VATICAN CITY -- A Vatican-sanctioned journal Thursday attacked the United States' justification for a possible war in Iraq, saying it was motivated by economics and would spark a wave of terrorism and more trouble in the Middle East.

The views of the Jesuit-run journal Civilta Cattolica are significant because its articles are approved by the Vatican's Secretariat of State and reflect Vatican opinion.

The journal suggested that oil was an ulterior motive for a war.

An editorial rebutted the reasons given by the U.S. to justify a possible war against Iraq and said they were often contradictory.

"One can foresee the destabilization of the entire Middle East because the more politicized Islamic masses, which already harbor a deep hate for the West, will see it as an act of war against Islam and against Arab and Muslim countries," it said.

"The gravest consequence of a war against Iraq, however, would be a flare-up of terrorism against the United States and against allied Western countries."

The editorial appeared four days after Pope John Paul II put the Vatican on a diplomatic collision course with Washington by saying war would be a "defeat for humanity."

Civilta Cattolica said that while it was "probable" that Iraq had chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction, "there is no certain and documented evidence about how much there is and about Saddam Hussein's ability to use them."

Copyright 2003 Reuters Ltd

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