Should the Pope Be More Positive About Iraq?

Was Pope Benedict adopting an unduly Eurocentric and pessimistic view when he stated, in his Easter message, that "nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees?"  Michael Novak says yes, characterizing the Pope's remarks as "a low point."  The positive developments that Novak sees, it seems, are the fact that Shiite cities are now open for feast days, the fact that American troops allowed an anti-American protest to proceed on Sunday, and the fact that 200 newspapers and magazines are being published now that did not exist under Saddam.  I guess it's hard for Benedict to focus on the newspaper industry in light of the daily body count.