Pressing Pontiff to Ward-off US & UN

-Posted by D. Worth (US) | for- M. Barbay (France)
Iran's Pres. requests meeting w/Pope
Reuters - Tuesday, May 27 08:40 pm
ROME (Reuters) -Vatican sources said earlier this week that it was not yet clear if the pope would meet individual heads of state attending U.N. event or hold collective.. more.

From Catholic World News: Story
"Ahmadinejad will be in Italy during the first week in June for a meeting of UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is headquartered in Rome. The Iranian embassy has disclosed that the Islamic leader has asked "repeatedly" for an opportunity to speak with the Pontiff. Iran has made a concerted effort to enlist the help of the Holy See in its efforts to ward off diplomatic pressure from the US and the UN.

And they say:

"The daily La Repubblica now reports that the Pope will hold an unofficial meeting with Ahmadinejad-- a private talk without the usual trappings of honor guard, anthems, and official addresses. On the other hand Corriere della Sera predicts that the Pope will meet with Ahmadinejad in a group, along with other government leaders who are attending the FAO conference." Read Story.

Links:
David Brooks N.Y.Times: We don’t understand the Iranians because
the Iranians don’t understand themselves."The regime isn’t sure whether it is an ideological movement championing global jihad or whether it is merely regional power seeking Middle East hegemony. Until the Iranians resolve this internal ambiguity, you can talk to them all you want, but they won’t be able to make a strategic shift or follow a more amenable path. Read more.
~~~~~~~~~~
Maybe this Regime should consider the expelling, rather than the "hanging", of Christians! (news excerpt below.) Hiding behind a well respected Religious leader; while failing to make clear the ballistic Missile tests, & design evidence, to community? Will Majlis excite pressure, with reform to penal code? We'll see.

Iran: Ten Christian converts arrested News.
Tehran, 28 May (AKI)
Ten Iranians who converted from Islam to Christianity in recent months have been arrested in the southern city of Shiraz.

According to Goodarz, a spokesperson for the Iranian converts, more than 35 of them have been arrested since the beginning of the year. Goodarz himself has taken refuge in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.

The new Majlis or Iranian parliament which met for the first time on Tuesday will be discussing in the coming weeks proposed laws presented by the government to reform the penal code.

Under the new law, anyone born to a Muslim father who decides to renounce Islam and convert to another faith, faces the death penalty.

The punishment is currently absent from the Iranian penal code even though in the past, dozens of Christian converts and followers of the Bahai faith have been hanged.more

Feedburner | Political BarbayRefresh to view comments:hereAdd to Technorati Favorites