Ubi et Orbi Easter 2007

Sylvia Poggioli, on Weekend Sunday Edition this morning, reported that Pope Benedict said "nothing positive" has come out of Iraq, and that the violence was causing people to flee the country. This, from the AP version, is the language she noted:

"Afghanistan is marked by growing unrest and instability," Benedict said. "In the Middle East, besides some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees."

For Americans, this statement is completely without context. Which leaves me wondering: will we skip over it, a mental lacunae for something we simply have no information by which to absorb it? Or will people begin to ask: "Wait a minute? Fleeing the country? Then what are we doing there?"

O Christ, thou Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
O Christ, thou Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
O Christ, thou Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us they peace.