Pope: Spare McVeigh

By Stephen M. Silverman

08/28/1997 at 12:00 AM EDT

Pope John Paul II has asked President Bush to spare the life of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, 33, who is due to be executed in Indiana on May 16. White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said on Friday that Bush received a letter from Gabriel Montalvo, the apostolic nuncio in the U.S., on the Pope's behalf. On "Fox News Sunday" this weekend, Vice President Dick Cheney rejected the pontiff's request, saying "I think if ever there was a man who deserves to be executed, it is probably Timothy McVeigh."