VATICAN CITY, January 13 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Pope John Paul II Monday, January 13, renewed his opposition to the potential military action against Iraq, saying that all diplomatic means to break the deadlock should be exhausted before war be declared the "very last option".

"War is never just another means that one can choose to employ for settling differences between nations," the Pope said in a reference to Iraq in his annual New Year address to diplomats accredited to the Holy See.

"War cannot be decided upon, even when it is a matter of ensuring the common good, except as the very last option and in accordance with very strict conditions," he said, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The 82-year-old pontiff called (on the U.S.) to consider the humanitarian consequences should a third Gulf war be erupted, as the war was "always a defeat for humanity."

He said those behind any war in Iraq would have to consider "the consequences for the civilian population both during and after the military operations."

The head of the Roman Catholic Church also spoke of the global troubles affecting the Middle East, South America, and Africa in a wide-ranging address in French, the traditional language of diplomacy.

"I have personally been struck by the feeling of fear which often dwells in the hearts of our contemporaries," he told the ambassadors to the Vatican.

He referred to Iraq, threatened by a U.S.-led war which many commentators expect could break out in the coming weeks, as a "land of Prophets" whose people were "already sorely tried by more than 12 years of embargo."

Neither could military victories be the solution to the "constant degeneration" of the crisis in the Middle East, he added.

"War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity," he said.

"International law, honest dialogue, solidarity between states, the noble exercise of diplomacy: these are the methods worthy of individuals and nations in resolving their differences."

Rich & Poor Countries

The Pope also used Monday's address to shed a light on the inequality on the world scene between what he called rich and poor countries..

"Selfishness is also the indifference of prosperous nations towards nations left out in the cold," he said, highlighting the problem of water shortages, which the United Nations will give particular prominence to this year.

"All peoples are entitled to receive a fair share of the goods of this world and of the know-how of the more advanced countries."

Relations Strained

The Pope's repeated denunciation of the U.S. growing war threats to Iraq seems to be moving on a one line that shows an utter abhorrence to military aggression against any country without justified causes.

But the stance is understood to be religiously motivated in this small country.

The Church teaches that for a war to be "just", the use of military force should meet rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy.

It also says that all other means must first be exhausted, and that the type of force used must be proportionate to the wrong it tries to rectify.

The Vatican clearly does not consider that America's planned offensive to topple Saddam Hussein meets the conditions of a "just war" laid down by the Roman Catholic Church, opined a BBC analyst.

The pontiff appears to be signaling the start of a new diplomatic rift with the US - a repeat of the one which broke out over the Gulf War in 1991, analysts say.

During the Gulf War, relations between the Vatican and the U.S. were strained because the Pope refused to state unequivocally that the conflict was a "just" one.

However, the Pope also appeared keen to strike a note of optimism in this, the 25th New Year address of his pontificate.