Ambassador Kagefumi Ueno on Pope John Paul II and President Bush

It is well known that the previous pope, John Paul II, voiced his objections to President Bush before the latter decided to attack Iraq in 2003. At that time, the pope's advice was not heeded by the U.S., but that does not mar the value of the pope's words and actions. On the contrary, the fact that the pope made a suggestion the U.S. did not want to listen to demonstrates the important role of the Vatican. I do believe that the international community is in need of a moral guardian like him or the secretary general of the UN. No one else could replace his role. In that sense, the pope should be deemed an international public goods or property. Irreplaceable. Not because he is the head of the Catholic Church, but just because he is capable of extending humanitarian, moral messages everywhere.

The above comes from Sandro Magister's coverage of the address by the Japanese ambassador to the Vatican, a Buddhist-Shintoist scholar, to his fellow Asian ambassdors — All Roads Lead to Rome. Even from Asia.