Left I on the News

George Bush met with Pope Benedict. The Vatican says this:

In his meeting with Bush, the Vatican said the pope raised "the worrisome situation in Iraq."

Yes, it's "worrisome." If you're the Pope. If you're an Iraqi, it's quite a bit more than "worrisome."

Bush (who, I emphasize, is hardly an unimpeachable source), clarified just what the Pope's "worries" are:

"He was concerned that the society that was evolving would not tolerate the Christian religion," Bush explained at a news conference with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi during the president's swing through Europe.

"He's worrisome about the Christians inside Iraq being mistreated by the Muslim majority."

That is a worry, of course, in ways it wasn't before the U.S. and its friends invaded Iraq (I wonder if the Pope noted that in his talk with George). And it's legitimate that the Pope was worried about it. But if that were indeed the extent of his worry (and again, I emphasize that we only have Bush's self-serving report on which to base this claim), it would be truly repugnant. Because of all the "worries" about what's happening in Iraq, that's hardly on the top of the list.

Incidentally, I wonder if the Pope asked Bush about the fate of one particular Christian (albeit not a Catholic [Ed. note - see comments; apparently he is a Catholic]) - Tariq Aziz, last seen more than a year ago and still rotting away in prison, having been convicted of...nothing.

On a lighter note, Fidel Castro reminds us that, going into the meeting, Bush had claimed that he and the Pope "share a 'common respect for human life and human dignity.'" Of course Bush was referring to unborn life; his "respect" for human life knows no bounds -- no lower bounds.