Bishop's
Letter (march 2003)Aqua Viva, Vol. 18 (3): p. 2
Dear
Friends in Christ:
It
would be remiss on my part, writing in this month's Agua Viva, dedicated to the
theme of conflict and reconciliation, not to address the current debate over the
possibility of war with Iraq.
Here is a summary of the position of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on the situation. A statement was given by the Conference on November 13, 2002, stating its position; it was reiterated in early February by U.S. bishops' Committee on Iraq after the speech of Secretary of State Colin Powell to the UN Security Council.
In
November the U.S. bishops said, "We have no illusions about the behavior or
intentions of the Iraqi government. The Iraqi leadership must cease its internal
repression, end its threats to its neighbors, stop any support for terrorism,
abandon its efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction, and destroy all such
existing weapons. The United States should be commended for pressing for the
resolution that led to the return of inspectors to Iraq to comply fully with
Security Council resolutions. All involved should work to see the UN action will
not simply be a prelude to war, but a way to avoid it.”
We
also acknowledged that people
of good will may differ on how to apply just war norms in particular cases, but
made the prudential judgment that "based on the facts that are known to us,
we continue to find it difficult to justify the resort to war against Iraq,
lacking clear and adequate evidence of an imminent attack of a grave
nature." Statements from Church leaders at the Vatican, such as the
Secretary of State and the Secretary for Relations with States, have made
similar declarations.
The
Holy Father himself, speaking on the issue of the threat of war in Iraq to the
Diplomatic Corps on January 13, 2003, said, "War cannot be decided upon…
except as the very last option and in accordance with very strict conditions,
without ignoring the consequences for the civilian population both during and
after the military operation."
We
bishops call upon the Catholic community to pray for all those most likely to be
affected by a war, especially the long-suffering people of Iraq, the men and
women in our armed forces who are being deployed, and our national leaders who
have the responsibility to make wise judgments in service of the common good.
The
full text of the November statement by the U.S. bishops is available on the
website: http://www.nccbuscc.org/bishops/iraq.htm
The possibility of war was made very real to me last week when I was asked to
give a departure bless- ing and prayer for reservists, men and women, being
deployed from the Las Cruces area. Present were hundreds of soldiers, their
spouses, children, parents and other family members. The safety and well-being
of these people directly affected by world events, make it
imperative for us to pray for
reconciliation and peace.
Sincerely
yours in Christ,
Signed,
Ricardo Ramirez, C.S.B. Bishop of Las Cruces
Next See Catholic positions on Just and Unjust War. at www.PeaceAware.com