Catholics say no to Iraq war

Since the start of 2003, The Evangelist has carried several articles chronicling the strong Catholic opposition that has been forming against a U.S.-led war on Iraq. When such coverage is spread out over the year's first five issues, including this one, the powerful unanimity of the opinions can be diluted. When they are gathered into one list, however, the impact is impressive:

* While recognizing that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a danger to the world, the German bishops said that war could be justified only in response to an attack or to prevent "the most serious crimes against humanity, such as genocide."

* In Northern Ireland, Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh, wrote to British prime minister Tony Blair to say that a war against Iraq would be difficult to justify because "adequate evidence" supporting an attack is lacking (see more on page 12).

* The Church's international coalition of aid agencies also condemned an attack, saying that such a war would be immoral, illegal under international law and disastrous for Iraqi civilians. The Rome-based Caritas Internationalis predicted that a war would lead inevitably to the deaths of thousands of civilians.

* Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City declared that "it would be a disgrace to humanity if we go down this path. Disputes between nations should not be resolved by force or bloodshed or the imposition of one nation's will over another's."

* Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C., reiterated the American bishops' view: that "from what we know now, we do not see the conditions for a just war."

* Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad, Iraq, declared: "We don't understand this war. It threatens our children, our elderly, our sick and our young. Why come to us? Because we have oil? Let them take the oil, but leave us in peace."

* Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore, Pakistan, has cautioned that "hundreds of thousands of civilian" lives may be lost and that the war may "provoke a global backlash" from those who see the Iraqi people "as victims of aggression."

* There have been continuing appeals for peace from Pope John Paul II, who has said war must be "the very last option" because "it is always a defeat for humanity."

That collection of worldwide opinion was echoed in the Diocese last Sunday, when interfaith leaders gathered at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany to raise their voices in prayers for peace. Bishop Howard J. Hubbard used the occasion to urge everyone of faith to advocate for peace. We will not encapsule here what he says in depth elsewhere (beginning on page 1). Instead, we will ask this question: After you have digested all of this opposition, expressed from a basis in faith and morality, what is your view of the pending war? We are not soliciting letters to the editor; rather, we are encouraging action on the part of citizens to let their voices be heard by their congressional representatives and the White House.

(01-30-03)