Vatican asks Iraq not to execute 'Christian' ex-minister Tariq Aziz - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi has asked Iraq not to carry out the death sentence on former foreign minister Tariq Aziz. According to CNN, Aziz has gotten the Vatican's attention because he's a Christian and was the only one in Saddam Hussein's cabinet. "It looks like the Italians in the Vatican are up to their old tricks," said one former Vatican official, noting both the Italian fixation with the death penalty, and Tariq Aziz's close relationship with some Italian Franciscan priests. Aziz visited Assisi, the home of St. Francis, just before the second Gulf War. Lombardi's statement did not mention that Aziz was a Christian, but said not executing him would be a way to helping Iraq towards peace and reconciliation.