Vatican Condemns Saddam Execution

The Vatican on Saturday condemned the execution of
Saddam Hussein as a "tragic" event and warned that it risked fomenting
a spirit of vendetta and sowing fresh violence in Iraq.

"A
capital punishment is always tragic news, a reason for sadness, even if
it deals with a person who was guilty of grave crimes," said Vatican
spokesman Father Federico Lombardi.

"The position of the Church (against capital punishment) has been restated often," he said.

The
Catholic Church teaches that capital punishment today is unjustifiable
because modern society has developed ways of protecting society from
further crimes by the guilty party and that because only God can end a
life.

"The killing of the guilty party is not
the way to reconstruct justice and reconcile society. On the contrary,
there is a risk that it will feed a spirit of vendetta and sow new
violence," he said.

The Vatican, which opposed
the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, said Saddam's execution would likely
worsen the situation on the ground