Bertone describes warnings on Iraq as 'prophetic'

FROM JOHN THAVIS IN ROME
POPE BENEDICT XVI'S choice as the next Vatican Secretary of State. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, has said that the situation in Iraq demonstrates that the Holy See's warnings against the war were -prophetic", At the same time the cardinal said he has argued against a precipitous pull-out of Western forces from Iraq because it would leave local Iraqis exposed to dangers.
Cardinal Bertone, the Archbishop of Genoa, made the comments in a lengthy interview with the Italian magazine 30 Giorni.
Cardinal Bertone, who takes up his new office next month, also said he had been following the fighting in Lebanon and was praying every day that the country be spared further "useless massacres". He expressed support for the strongly worded appeals of Pope Benedict and the outgoing secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, both of whom had called for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.
On Iraq, Cardinal Bertone said he had agreed with the Vatican's position against the US-led invasion of 2003 and added: "The current situation in Iraq shows how prophetic that judgment was."
Although not a diplomat by training, Cardinal Bertone has travelled extensively and has been involved in global issues, including economic relations between the world's poorest
and richest countries. In the interview, the cardinal said he considered international lending by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and by richer countries a form of usury that "should be declared illegal". He said loans become usury when they violate the right to life and other basic human rights.
"Some technocrats, especially those of multinationals, the World Bank and the Monetary Fund, have imposed unacceptable conditions on the poor populations, like forced sterilisation and obligatory closing of Catholic schools," he said.
He said the Church's social teaching calls for a "popular democratic capitalism" that benefits the greatest number of people and favours economic creativity and healthy competition.
On the question of Islam, Cardinal Bertone said that as Archbishop of Genoa he had not opposed the construction of a mosque in the city because he believes it is important to protect the human dignity of Muslim believers.
At the same time, he said, it would be good if "a certain reciprocity" were shown to Christian minorities in Muslim countries.
The cardinal said he was also open to the idea of Islamic religious instruction for Muslims in Italian public schools, as long as the content respected the constitutional values of Italy something that might prove difficult, he added.