threat of an imminent U.S.-lead military strike on their
homeland.
So here is what you can do to be a part of this powerful final
action to
stop the march to war in Iraq.
1. Do not simply "forward" the letter below. Its
power depends upon your
sending it directly, as a personal communication to the Pope.
2. Simply cut and paste the letter below into a new email.
Also cut
and paste the Vatican email address we have provided.
3. At the close of the letter, type in your name, city and
state--no need
to include your address.
4. Either
Email, <accreditamenti@pressva.va>
AND <pcjustpax@justpeace.va>
FAX ([from USA] 011-39-06698-85378--from
other countries drop the 011 prefix --
or mail a
hard copy of this letter to the addresses in the letter below.
DO NOT
put "Italy" anywhere on the envelope, as this will send
your mail
into the Italian mail system which is separate and independent
of the
Vatican system. Should you wish to phone
the Vatican directly, (from
USA) dial 011-39-06-69-82--all other countries must use their
appropriate international prefix.
5. Pass this original email on to as many people you can so
as to
assure a critical mass is reached in this action.
6. Note that as you and others begin sending your letters,
faxes and
emails, there will be a simultaneous effort to alert the media
of this
action, so as to be sure it is publicly known throughout the world.
Thank you for participating in this formal request of the Pope.
We
just may stop this war in Iraq -- and save these childrens' lives.
Dr. Helen Caldicott
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--- Sample letter:
His Holiness John Paul II
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City State
Europe
Your Holiness:
I write to you today out of a sense of great urgency. As you
know the
United States of America is on the verge of launching what may
be
one of the most cataclysmic wars in history using weapons of mass
destruction upon the Iraqi people, fifty percent of whom are less
than
15 years of age.
Conservative estimates are that such a war will result in the
death of
500,000 Iraqis. It seems clear that, at this time, you are the
only person
on Earth who can stop this war. Indeed, your physical presence
in
Baghdad, will prevent the impending slaughter of hundreds of
thousands of human beings, and force the international community
of nations to identify and implement a truly peaceful resolution
to
this unprecedented, preemptive aggression.
I implore you to travel to Baghdad and to remain there until
a
peaceful solution to this crisis has been implemented. The lives
of
the people of Iraq rest in your hands - as does the fate of the
world.
With hope,
Your name, Your City, State, Country
Here's a French translation sent to me by Montpetitc@aol.com
Hi. I couldn't find a French version of the Caldicott initiative
anywhere on
the Web, so I made one on my own and sent it to French-Canadian
papers.
Charles Montpetit, Montreal writer
__________
UNE PERSONNE PEUT EMPECHER LA GUERRE
Traduction d'une lettre de la Dre Helen Caldicott, pacifiste
notoire, au pape
Jean-Paul II :
Sa Sainteté Jean-Paul II
Palais apostolique
00120 Vatican
Europe
Votre Sainteté,
Je vous écris aujourd'hui avec un sentiment de grande
urgence. Comme vous le
savez, les États-Unis d'Amérique sont sur le point
de lancer ce qui pourrait
être une des guerres les plus destructives de l'histoire
en utilisant des
armes de destruction massives contre la population de l'Irak,
dont la moitié
a moins de 15 ans.
D'après des estimations conservatrices, une telle guerre
entraînerait la mort
de 500 000 Irakiens. Il semble clair que, à ce point-ci,
vous êtes la seule
personne sur Terre qui puisse empêcher cette guerre. En
effet, votre présence
physique à Bagdad éviterait le massacre imminent
de centaines de milliers
d'être humains et forcerait la communauté internationale
à identifier et à
adopter une solution véritablement pacifique à cette
agression préventive
sans précédent.
Je vous implore d'aller à Bagdad et d'y rester jusqu'à
ce que cette solution
pacifique à la présente crise ait été
implantée. La vie des citoyens irakiens
est entre vos mains -- ainsi que le sort du monde.
Avec espoir,
Helen Caldicott
Note : toute personne qui désire ajouter sa voix à
cette requête est invitée
à reprendre cette lettre à son compte. Face à
l'afflux de courriels, le
Vatican a déjà fermé l'adresse électronique
qui était initialement publicisée
avec ce texte, aussi est-il préférable de recourir
à la poste régulière. Pour
l'instant, cependant, deux autres adresses électroniques
sont encore
accessibles (pcjustpax@justpeace.va et John_Paul_II@vatican.va),
de même
qu'un numéro de télécopieur (011-39-06698-85378).
On peut également accéder à
une pétition électronique au http://www.emissaryoflight.com
- 30 -
Pour plus de renseignements :
http://www.co-intelligence.org/CIPol_IraqCrisisCaldicott.html
http://www.rise4news.net/Pope.html
From: gar smith <gsmith@earthisland.org
Subject: Appeal to the Pope, Carter, Mandela, Gorbachev, Annan
Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2003 17:32:16 -0800
For the past month, San Francisco-based author/reporter/poet
John Ross is
has been living in Baghdad with other "Human Shields"
from around the
world.
They have stationed themselves at a number of nonmilitary facilities
that,
under international law, are not legitimate targets of attack.
In past bombings of Iraq, however, the US has intentionally
targeted
civilian facilities, including water-treatment plants.
The Pentagon's plan to "shock" Baghdad with 3,000
bombs in the first 48
hours would constitute a war crime under international law. The
intentional
bombing of a city of 5 million (half of whom are children) would
stand as a
barbaric crime against humanity.
No wonder the US requested that a drape be placed over the
copy of
Picasso's famous painting, Guernica, that stands outside the Security
Council
chambers.
George W. Bush has derided Saddam Hussein as "a man who
killed his own
people." When he was governor of Texas, Mr. Bush ordered
the execution of
more than 150 fellow Texans. Clearly, ordering the deaths of fellow
citizens will not be a problem for Mr. Bush.
Meanwhile, John and the other nonviolent activists are risking
their lives
by guarding these five sites:
Al Daura refinery,
"April 7th" water treatment facility,
Baghdad central power plant,
Al Durah power plant, and
Taji food storage site.
Please contact the White House, the Pentagon, and your electred
representatives to demand that these -- and all other civilian
sites -- not
be targeted for destruction.
It looks as if nothing will stop Bush's mad march toward a
brutal conquest
of Iraq. But there may be an act of grat moral courage that could
stop the
bombs.
Mr. Bush would not hesitate to kill a US reporter and poet
but there may be
some people that not even Mr. Bush would dare to bomb.
Would Mr. Bush bomb the Pope?
An international conference of Nobel Peace Prize winners, convened
in
Baghdad, could bring Bush to his senses and secure a peaceful
resolution of
this looming crisis.
Please contact the following world leaders and encourage them
to go to
Baghdad.
His Holiness
John Paul II
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City State
Europe
FAX (011- 39-06698-85378
accreditamenti@pressva.va
AND <pcjustpax@justpeace.va>
Nelson Mandela
nmandela@anc.org.za
(Note: Nelson Mandela has stated that he is prepared to go and
stand with
the human shields but only if he receives an invitation from the
United
Nations.)
The Hon. Kofi Annan
United Nations Secretary-General
Email: sg@un.org or ecu@un.org
Jimmy Carter
The Carter Center
One Copenhill
453 Freedom Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30307
Fax: 404-420-5145
Mikhail Gorbachev
Green Cross International
160a, rte de Florissant,
1231 Conches/Geneva
Switzerland,
(fax) +41 22 789 1695,
gcinternational@gci.ch
Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 15:28:58 -0800
From: Greg Jan <gjan@greens.org>
Subject: NEW E-mail address for the Pope is: pcjustpax@justpeace.va
(Other
info., etc.!!)....
To: cii@igc.org
Hi Tom,
Regarding contacting the Pope, to stop the war -- apparently
there
is a new e-mail address for the Pope (see below). (Apparently
Dr.
Caldicott's campaign has been generating so many e-mails that
the Vatican
had to close the original e-mail address!)
If you want to reach Joe Keon, to get the latest info. on this,
his
contact info. is: (415) 945-9964; parisssound@aol.com (per:
http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=241590&group=webcast
).
Also, if you're not already aware of it, three others who are
calling for, or suggesting that, the Pope travel to Iraq are:
Tom Fox,
the publisher of the influential Catholic newspaper, National
Catholic
Reporter (
http://www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/archives/030703/030703q.htm
), syndicated
columnist Sean Gonsalves (
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/110823_sean04.shtml ), and
Italian
author Luigi Malerba (
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/02/28/wirq728.xml&
secureRefresh=true&_requestid=71940 ).
Another interesting article, which includes the quote, "The
Pope
believes that he has a divinely inspired mission to save the world
from
war," can be found at:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5461-572794,00.html Finally,
for
additional information on the Pope's perspective on a war with
Iraq, please
see: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/20030306.htm
Keep up the great work!
Sincerely,
Greg Jan
Oakland, CA
http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/03/1580151.php
>---------- UPDATE FROM JOE KEON ABOUT LETTER CAMPAIGN
Dear Friends:
Word has reached us that the Vatican has blocked the original
e-mail we sent
out giving the address [accreditamenti@pressva.va], apparently
due to an
overwhelming response to Dr. Helen Caldicott's appeal to write
the Pope,
urging him to fly to Iraq. The new e-mail address given above
has worked so
far, but we urge you to send both e-mail AND an AIRMAIL letter,
so as to
assure your communication reaches the Pope. We think that the
arrival of
sacks of mail at the Vatican (in anticipation of which the media
has been
notified) will have its own impact.
Thank you for passing on this update!
NEW VATICAN E-MAIL ADDRESS: pcjustpax@justpeace.va
ADDRESS:
His Holiness John Paul II
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City State Europe
(THE VATICAN IS ITS OWN POLITICAL ENTITY. REMEMBER TO OMIT
"ITALY" FROM THE
ENVELOPE; THE ITALIAN MAIL SYSTEM IS NOTORIOUSLY SLOW.)
** Because there is a chance the Vatican will activate an e-mail
screen
after a certain point, THE VERY BEST ACTION YOU CAN TAKE WOULD
BE A
HAND-WRITTEN NOTE SENT BY AIR MAIL.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Here are some other communication lines you could try. -- Tom
H.H. Pope John Paul II
Fax No. 011 396 6988536
Vatican Diplomatic Mission in the US
Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Gabriel MONTALVO
Telephone: [1] (202) 333-7121
FAX: [1] (202) 337-4036
Chancery: 3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
François Xavier Nguyên van Thuân
President
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
Phone 011-39-06-698-87191
Fax 011-39-06-698-87371
Email PcJustPax@JustPeace.va
Office of the Cardinal-Secretary of State:
Angelo Sodano
Cardinal-Secretary of State
Phone: 011-39-06-698-83913
Fax: 011-39-06-698-85255
Email: vatio26@relstat-segstat.va
A MODEL LETTER FOR ASKING ANY MAJOR PUBLIC FIGURE TO GO TO BAGHDAD
Dear ...
I am writing you with a trembling heart and a desperate need
to contribute
to making peace.
I believe that if you could see a non-violent way to prevent
the war on
Iraq, you would take that action.
I believe there is an action you can take.
I believe you are one of very few people alive on earth today
who can
single-handedly stop the impending war on Iraq. I am writing you,
along with
a few other key leaders to ask you to take dramatic action toward
peace.
I am writing you because I feel grief-stricken about the impending
loss of
human lives, and devastated by the potential for war to spread
and for the
wounds of war to fester for generations to come. I want to protect
our
planet and all human beings. I am writing you because your leadership
will
give me great hope for transforming this situation.
Your physical presence in Baghdad will prevent the deaths of
hundreds of
thousands of human beings. You presence will also give the international
community of nations the opportunity to explore and implement
a truly
peaceful resolution to this crisis. Finally, your taking this
action would
profoundly meet my need for hope that human beings can and will
find
peaceful means to resolve all conflicts. I feel confident that
it can pave
the way for a wave of non-violent action aimed at bringing peace
to our
ravaged planet.
I implore you to travel to Baghdad and to remain there until
a peaceful
solution to this crisis has been implemented, or at least until
the threat
of war has subsided.
If you decide not to go to Iraq, I urge you to consider what
else may be
done to prevent this war, and to use all your influence and power
to move
our world toward peace.
With hope and longing for peace,
Inbal Kashtan
Oakland, California, USA