The first task” “

In the days preceding the military attack against the Iraqi regime, appeals for peace were made by all the Episcopal Conferences of Europe. They all echoed the Pope’s exhortation – Never again war! – in his Angelus address on Sunday, 16 March. A brief review below. Italy: the message of the Italian Episcopal Conference “Collaborating in a full and immediate way with the international community, with a view to eliminating any motive for an armed intervention”: that is what is asked of “the political leaders of Iraq, in this grave hour” by the presidency of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), in a communiqué released on 17 March. The CEI’s appeal, “echoing the words of the Holy Father”, “also asks all the member countries of the United Nations not to have recourse to the use of force until every chance of a peaceful solution has been exhausted, according to the principles enshrined in the UN Charter itself. It also requests the Italian Government for a renewed pledge in this sense. It urges in particular believers, conscious that peace is above all a gift of God, to implore, in peace and in penance, this gift of inestimable value for the present and future of the human family”. Spain, England and Wales: the appeal of the bishops An appeal to the nation to take into consideration “the tremendous consequences that an international military operation will cause for the peoples of Iraq, for the peace of the whole region of the Middle East, and for world stability” has been made by the Spanish Episcopal Conference, in a communiqué released on 18 March. The Spanish bishops ask that, in the event of conflict, “every effort be made to avoid the loss of human lives” and “ensure the protection of the weakest”. “Praying together: that is our first task”: so declare the bishops of England and Wales “at this moment in which the Iraqi crisis does not seem to have found a diplomatic solution and the military attack seems imminent”. In a statement issued on 18 March, the bishops urge the faithful to pray “for all those who are prisoners of the horror of war, and especially for the innocent Iraqi civilians, that they may be touched by the grace of God”, but also “for our rulers, that they may recognize in justice and reconciliation the one and only terrain for a just and lasting peace”. “We must show solidarity – declare the bishops – with those who suffer most from the consequences of the military action, whether they be soldiers of the armed forces and their families, or those who may be the victims of prejudices in our own nation. Lastly we recall that in the midst of the preparations for war our true vocation is to be peacemakers, the peace made of serenity, justice, freedom and love to which the Gospel calls us”. Other Episcopal Conferences Condemnation of the undue haste of the armed intervention, and a rebuke to the Dutch government for its lack of clarity in responding to the Iraqi crisis, are contained in an open letter addressed in recent days to Prime Minister Balkenende, and signed by Bishop Adrian van Luyn of Rotterdam ( Holland), president of Pax Christi Olanda. In particular the Dutch bishop reproaches the Executive of his country for not having “taken a clear stance against an unilateral military intervention by the USA and Great Britain in Iraq without a UN mandate”. The bishops of Greece, as early as January, has asked all MPs to “make every effort to diplomatically resolve the Iraqi crisis”. The bishops of Germany, Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, Serbia-Montenegro, Romania, and Turkey have also appealed for a peaceful solution to the crisis, reiterated their concern for the consequences of a war” and also expressed their “apprehension” about the situation in the Holy Land.