| Bishops urge restraint on Iraq; question
whether war could be just
By JOE FEUERHERD
Washington
An invasion of Iraq could be morally just, but U.S. Catholic
bishops expressed “fear” that the use of force could run counter to
the church’s teaching on war.
“With the Holy See and bishops from the Middle East and
around the world, we fear that resort to war, under present circumstances and
in light of current public information, would not meet the strict conditions in
Catholic teaching for overriding the strong presumption against the use of
military force,” according to the three-page statement approved by the
bishops Nov. 13. “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.”
Further, said the bishops, “The use of military force in Iraq
could bring incalculable costs for a civilian population that has suffered so
much from war, repression, and a debilitating embargo.”
Nevertheless, according to the statement, “there are no easy
answers” to the problems posed by and Iraqi government. “Ultimately
our elected leaders are responsible for decisions about national security, but
we hope that our moral concerns and questions will be considered
seriously.”
In addition, the bishops:
- Questioned the so-called “Bush Doctrine,” under which
the United States claims the right to strike preemptively against governments
or terrorists that are deemed a grave threat to U.S. interests. “We are
deeply concerned about recent proposals to expand dramatically traditional
limits on just cause to include preventive uses of military force to overthrow
threatening regimes or to deal with weapons of mass destruction.”
- Urged that any military action undertaken against Iraq
“take place within the framework of the United Nations after considering
the consequences for Iraqi civilians, and regional and global stability.”
- Warned that a “war against Iraq could also detract from
the responsibility to help build a just and stable order in Afghanistan and
could undermine broader efforts to stop terrorism.”
- Repeated their call for “more carefully focused economic
sanctions which do not threaten the lives of innocent Iraqi
civilians.”
The bishops also voiced their collective support for Catholics
serving in the military, and explicitly reiterated previous conference
statements indicating sympathy for conscientious objectors.
Said the bishops: “We support those who risk their lives in
the service of our nation. We also support those who seek to exercise their
right to conscientious objection and selective conscientious objection, as we
have stated in the past.” U.S. law does not recognize a right to
“selective conscientious objection,” where a potential combatant
refuses to participate in a war based on specific objections to a particular
conflict.
Boston Cardinal Bernard Law, outgoing chairman of the
bishops’ International Policy Committee, said the statement “strikes
a balance” between Catholics in the military who would likely be involved
in a conflict with Iraq, and those Catholics outside the military who consider
such a war immoral.
The statement was supported by 228 bishops, while 14 opposed
it.
National Catholic Reporter, November 22,
2002
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