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Topic: Catholic Church against war on Iraq

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	Father Richard Neuhaus on the Iraq Crisis (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-08)
		First it must be said that — although it appears that military action against Iraq may be only a matter of days or weeks away — faithful Catholics are joined with the Holy Father in fervent prayer that war may yet be avoided.
		In just war doctrine, the Church sets forth the principles which it is the responsibility of government leaders to apply to specific cases — see Catechism No. 2309.
		In the present circumstance, military action against Iraq by a coalition of the willing is in response to Iraq's aggression; first against Kuwait, then in defiance of the terms of surrender demanding its disarmament, then in support of, if not direct participation in, acts of terrorism.
	www.catholiceducation.org /links/jump.cgi?ID=3650 (1477 words)

	USCCB - (Bishops) - Statement on Iraq
		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.
		We are concerned, however, that war against Iraq could have unpredictable consequences not only for Iraq but for peace and stability elsewhere in the Middle East.
		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.
	www.usccb.org /bishops/iraq.shtml (1253 words)

	The Catholic New World: Church leaders call for peace as winds of war blow harder - 2/16/03
		Novak made a case for war to a skeptical Vatican audience in the face of a chorus of opposition from bishops and religious congregations, arguing that military action was justified under traditional self-defense principles and not under some new concept of preventive war.
		In a letter to Indonesian Catholics, the president and secretary-general of the Indonesian bishops’ conference said the Iraqi people were “created by God, but destroyed by war,” reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand.
		Armed conflict with Iraq, already devastated by malnutrition, poverty and economic sanctions, “would be nothing less than a death blow,” said the Feb. 4 statement by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.
	www.catholicnewworld.com /archive/cnw2003/021603/war_021603.html (1143 words)

	Asia Times
		Church groups made it an outing, Catholic schools made it a field trip, and housewives heeded the call of their parish priest.
		and as a defensive war", and, of course, it is neither.
		It uses its clout to discredit two individuals in particular: President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for her support of the war on Iraq, and Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, who is believed to have instigated renewed hostilities in Mindanao as well as campaigned for a combat role for American soldiers in the upcoming Balikatan exercises.
	www.atimes.com /atimes/Southeast_Asia/EC27Ae02.html (1407 words)

	Catholic Culture : Document Library : Letter to President Bush on the Iraq Situation
		Mobilizing the nations of the world to recognize and address Iraq's threat to peace and stability through new U.N. action and common commitment to ensure that Iraq abides by its commitments is a legitimate and necessary alternative to the unilateral use of military force.
		The Catechism of the Catholic Church, reflecting widely accepted moral and legal limits on why military force may be used, limits just cause to cases in which "the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations [is] lasting, grave and certain" (No. 2309).
		War against Iraq could have unpredictable consequences not only for Iraq but for peace and stability elsewhere in the Middle East.
	www.catholicculture.org /docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=4454 (1133 words)

	With Pope, World's Bishops Oppose War in Iraq
		The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: "Because of the evils and injustices that accompany all war, the Church insistently urges everyone to prayer and action so that the divine Goodness may free us from the ancient bondage of war.
		We call upon President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair to reverse their decision to wage war and, instead, to use other means to force Iraq to comply with the U.N. resolutions for disarmament of weapons of mass destruction.
		Moreover, we must be aware that a war against Iraq would 'wound' many Muslims and would certainly produce the contrary of the hoped-for effect, namely, a strong rise of the terrorist menace on the part of Muslim fanatics."
	www.catholiceducation.org /articles/religion/re0629.html (1237 words)

	Catholic Community Forum Discussion Groups - Pro-Life/Pro-War
		The teaching of the Church notes that there is such a thing as just war, and determining whether a given war is just or not is properly decided by worldly authorities (though they may choose sinfully, and carry responsibility for their decisions).
		The Church defines the principles and tells us what the law of God is but must leave it to the well-formed consciences in each one of us, through the Holy Spirit, to understand these principles and apply them to the particulars and circumstances.
		War itself is an attack on human life since it brings in its wake suffering and death.
	www.catholic-forum.com /forums/showthread.php?p=28946 (6285 words)

	Pope John Paul II calls War a Defeat for Humanity: Neoconsevative Iraq Just War Theories Rejected
		John Paul II stated before the 2003 war that this war would be a defeat for humanity which could not be morally or legally justified.
		Catholic News Service reported that the two-hour symposium was attended by some 150 invited guests, including lower-level Vatican officials, professors from church universities in Rome and diplomats accredited to the Vatican.
		John Paul II has sought to distance the Catholic Church from George Bush's idea of the manifest Christian destiny of the United States, and especially to avoid the appearance of a clash of Christian civilization against Islam.
	www.cjd.org /paper/jp2war.html (1293 words)

	CPF - Church Leaders on War With Iraq
		We're asking for reflection not only on whether a war would be just or unjust, moral or immoral, but also whether it is opportune to irritate a billion followers of Islam….We are against the war.
		A security policy that advocates preventive war is in contradiction with Catholic teaching and international law….A war also threatens to cause the most serious political divergences in the entire Middle East, which would put at risk the achievements of the international alliance against terror.
		In Iraq today, between 14 and 16 million persons (two thirds of the population) are entirely dependent on food rations distributed under the UN Oil-for-Food-Programme, purchased through the sale of Iraqi oil.
	www.catholicpeacefellowship.org /nextpage.asp?m=2028 (985 words)

	war against iraq
		In a letter to Bush, the bishops used Catholic just-war criteria to argue that unilateral strikes against Iraq would differ from the use of force against Afghanistan, part of a broader war against terrorism in response to Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
		Addressing the U.N. General Assembly Sept. 12, Bush said action against Iraq would be unavoidable unless the United Nations forced the Mideast nation to disarm.
		In the bishops' letter, Bishop Gregory said the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" limits the just-war criterion of "just cause" to "cases in which the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations is lasting, grave and certain."
	www.catholicherald.com /cns/iraq-us.htm (579 words)

	Viewpoint: In Iraq to witness against war
		We are in Iraq to give witness to our conviction and the conviction of millions of religious people of all faiths around the world that war against Iraq would constitute a moral, social and political disaster.
		We are here to meet face to face with the people who will suffer most in any war waged against the current Iraqi regime -- the poor, the mothers and children, the sick and the hungry, and all those who have already borne the brunt of 12 years of deadly economic sanctions.
		We are in Iraq to witness to the fact that the time-honored American values of honesty, generosity and a willingness to take risks in pursuit of our convictions and ideals are still relevant and are the basis of any real American leadership in the world.
	www.natcath.org /NCR_Online/archives/011003/011003o.htm (709 words)

	Catholic Community Forum Discussion Groups - Was Iraq a Just War ? (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-08)
		And whatever arguments there might be for the war in Iraq, self-defense does not even pass the laugh test.
		No credible argument was ever made that Iraq was an immediate threat to the United States, so whatever Catholicism may teach about self-defense is irrelevant to the question of whether or not the war in Iraq is a just war.
		The invasion of Iraq is perhaps the most glaring example of the low priority assigned by US-UK leaders to the threat of terror.
	www.catholic-forum.com /forums/showthread.php?t=6960 (3705 words)

	Governments' positions pre-2003 invasion of Iraq - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Shortly before the Iraq war began, the US government announced that 49 countries were joined in a "coalition of the willing" in favor of forcibly removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq, with some number of other countries expressing their support in private.
		His critics and the proponents of the Iraq war suggested that he was using the controversy of the war and appealing to the anti-American sentiment felt by the German public for the sole purpose of gaining popularity and winning.
		During the Iraq war, the Canadian Minister of National Defence, John McCallum, said that if an American ship was attacked while under a Canadian warship's protection, the captain would not have asked if the shells were from terrorists or the Iraqi military before firing back.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Catholic_Church_against_war_on_Iraq (5458 words)

	papal statement on possible war in iraq
		VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II spoke out against a possible war against Iraq, telling Vatican-accredited diplomats that military force always must be "the very last option," even when motivated by legitimate concerns.
		The pope said the U.N. charter and international law "remind us war cannot be decided upon, even when it is a matter of ensuring the common good, except as the last option and in accordance with very strict conditions, without ignoring the consequences for the civilian population both during and after the military options."
		In recent weeks, a growing chorus of Vatican officials has warned against resolving the Iraqi disarmament problem through war, pointedly rejecting the notion of a "preventative war" in the case of Iraq, which the United States suspects of harboring weapons of mass destruction.
	www.americancatholic.org /News/JustWar/Iraq/papalstatement.asp (951 words)

	Bishop Botean: Refuse to Fight
		In the common language of the Catholic Church, it is a time for a deep "examination of conscience" as we fast, pray, and otherwise attend to the call for repentance issued by the Church for the forty days before we celebrate the Resurrection of her savior, Jesus Christ.
		For the Catholics of the Eparchy of St. George, I hereby authoritatively state that such direct participation is intrinsically and gravely evil and therefore absolutely forbidden.
		To this end our Church is wholeheartedly committed to the support of any of our members in the military or government service who may be confronted with situations of legal jeopardy due to their need to be conscientious objectors to this war.
	www.jonahhouse.org /boteanRCbishop.htm (1344 words)

	USCCB - Iraq (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-08)
		Last October, Congress voted overwhelmingly to grant the President the power to go to war with Iraq, authorizing the President to "use the armed forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq."
		It is difficult to justify the resort to war against Iraq, lacking clear and adequate evidence of an imminent attack of a grave nature.
		Addressing Iraq's weapons of mass destruction must be matched by broader and stronger non-proliferation measures that are grounded in the principle of mutual restraint.
	www.usccb.org /sdwp/international/iraq203.htm (828 words)

	War for Oil?
		I know a lot of us have different opinions about whether war in Iraq would be just, but lately I've been hearing a lot of misunderstanding over what the conflict is really about.
		One of the members of the CRISIS staff recently returned from an extended trip in Europe where she said that the European consensus is that America is going to war in Iraq for oil.
		War also involves huge risks – the possibility of damage to Iraq's oil fields, the possibility of political instability or civil war in Iraq, and on and on.
	www.catholicity.com /commentary/hudson/warforoil.html (602 words)

	Catholic Just War Theory and Iraq
		The Roman Catholic Church, led by Pope John Paul II, opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
		In Iraq, bishops and other church leaders said Saddam's detention would help the country "turn the page" in building social peace and order.
		Although many Iraqis presumed he was behind the recent attacks against U.S. and allied targets, Bishop Warduni said that was a simplification.
	www.americancatholic.org /News/JustWar/Iraq (1215 words)

	Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Office of Social Development & World Peace, ...
		He told you then that, in our judgment, the use of force against Afghanistan could be justified, if it were carried out in accord with just war norms and as one part of a much broader, mostly non-military effort to deal with terrorism.
		Given the precedents and risks involved, we find it difficult to justify extending the war on terrorism to Iraq, absent clear and adequate evidence of Iraqi involvement in the attacks of September 11th or of an imminent attack of a grave nature.
		Of particular concern are the traditional just war criteria of just cause, right authority, probability of success, proportionality and noncombatant immunity.
	www.mtholyoke.edu /acad/intrel/bush/bishops.htm (1038 words)

	Making Our Own Decisions
		Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life clarified once again the problems of duplicity that emanate from a U.S. Congress where almost half of all Catholic senators and representatives are pro-abortion.
		The Catechism of Catholic Church, in the section on just war, says very clearly that "the evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy [of war] belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have the responsibility for the common good."
		Trusting political leadership in a time of war is decisive; most of us have lived through a period in America's history when the moral authority of the presidency was lost.
	www.catholicity.com /commentary/hudson/iraqdecision.html (733 words)

	Resolution Against Saddam Hussein and Against War with Iraq
		We affirm with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: "This 'war on terrorism' should be fought with the support of the international community and primarily by non-military means, denying terrorists resources, recruits, and opportunities for their evil acts.
		We worry that the lack of compelling evidence that Iraq has developed nuclear weapons undermines the democratic process whereby a sound decision may be made regarding the justification of an attack on Iraq.
		Open letter from the Collegium of Officers regarding the statement of the United Church of Christ leaders on Iraq, the Middle East, and war.
	www.kycouncilofchurches.org /Iraq.html (1213 words)

	Al-Bushra - Iraq
		US Catholic Bishop and other religious leaders travel to Iraq in violation of UN/US sanctions against Iraq.
		Iraq asks U.N. to press U.K. on alleged POW killings UNITED NATIONS, Sept.
		The Continuing War Against Iraq, By Ibrahim Alloush, Sept.
	www.al-bushra.org /iraq/0iraq.htm (615 words)

	BBC NEWS \| UK \| Church leader warns against Iraq war
		The international community has a "moral responsibility" to avoid war with Iraq, the Catholic Church has warned.
		Cardinal Murphy O'Connor also called for an end to sanctions against Saddam Hussein's regime and for Iraq to be offered a "positive incentive" to comply with United Nations Security Council demands.
		Speaking at the end of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales in Leeds, Cardinal Murphy O'Connor said war was a last resort, from which there was "no return".
	news.bbc.co.uk /1/hi/uk/2479891.stm (316 words)

	CPF - Cardinal Ratzinger
		Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger does not believe that a unilateral military attack by the United States against Iraq would be morally justifiable, under the current circumstances.
		"The fact that the United Nations is seeking the way to avoid war, seems to me to demonstrate with enough evidence that the damage would be greater than the values one hopes to save," the Cardinal said.
		The "concept of a 'preventive war' does not appear in the Catechism of the Catholic Church," Cardinal Ratzinger noted.
	www.catholicpeacefellowship.org /nextpage.asp?m=2031 (301 words)

	US Labor Against the War : Statement on Iraq by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-08)
		Bush Administration guilty of wide range of war crimes in Iraq: Jury of Conscience demands accountability
		Note: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has also released liturgical and other pastoral and educational resources to use as this nation prepares for a possible war.
		The war on intellectuals claims lives and hope
	www.uslaboragainstwar.org /article.php?id=200 (1668 words)

	Iraq
		Bishops' spokesman explains Catholic opposition to the war
		The Iraq Crisis: Questions and Answers from a Catholic Perspective -- part of a larger set of resources from St. Mary's Press
		Iraq statements of various church leaders from other denominations
	www.osjspm.org /iraq.aspx (91 words)

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