Posted on: Saturday, October 5, 2002
FAITH
Religious leaders split on Iraq
By Bill Broadway
Washington Post
After the terrorist attacks, U.S. religious leaders debated centuries-old "just war" principles during the war on Afghanistan, but most agreed it was necessary to attack Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network and the Taliban harboring it. The planned next stage of President Bush's war on terrorism — a military assault to destroy Iraq's weapon-making capabilities and remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein — doesn't have the same level of consensus.
Like the Persian Gulf War, now there's more time for reflective thinking, said Brian Grieves, director of peace and justice ministries for the Episcopal Church.
Religious leaders are divided over whether an attack against Iraq would meet the conditions for a just war, including the assurance that nonviolent means have been exhausted, that military action will be strictly defensive and that few innocents will die as a result.
So far, the religious community has tended to be critical of Bush's war rhetoric. Several major U.S. religious organizations have written letters to the White House opposing the call for a pre-emptive military strike against Iraq, citing insufficient evidence of Iraq's involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks, concerns about the impact of renewed war on the Iraqi people and the potential for further destabilization of the Middle East. But Bush has received support from leaders of the evangelical Christians.
"In this instance, the president has articulated a faith much like our own," said Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs at the National Association of Evangelicals. That faith includes a stated belief in Jesus Christ and the existence of "evil" in the form of people like Saddam, Cizik said.
"This isn't pre-emption but another step in responding to the continuum of terrorism, of evildoers" in the world, said Cizik, whose association represents at least 10 million charismatics, Pentecostals and other evangelicals in 51 denominations.
Cizik stopped short of supporting unilateral action by the United States. Bush should continue a "good-faith effort" to obtain the support of Congress and the United Nations and "exhaust thoroughly" alternative means to military action, he said.
Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the 16 million-member Southern Baptist Convention, offered no such qualifier.
"There's no doubt in my mind Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction, is seeking more and, when he gets them, he will use them against our military forces, our embassies and against our allies," said Land, who called religious leaders who oppose Bush "well-intentioned and naive."
Opponents of an invasion have been more vocal. Opposition began in earnest last month, when the World Council of Churches' central committee, meeting in Geneva, called on the United States "to desist from any military threats against Iraq" and urged U.S. allies "to resist pressure to join in pre-emptive military strikes against a sovereign state under the pretext of the 'war on terrorism.' "
On Aug. 30, the public policy office of the 8.3 million-member United Methodist Church issued a statement opposing military action as "reckless" and saying they have a duty to speak out against an "unprovoked attack" because Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are members of their denomination.
The ecumenical Churches for Middle East Peace faxed a letter to Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Adviser Condoleezaa Rice and other members of the White House staff. The letter, signed by 49 Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christian leaders, praised Bush for his leadership since the terrorist attacks, but the attitude of peace and reconciliation "could be damaged by actions contemplated by our nation ... for the express purpose of toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein," they wrote.
Catholic and Protestant bishops raised concerns about military action against Iraq in a September meeting on the Middle East with Rice. They also left copies of statements from their respective denominations: the Rev. Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, representing 63 million Catholics; the Rev. Frank Griswold, presiding bishop of the 2.3 million-member Episcopal Church; and the Rev. Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, with 5 million members.
This week, the National Council of Churches led a religious assault on Capitol Hill, with participants gathering daily to pray for peace and then fanning out to visit members of Congress, urging them to consider the consequences of war and to reject war legislation. Participants included Catholics, Quakers, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists, Brethren and others.
Information from Associated Press writer Rachel Zoll was used in this report.
