Vatican May Try to Stop Stoning
The New York Daily News reports:
The Vatican may reach out to help an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning.
A statement by the Catholic Church criticized the "brutal" practice, and said the church was aware of the woman's plight.
"The Holy See is following this affair with attention and commitment," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a statement, after being asked about the matter by journalists.
Although no formal appeal has been made to the Vatican to intervene, he said, it is possible that the church could step in -- should someone ask.
"When the Holy See is asked, in an appropriate way, to intervene in humanitarian issues with the authorities of other countries, as it has happened many times in the past, it does so not in a public way, but through its own diplomatic channels," Lombardi said in the statement.
The woman's son, Sajad, told the Italian news agency Adnkronos that he was appealing to Pope Benedict XVI and to Italy to work to stop the execution. But Lombardi told the Associated Press that no formal appeal had reached the Vatican.
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