U.S. Christian Leaders APOLOGIZE for War on Iraq

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S

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 17:06:39 -0800 (PST)

U.S. Christian Leaders APOLOGIZE for War on Iraq

 

 

 

This statement below makes my heart SWELL, though belatedly: that

perhaps we may be learning, after all. And the World Council of

Churches made this statement much sooner than apologies were made by

all the " other " German churches, among many others in Europe, that

did not join Bonhoeffer's " Confessing Church " of Lutheranism, when

he/they denounced Hitler totally, from Day One: S.

 

 

 

US CHRISTIAN LEADERS APOLOGIZE TO ASSEMBLY PLENARY

 

ON VIOLENCE, POVERTY AND ECOLOGY

 

Representatives of the US Conference for the World

Council of Churches

(WCC) addressed a message to the WCC's 9th Assembly on

18 February saying

that the US-led Iraq war was a " mistake " , and

apologized to the ecumenical

community for failing to raise a prophetic voice to

prevent it.

 

The Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, moderator of the US

Conference for the

WCC, made up of 34 US churches that are members of the

Council, told a 9th

Assembly plenary, " We lament with special anguish the

war in Iraq,

launched with deception and violating global norms of

justice and human

rights. "

 

Speaking at a press conference earlier, Kishkovsky

said the delegation was

making the statement to the ecumenical community to

" show repentance and

solidarity with those who suffered " .

 

President of the National Council of Churches of

Christ in the US, Rev.

Michael Livingstone referred to solidarity shown with

the US over the

terrorist attacks of September 11 2001, saying, " In a

number of ecumenical

settings, we were deeply moved by post 9/11 visits,

where we were offered

sympathy over the tragic loss of life. "

 

Nevertheless, the statement says, the US responded to

the (9-11) attacks " by

seeking to reclaim a privileged and secure place in

the world, raining

down terror on the truly vulnerable among our global

neighbours.

 

" Our leaders turned a deaf ear to the voices of church

leaders throughout

our nation and the world, entering into imperial

projects that seek to

dominate and control for the sake of our own national

interests. Nations

have been demonized and God has been enlisted in

national agendas that are

nothing short of idolatrous. "

 

Presented in the form of a prayer of repentance, the

message continues,

" We confess that we have failed to raise a prophetic

voice loud enough and

persistent enough to call our nation to global

responsibility for

creation, that we ourselves are complicit in a culture

of consumption that

diminishes the earth. Christ, have mercy. "

 

The statement says that while global warming goes on

unchecked, the US

refuses to acknowledge its responsibility and rejects

multilateral

agreements aimed at reversing disastrous trends.

 

It says, " Starvation, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the

treatable diseases that

go untreated indict us, revealing the grim features of

global economic

injustice we have too often failed to acknowledge or

confront. "

 

" Hurricane Katrina, " it continues, " revealed to the

world those left

behind in our own nation by the rupture of our social

contract. As a

nation we have refused to confront the racism that

infects our policies

around the world. "

 

Rev. Dr Sharon Watkins, president of the Christian

Church Disciples of

Christ, who supported the statement, said, " This

letter is not an attempt

to undermine American troops. They are brave men and

women who are our

sons and daughters and our neighbours. But here we

gather with Christians

around the world, and meet the parents of other sons

and daughters. "

 

Visibly moved, she said, " We come face to face with

brothers and sisters

who suffered because of choices our government made,

and we are making the

statement to acknowledge solidarity with the

suffering. "

 

The statement itself affirms, " We mourn all who have

died or been injured

in this war; we acknowledge with shame abuses carried

out in our name. "

 

Explaining the timing of the statement, Rev. John

Thomas, president of

United Church of Christ, said, " An emerging theme in

conversation with our

partners around the world is that the US is being

perceived as a dangerous

nation. "

 

He said that the Assembly was " a unique opportunity to

make this statement

to all our colleagues " in the ecumenical movement. The

statement says, " We

come to you seeking to be partners in the search for

unity and justice. "

Thomas acknowledged that not all church members would

agree with the

thrust of the statement, but said it was their

responsibility as leaders

to " speak a prophetic and pastoral word as we believe

God is offering it

to us " .

 

The US Conference for the World Council of Churches is

composed of 34 US

churches which belong to the WCC:

http://www.wcc-usa.org/about-us/member-churches.html

 

Full text of the statement:

 

http://www.wcc-assembly.info/en/theme-issues/assembly-documents/non-official-doc\

uments/letter-from-us-conference-for-the-wcc.html

 

Assembly website: www.wcc-assembly.info

 

Contact in Porto Alegre: +55 / 51 8419.2169

 

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153

+41 79 507 6363

media

 

Sign up for WCC press releases at

http://onlineservices.wcc-coe.org/pressnames.nsf

 

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity

in faith, witness

and service for a just and peaceful world. An

ecumenical fellowship of

churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings

together 348 Protestant,

Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing

more than 560 million

Christians in over 110 countries, and works

cooperatively with the Roman

Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr

Samuel Kobia, from

the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva,

Switzerland.