“Respect for every human life” and “justice are the foundation and condition for peace”, declare the French bishops, in response to the terrorist attacks of recent days and the threat of “an adventure with irreversible consequences”, such as a possible armed attack of the USA on Iraq. In a communiqué of the permanent Council of the Episcopal Conference of France released on 15 October, the bishops point out that the available information does not yet permit us to affirm that the conditions that, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, would justify the resource to military force, have been verified. “Does the Iraqi regime, condemnable for its violation of human rights at home and its flouting of international laws, constitute an urgent and immediate threat, such as to justify legitimate defence?”, ask the bishops, wondering whether, “in the case of a real threat”, “recourse to all the alternatives to military options” should not first be exhausted. According to the bishops, the consequences of a war would be of the utmost gravity: “A conflict between an Arab country and the USA would reinforce the arguments of the ideologues of radical Islam and foment the hostility of confused and disinformed masses towards the West”.
