New Ambassador Comforts Americans After Attacks

THE NEW YORK TIMES, Sept. 18—R. James Nicholson, the new U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, gained an unwanted prominence after the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the New York daily reported.

Nicholson appeared at St. Susanna's, the church frequented by American Catholics in Rome, and gave a “reflection” at the end of Mass. He noted that the church, which ordinarily draws a smattering of expatriate worshipers, was so full that the priests nearly ran out of hosts when giving Communion.

Many Italians had come to show support, and sang “God Bless America.” Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who was in Rome to address a legal conference, also attended.

Kazakhstan: ‘Unprecedented’ Security for Pope

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, Sept. 17—Kazakh police vowed to tighten security to “unprecedented” levels for the visit of Pope John Paul II, the wire service reported.

The attacks on the United States caused the former Soviet republic, which is near Afghanistan, to bring in about 900 police officers from neighboring regions, for a total of 2,400 officers.

But the capital, Astana, will not be closed, and all who want to attend Mass celebrated by the Pope will be able to do so, officials said.

Airline Terrorists Plotted Against Pope

GEOSTRATEGY, Sept. 25—Decoded messages on hard drives kept by a captured terrorist revealed a plot against Pope John Paul II's life, the Internet news agency reported.

In 1995, Ramsi Youssef was captured in the Philippines. His computer hard drives included plans for many terrorist attacks using hijacked aircraft. According to an intelligence source, the first plan was to assassinate the Pope during a scheduled visit to the Philippines.

Other material on the hard drives helped convict the terrorists who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993. Youssef has been linked to Osama Bin Laden's terrorist group.

Vatican Criticizes Sept. 11 Soccer Matches

L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO, Sept. 12—The Vatican newspaper criticized European soccer teams for playing on the day of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America.

The Vatican newspaper, criticized UEFA for allowing eight Champions League games to be played, saying: “As the whole world found itself exposed to the terrorist threat and as the American people plunged into mourning, it was decided—in an inopportune way, to say the least—to play the scheduled games.”

Eight Champions League and more than 40 UEFA Cup matches were scheduled to be played on Sept. 12 and Sept. 13.

European soccer's governing body postponed all its matches for the rest of the week of the attacks “out of a mark of respect” for the victims in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.