"That a people in distress prays to God can be understood, but for the U.S. that shocks me," said the reverend cardinal

PARIS, April 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Paris archbishop Jean-Marie Lustiger was shocked by U.S. President George W. Bush's calls for prayers for a U.S. victory in the Iraq war.

"That a people in distress prays to God can be understood," the cardinal said on television late Sunday, April 13. "But for the United States, that shocks me," Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Monday, April 14.

Lustiger went on: "Bush is reacting like everyone reacts in these cases. He's getting people to pray for United States victory. I don't agree with this. The principle of this prayer is 'who's not for us is against us'," while "the principle of prayer for peace is to break the infernal circle of hatred."

The World Council of Churches (WCC) branded February 21 as immoral and unwise the U.S.-British war on Iraq and praised U.S. and British churches for standing up to politicians in their countries.

The WCC executive committee said in a statement that it "strongly deplores the fact that the most powerful nations of this world again regard war as an acceptable instrument of foreign policy."

Pope John Paul II also censured Bush, asserting that he assumed a "grave responsibility before God" in deciding that diplomacy to avoid conflict with Iraq had been exhausted, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

"Whoever decides that all peaceful means under international law have been exhausted is assuming a grave responsibility before God, his conscience and before history," Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.

Bush Cancels Visit To Anti-War Canada

In the meantime, U.S. President George W. Bush has postponed his scheduled May 5 visit to Ottawa, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said Sunday.

A report in the National Post newspaper Saturday, April 12, said Bush had postponed the trip because of Canada's anti-war stance and fierce anti-U.S. criticism from Canadian government officials.

On Saturday, Canadian officials had said they would not be surprised if he (Bush) cancelled the trip given the war situation.

The trip’s postponement, however, will likely spark more debate here among Chretien's critics who say Canada's refusal to participate in the U.S.-led war against Iraq is damaging the close, bilateral relationship.

Canada refused to support the war in Iraq without United Nations approval.

U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci in a speech here criticized Ottawa for not fully supporting the United States as well as allowing anti-U.S. comments from within the Chretien government.

‘A Moron’

Recently, antiwar Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish called Americans "bastards" and Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal said Bush had failed as a statesman. And in November, a Chretien spokeswoman had to resign after calling Bush a "moron."

Cellucci's remarks triggered a fiery debate in Parliament, with conservative opposition members saying Canada had abandoned its “closest friend” and ally in a time of need.

Chretien had himself cancelled a trip to Washington to receive an award in late March, but his spokesman Jim Munson on Saturday downplayed reports of seriously strained relations.