Iraqis must determine own future, urges Pope

IN AN Easter Sunday message tinged with sorrow for the world's conflicts, Pope John Paul II said it should be the Iraqi people who determine their own future, adding his moral authority to the international debate on the aftermath of the US-led war in Iraq.

"Peace in Iraq," he proclaimed, drawing cheers from some 60,000 people, chilled by rain in St Peter's Square, where a tired-looking Pontiff celebrated Mass.

"With the support of the international community, may the Iraqi people become the protagonists of their collective rebuilding of their country," said John Paul, who had vigorously spoken out against war before the conflict, trying to use Vatican diplomacy to avert it.