The Archbishop Disposes

The Vatican Foreign Minister, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, speaking from the highest perches of the Catholic Church, which knows a thing or two about inspiring world-wide hatred, has delivered himself of the opinion that the images of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib constitute a bigger disaster for this country than 9-11.

"The torture? A more serious blow to the United States than Sept. 11. Except that the blow was not inflicted by terrorists but by Americans against themselves," Lajolo was quoted as saying in La Repubblica.

Lajolo said that "intelligent people in Arab countries understand that in a democracy such episodes are not hidden and are punished ... Still the vast mass of people -- under the influence of Arab media -- cannot but feel aversion and hate for the West growing inside themselves."