Mr. NICHOLSON: I would not agree that a lot have said that, but certainly some have. And some senior members of the Roman curia have. I am a lifetime Catholic, and I thought the Church was very hierarchal and everything flowed down from the pope, but that is not the case. These cardinals and bishops have a lot of autonomy, except on matters of faith and doctrine, and so some of them did opine that they thought it was immoral and so forth, but never did the pope.

ABERNETHY: Now that no weapons of mass destruction have been found, and there is an insurgency, has anyone at the Vatican said to you, "See, we were right?"

Mr. NICHOLSON: Nobody is saying that. They are not saying, "I told you so." They are saying, "You're there." There is a commitment to try to make this a free and open society, and we need now to work very closely together to see that this happens as a result of this invasion and of the war and of the killing that has gone on there. It has to become worth the price.

ABERNETHY: The pope's failing health continues to feed speculation that he can no longer run the Vatican. But Ambassador Nicholson insists that in spite of John Paul's frailty and suffering, his mind is sharp, and so is his sense of humor, even about reporters.

Mr. NICHOLSON: An American bishop that works in the curia told me about one morning going in, having breakfast with him, and he just said, "How are you feeling this morning, Holy Father?" And he said, "I don't know yet. I haven't had a chance to read the American press." And then he said, "By the way, would you tell them that I don't run this Church with my feet?"