Church Leaders United Against War in Iraq

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Three U.S. church leaders, including a representative of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined 22 church leaders in Europe and the Middle East in opposing war in Iraq and calling for a peaceful resolution of conflicts.
The Rev. Rebecca S. Larson, executive director for the ELCA Division for Church in Society, attended the Feb. 5 meeting on behalf of the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop. The meeting occurred hours before U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke to the U.N. Security Council in New York, in which he presented evidence the Bush Administration said shows Iraq is not complying with United Nations requirements to disarm.
The five-hour meeting of church leaders in Berlin, Germany, was convened by the World Council of Churches in consultation with the Conference of European Churches, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC) and the Middle East Council of Churches, hosted by the Evangelical Church in Germany.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the leaders deplored the fact that the United States and other nations "regard war as an acceptable instrument of foreign policy" and rejected the aims of the United States to use a "pre-emptive military strike" to remove the Iraqi regime. They also called on the government of Iraq to comply with U.N. demands that it destroy all weapons of mass destruction.
Other U.S. church leaders who added their names to the statement were the Rev. Robert W. Edgar, NCC general secretary, and James E. Winkler, general secretary, General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church.
The meeting included about 30 people, Larson said in a telephone interview from Berlin. The meeting was "important" for all who attended and was "extremely important to the European churches," she said.
"There is no issue that has united the churches as opposition to war in Iraq," Larson said. The church leaders planned to meet the same day with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Larson added.
The European church leaders, in consultation with U.S. and Middle East councils of churches, said they "remain extremely concerned with the continued calls for military action against Iraq by the U.S. and some European governments," according to the statement.
"As people of faith, our love of neighbor compels us to oppose war and to seek peaceful resolution of conflicts," the statement said. "As churches we pray for peace and freedom, justice and safety for the people of Iraq and in the Middle East as a whole. Such prayer obliges us to be instruments of peace."
The leaders said they cannot accept the stated objectives of a war against Iraq and U.N. weapons inspectors must be given time to complete their work. They also called on the government of Iraq "to destroy any weapons of mass destruction and related research and production facilities." Iraq must cooperate fully with U.N. weapons inspectors and guarantee full respect of the civil and political, economic, social and cultural human rights for all its citizens, the leaders' statement said.
A war would have significant consequences, including large- scale displacement of people, the breakdown of state functions, the possibility of civil war and major unrest in the whole region, the church leaders said.
"The plight of Iraqi children and the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis over the past 12 years...weighs heavily on our hearts," the statement said. "In the present situation, we strongly affirm long-standing humanitarian principles of unconditional access to people in need."
"For us it is a spiritual obligation, grounded in God's love for all humanity, to speak out against war in Iraq. Through this message we send a strong sign of solidarity and support, to churches in Iraq, the Middle East and in the U.S.A. We pray that God will guide those responsible to take decisions based on careful reflections, moral principles and high legal standards. We invite all churches to join us in this act of witness and to pray for and encourage participation of all people in the struggle for a peaceful resolution of this conflict," the statement concluded. ---
* Philip E. Jenks is communications officer for the World Council of Churches' U.S. office, New York.

The full text of the church leaders statement can be found at http://www2.wcc-coe.org/PressReleases_en.nsf/index/pu-02-03.html on the Web.

Photos from the Berlin meeting can be found at http://www.photooikoumene.org/events/events.html on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html