The Vatican will attempt to halt the execution of one of Saddam Hussein's closest aides, former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz.
The 74-year-old was ordered to be hanged after being found guilty of "eliminating religious parties" in Iraq, according to the Baghdad court's media office.
The only Christian in Hussein's mainly Sunni inner circle, he is being punished for his role in persecuting Shi'ites.
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev Federico Lombardi, said commuting the sentence would encourage reconciliation and the rebuilding of peace and justice in Iraq.
"The Catholic Church position on the death penalty is known," he said.
"We really want the sentence against Tariq Aziz not to be carried out."
He added that the Vatican would normally pursue any possible humanitarian intervention to stop an execution through diplomatic channels.
Aziz was charged with taking part in a campaign against members of the Dawa Party, of which current Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki is a member.
The judges also handed death sentences to two other top Saddam lieutenants, former interior minister Saadoun Shaker and Abid Hamoud, the dictator's secretary.
All three had been put on trial over a crackdown on members of Iraq's Shi'ite majority population following an uprising against Saddam in 1991.
By law the executions have to be confirmed by the presidential council before being carried out.
In 2009, Aziz was jailed for 15 years for the execution of 42 Baghdad traders in 1992.
He was given a separate seven-year sentence for his role in expelling Kurds from northern Iraq. He denied all the charges.
Aziz turned himself in to US forces in April 2003, days after the fall of Baghdad.
He was appointed foreign minister in 1983 and then deputy prime minister in 1991.
He went on to become the international face of Saddam's regime.
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The Vatican really should stop associating itself with scumbags
