(6 Mar 2003)
1. Papal envoy Cardinal Pio Laghi getting into car and leaving White House after meeting with George Bush
2. Still of Bush and Laghi shaking hands
3. Laghi walking into room for news conference
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Cardinal Pio Laghi, Papal Envoy:
"The Holy See maintains that there are still peaceful avenues, within the context of the vast patrimony of international law and institutions which exist for that purpose. A decision regarding the use of military force can only be taken within the framework of the United Nations."
6. Cutaway photographer
7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Cardinal Pio Laghi, Papal Envoy:
"The Iraqi government is obliged to fulfill completely and fully its international obligations regarding human rights and disarmament under the United Nations resolutions, with respect for international laws. Second, these obligations and their fulfillment must continue to be pursued within the framework of the United Nations."
8. Cutaway press conference
9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Cardinal Pio Laghi, Papal Envoy:
"I am going away with hope, that's the point. In spite of the fact that the situation is as it is. But we hope, we hope, we hope."
Q: That's because you are a hopeful person, not because you heard anything from the President?
A: "Well I have to say this because I am a priest, I am a shepherd. Thank you."
10. Wide shot end of press conference
11. Wide shot congregation in church
12. Various of Laghi leading mass at church
STORYLINE:
Pleading for peace, an emissary for Pope John Paul II questioned President George Bush on Wednesday on whether he was doing everything possible to avert what the envoy called an "unjust" war with Iraq.
But Bush said removing President Saddam Hussein would make the world more peaceful.
The exchange came in Bush's closed-door meeting with Cardinal Pio Laghi, a former Vatican ambassador to the United States and a Bush family friend.
It coincided with Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent, the 40-day period of Christian penance and spiritual renewal leading up to Easter.
Laghi came bearing the Pope's message: that a war would be a "defeat for humanity" and would be neither morally nor legally justified.
But according to a White House spokesman Bush told the Roman Catholic envoy that "if it comes to the use of force, he believes it will make the world better."
In Rome, the Pope called for "common efforts to spare humanity another dramatic conflict."
He urged the world's one (b) billion Roman Catholics to "strengthen their communion with God and their brothers" in the face of "the threats of war that hang over the world."
Laghi said the Vatican stands by its view that a pre-emptive strike on Iraq is immoral unless it is backed by the United Nations.
After his talks with Bush Laghi went on to lead a special Ash Wednesday mass in Washington.
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