Opening "other" roads” “

The outbreak of the war in Iraq has not extinguished the European Churches’ commitment to and hope in peace (see SIR 21/2003). Once again the Pope, in his Angelus address on Sunday 23 March, made his voice heard, loudly and clearly, in favour of peace, expressing his ‘closeness and prayer’ to the victims of the war and their families. Further heartfelt appeals for peace have also been made by the Turkish, Czech, French, Italian, English and Welsh bishops (among others). Turkey: praying for the innocent victims and world leaders “In spite of the urgent and reiterated appeals of the Pope and of the international community – write the bishops of the Turkish Episcopal Conference in a document released in recent days – a new war with all its disastrous consequences has begun in Iraq, on the frontier of our country”. In their declaration the bishops and the faithful of the Turkish Catholic community express “solidarity with all the peacemakers and raise to God, the one source of peace, their prayer for the innocent victims of this conflict”. At the same time they ask “God to illuminate the rulers of the earth, that they may unite their efforts to re-establish a just and lasting peace”. Uniting their voice with that of believers in Iraq and the Middle East as a whole, the Turkish bishops “forcefully reaffirm that the war cannot be justified by invoking the name of God, since the believers of all religions are called to be peacemakers and not agents of destruction and death”. “In this time of Lent – concludes the declaration – only prayer and fasting may obtain from the Lord the true conversion of hearts with a view to the re-establishment of an international order based on justice and peace”. Czech Republic: “it’s never too late for peace” “We hope that the political leaders, who bear on their shoulders the heavy responsibility for this decision [to go to war], made their decision according to conscience and are able to explain its reasons”. That’s the hope expressed by the bishops of the Episcopal Conference of the Czech Republic in a message dedicated to the situation in Iraq. Recalling the words of the Pope, the bishops stress that “it’s never too late for peace” and that those responsible “have the obligation to pursue every possible means to restore peace, even if that involves some difficulty”. The bishops also insist on the need “to ensure sufficient humanitarian aid to meet the needs of the civil population”. “At this time – the statement continues – we wish to remember in our prayers all the Czech soldiers who are fulfilling the commitment of our country to a resolution of the conflict with the use of force. We also remember their families and loved ones”. “As bishops and citizens of this nation – they conclude – we invite all people of good will to unite in prayer to invoke a peaceful solution of the conflict”. France: “a defeat for humanity” “A defeat for humanity”: that’s how the Council of the Christian Churches off France calls the war in Iraq. In a joint communiqué issued on 20 March the Protestant Federation, the Assembly of the Orthodox bishops and the Episcopal Conference of France declare that “the war was not necessary since other ways remain open”. They also warn that “the war may re-ignite tensions and conflicts between communities in some quarters and cities of France. No violence – they conclude – is pleasing to God, and it is a blasphemy for believers to kill their brothers in the name of God”. Italy: “solidarity with the Pope” The Italian bishops express their “total solidarity with the Pope”, and hope that the war in Iraq “may end as soon as possible, that human lives may be saved and constructive international relations re-established”. The war and the hope for the “re-establishment of the supreme value of peace” were the main themes that opened and closed the keynote address with which Cardinal Camillo Ruini, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, inaugurated the work of the permanent Council of the Italian bishops, held in Rome from 24 to 27 March. “The war that is raging in Iraq and that is disturbing and troubling the whole world, makes us feel extraordinarily close and grateful to the Holy Father”, declared Ruini, who shares with John Paul II not only the anguish for a war that “threatens the destiny of humanity”, but also “the deep concern to prevent a clash of civilizations that could tragically appeal to misconceived religious motivations”. On the international level, according to Cardinal Ruini, the war in Iraq is “a very difficult test for the United Nations, as also for relations between the two sides of the Atlantic and within the European Union itself”. But despite the difficulties, Ruini urged that “efforts [for peace] be not slowed down, or hope abandoned”, in the consciousness that “the reasons why practically all the countries of the earth accepted membership of the UNO are becoming ever stronger and ever more cogent”. According to Ruini, indeed, it is precisely “the current difficulties that indicate the need for this Organization to be strengthened”. According to the Italian bishops, the “reasons of solidarity that link the nations of the West retain their profound validity”, even after the end of the Cold War. The European nations, in particular, must “overcome a particularistic mentality” and the “divisions” that have emerged in the Iraqi crisis: they must “provide the European Union with suitable instruments to enable it to express itself with a single voice on the international scene”. England and Wales: “it’s not a conflict between religions” “This conflict is neither one of religion nor between religions”: so declared the representatives of the Christian, Moslem and Jewish faiths in England, immediately after the outbreak of the war with Iraq. In their joint document, the signatories, the Catholic archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Moderator of the Free Churches, the Rev. David Coffey, the Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the president of the Council of Mosques and Imams Zaki Badawi and the co-president of Churches Together, the Rev. Esme Beswick, urge that any attempt to “divide” their communities be “resisted” and indicate as an example to be followed “the constant efforts made in Great Britain to build a society in which the communities of faith may flourish alongside each other in mutual respect and harmony”. The thoughts and prayers of the representatives of the different faiths also go to the country’s political and military authorities – “May the Almighty grant them wisdom, judgement and compassion” –, as well as to “the families of the combatants, and to the innocent civilians in Iraq, the country in which Abraham was born”. The appeal of the religious communities had been preceded in the previous days by other statements, including that of the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who also cited Abraham. “Together with Abraham, our father in the faith”, writes the archbishop of Canterbury, in a message to Anglican primates, “we must commit ourselves to building the city whose foundation, whose architect and whose builder is God, so that the signs of reconciliation and justice be made manifest”. In spite of his strong opposition to the war, Williams hopes that the military action now begun “may help to achieve a more stable future for the whole region”, by ensuring “justice for all” and a “settlement that may honour the freedom and dignity of the Iraqi people”. In a letter sent to military chaplains on 23 March, Williams assured his “fervent prayer and concern”, and emphasized the responsibility of chaplains who are called to continue a “long and enduring tradition of Christians in difficult and dangerous places”.