These are the comments of church leaders.
Statements by Christian Church Leaders Regarding War against Iraq
The only major U.S. denominational leader to come out in favor of a unilateral pre-emptive strike against Iraq is the Southern Baptist leader Rev. Richard Land of Nashville, Tennessee. Most other Christian leaders in the U.S.A. and abroad are against any pre-emptive strike. A sample of statements follows.
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (August 30, 2002)
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop, made the following remarks:
"While we are fully aware of the potential threat posed by the government of Iraq and its leader, I believe it is wrong for the United State to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein with military action. Morally, I oppose it because I know a war with Iraq will have great consequences for the people of Iraq, who have already suffered through years of war and economic sanctions. I do not believe such a war can be justified under the historic principles of ‘just war.’"
For the full text see
www.elca.org/bishop/iraq.html.
United Methodists (August 30, 2002)
General Secretary Jim Winkler of the United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society has said:
"The Bush administration has declared its intent to launch a war against Iraq, ignoring the advice of its allies, many members of Congress, key experts, and millions of U.S. citizens. With unprecedented disregard for democratic ideals and with an astonishing lack of evidence justifying such a pre-emptive attack, the President has all but given the order to fire.
I ask United Methodists to oppose this reckless measure and urge the President to immediately pursue other means to resolve the threat posed by Iraq.
United Methodists have a particular duty to speak out against an unprovoked attack. President Bush and Vice-President Cheney are members of our denomination. Our silence now could be interpreted as tacit approval of war. Christ came to break old cycles of revenge and violence. Too often, we have said we worship and follow Jesus but have failed to change our ways. Jesus proved on the cross the failure of state-sponsored revenge. It is inconceivable that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior and the Prince of Peace, would support this proposed attack."
For full text see
www.umc-gbcs.org/gbpr170.htm.
The Episcopal Church, USA (September 6, 2002)
A statement by The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, Presiding Bishop and Primate, included the following:
"The problem of Iraq admits no easy solution. However, through diplomatic and multilateral initiatives, we can both serve our common interests and seek to contain the national security threats posed by Saddam Hussein’s rule of Iraq. Our great nation now has the opportunity to express leadership in the world by forging a foreign policy that seeks to reconcile and heal the world’s divisions.
I believe it is becoming ever more clear that this is the way to proceed, rather than choosing a course that will immediately endanger the Iraqi civilian population and our own United States Forces, that will alienate many of our closest allies, and destabilize the Middle East. We will all be better served to see our national energies and resources expended in resolving the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, such that Israel finds security and peace with its neighbors and Palestinians achieve statehood."
For full text see:
www.stnm.org/news/066.html.
National Council of Churches U.S.A. (September 12, 2002)
Forty-eight heads of American Protestant and Orthodox churches and organizations and Roman Catholic religious orders announced opposition to U.S. military action against Iraq in Washington, DC on September 12. General Secretary Bob Edgar of the National Council and former six-term member of the U.S. Congress stated:
"We do not need to march down the path to Armageddon. Pre-emptive military action now being contemplated by the Administration cannot be morally justified. Among other consequences, consider that a pre-emptive strike by the U.S. presents to the world a model of aggression that may encourage other nations to attack neighboring countries that threaten them."
Southern Baptists (September 13, 2002)
A top Southern Baptist Convention official says President Bush would be justified in launching a pre-emptive military strike against Iraq under terms of the classical Christian "just war" theory.
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said such an attack would be justified because Saddam Hussein is developing nuclear weapons "at breakneck speed," has broken all the agreements that were a condition of the cease-fire after the 1991 Gulf War, attempted to assassinate the first President George Bush, and that there is "a direct line" from Iraq to the Sept. 11 terrorists.
"If you are looking for just cause, we have already passed that threshold," Land said.
For the full article, see
www.ucc.org/news/b091302.htm#2.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (September 13, 2002)
Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote a letter to President Bush on September 13, 2002.
"Given the precedents and risks involved, we find it difficult to justify extending the war on terrorism to Iraq, absent clear and adequate evidence of Iraqi involvement in the attacks of September 11th or of an imminent attack of a grave nature.
We conclude, based on the facts that are known to us, that a preemptive, unilateral use of force is difficult to justify at this time. We fear that resort to force, under these circumstances, would not meet the strict conditions in Catholic teaching for overriding the strong presumption against the use of military force. Of particular concern are the traditional just war criteria of just cause, right authority, probability of success, proportionality and noncombatant immunity.
We respectfully urge you to step back from the brink of war."
Full text is available from
www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/bush902.htm.
The World Council of Churches (September 19, 2002)
The following is from a WCC press release on the above date.
The new director of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, Peter Weiderud, yesterday sent messages to Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and to the diplomatic missions of the US, UK, France, Russia and China.
[In its message] the WCC Central Committee calls on the Iraqi government "to respect the resolutions of the UN Security Council, including demands that it destroy all weapons of mass destruction and related research and production facilities, to cooperate fully with UN inspectors deployed to oversee compliance, and to guarantee full respect of the civil and political, economic, social and cultural human rights for all its citizens".
Weiderud's letter to the US, UK, French, Russian and Chinese diplomatic missions…draws attention to its call to the "international community to uphold the international rule of law, to resist pressures to join in preemptive military strikes against a sovereign state under the pretext of the 'war on terrorism', and to strengthen their commitment to obtain respect for UN Security Council resolutions on Iraq by non-military means."
Statement of 100 U.S. Christian Ethicists (September 23, 2002)
"As Christian ethicists, we share a common moral presumption against a pre-emptive war on Iraq by the United States."
The Christian ethicists who signed the above statement come from a range of institutions and include scholars with pacifist and just war perspectives.
The statement can be found in The Chronicle of Higher Education on September 23, 2002.
