Cardinal Cormac describes war as "wrong and evil"

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, described the war in Iraq as "wrong and evil" on Sunday, and urged everyone to pray for a swift end to the hostilities. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Sunday programme, the Cardinal refused to be drawn on whether Catholics should actively campaign against the war, saying they should act according to their consciences, but he added that soldiers needed to fight "in a proportionate way". He said: "That's been very clear. There is what is called ' ius in bello ' - namely the right way of conducting a war - even though the war itself is wrong and evil as we know that. "I think that probably the Pope means that violence breeds violence and that the consequences of war are unpredictable ... I think that's the concern of many people. "That's why what happens after this conflict is so important - that there should be justice and peace, not only for the people of Iraq but also over the whole of the Middle East."