Pope John Paul II has asked President Bush to spare...

Pope John Paul II has asked President Bush to spare the life of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, who is scheduled to be executed on May 16. White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said that a letter from John Paul requesting clemency was received this week. She would not reveal the details of the letter. Legal scholars said it appeared Bush had no way to intervene in the execution even if he were inclined to. Sources at the Vatican confirmed the presence of the appeal, explaining that Vatican representatives abroad make requests for clemency every time there is an execution, regardless of the circumstances. Only once has Pope John Paul II succeeded in actively saving the life of a condemned prisoner: it occurred in 1999 when Darrell Mease of Missouri was spared one year after a papal visit in the state that was then governed by the current Attorney General John Ashcroft. Today, however, priests took the opportunity in many catholic churches around the US to take advantage the plea and put the Pope's message in the mind of the faithful. "Whatever you think about the death penalty McVeigh's execution has nothing to do with Christian forgiveness", said a New York priest to his congregation.