April 12, 2003

"Say 2 gazillion Our Fathers and 4 bazillion Hail Marys"

Before clicking this link, try to guess who is Mr. X in this flashback to February 15, 2003:

ASSISI, Italy (Reuters) - While millions demonstrate around the world against war in Iraq, Mr. X has held his own protest by praying silently before the tomb of St Francis, the patron of peace.

Mr. X travelled to this Umbrian hill city of light pink stone far from the rallies.

"The people of Iraq want peace and millions of people around the world are demonstrating for peace, so let us all work for peace and resist the war," he said on Saturday in front of one of the world's most famous religious shrines.

Minutes earlier, Mr. X committed himself to peace in front of the simple grey stone tomb where the 13th century saint whose name is synonymous with peace is buried.

Signing the basilica's guest book on the altar within inches of the tomb, he wrote in English: "May God the almighty grant peace to the people of Iraq and of the whole world. Amen."

Mr. X, wearing a dark overcoat against the chill and damp of the underground tomb, knelt for a few minutes in silent prayer as the city's bishop denounced war, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

"We are convinced that wars have never resolved the problems of humanity," Bishop Sergio Goretti told Mr. X.

"They have always left a frightening wake of suffering. We condemn every form of terrorism, which is the new worrying plague of humanity, as well as building the devastating weapons of destruction," he told Mr. X.

So, who is Mr. X? Why, none other than "President Saddam Hussein's right-hand man... Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz, Iraq's most prominent Christian."

According to "European protesters fill cities":

The rallies offered a boost to Iraq's own cause. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, in the Italian city of Assisi to pray at the tomb of St. Francis, said: "This is a day all good women and men in the world will show the protest against the war of George W. Bush," he told Reuters. "Our hearts are with them."

Posted to Iraq at April 12, 2003 10:35 AM

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