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Pope appeals for clemency

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI appealed to the Indonesian President on Friday to spare the lives of three Catholic militiamen sentenced to death in Indonesia. The appeal came in the form of a telegram sent by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's Secretary of State, on Pope Benedict's behalf to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and cited ``humanitarian grounds.'' The three militiamen, convicted of carrying out bloody attacks on Muslims during sectarian fighting in 2000, were scheduled for execution early on Saturday on Sulawesi island. The appeal was sent to the President to ``seek your intervention on humanitarian grounds ... in order that an act of clemency might be granted to these three Catholic citizens of your nation'' and noted the Catholic Church opposes the death penalty. In the telegram, sent in English, Cardinal Sodano extended his greetings to the President while ``trusting that this appeal made on behalf of His Holiness will meet with a positive outcome.'' The European Union has also appealed to the Indonesian Government not to carry out the punishment. — AP

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