Episcopal Press and News
U.S. Church Leaders Continue to Press for Peace, Release New Call to Churches
Episcopal News Service. February 14, 1991 [91032]
U.S. church leaders active in "unprecedented" efforts to oppose a military solution to the Persian Gulf crisis issued a call for a cease-fire and "a fresh effort to find a diplomatic solution" to the crisis. The "Call to the Churches" was released by the National Council of Churches (NCC) at a special February 13 press conference during the 7th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Canberra, Australia.
The call is one more step in an escalating campaign by church leaders that has included public statements following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, a strongly worded letter to President George Bush urging a peaceful solution to the crisis, a trip by 18 church leaders to the Middle East, and a consultation with President Bush and Secretary of State James Baker at the White House by Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning, representing the group.
The new call is a "logical extension" of that campaign -- now that "the bombs are real, and blood is being shed," said the Rev. Joan Campbell, general secretary-elect of the NCC. A "coordinated response" is the only way for the churches to be faithful, she added.
The statement called on churches to:
- "open their doors and hearts in a time of national trauma" and reach out to people in the Middle East;
- seek dialogue among Muslims, Christians, and Jews "to address our fears, concerns, and hopes for peace";
- exercise a "pastoral and prophetic ministry by becoming places of comfort and calm sanctuary";
- offer "prayers of intercession for wisdom and compassion on the part of political leaders on all sides of this conflict, and for mercy and justice for war's many victim";
- provide "pastoral support for military personnel" and their families;
- prepare to heal the wounds and address the needs of those returning from the war;
- promote discussion for those "wrestling with the moral issues at stake";
- "give voice to the cries for justice" among those in the United States who will "pay the price of this war not only in dreams but in the denial of basic human needs";
- "embrace the bereaved, maimed and homeless of the Middle East through a generous response to the ministry of compassion";
- encourage churches to become "centers for nonviolence" based on "the Gospel mandate to love one another"; and
- build a "disciplined, morally based, nonviolent movement" in response to poverty and suffering in the world.
The call was signed by a long list of church leaders as well as many Roman Catholic bishops and dozens of delegates to the Canberra assembly -- and the list continues to grow, it was announced at the press conference.
Although the church leaders have encountered some criticism for their peacemaking role, the general response has been "overwhelmingly positive," according to Bishop Melvin Talbert of the United Methodist Church who has been active in the churches' campaign since the beginning of the Persian Gulf conflict.
While the U.S. media often portrays those who oppose the war as opposing the troops, Talbert told the news conference that this is not true. "The most patriotic thing religious leaders in our country can do is stop the war" and bring the troops home alive and well, he said.
The Rev. Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners magazine, said the Persian Gulf crisis is creating "a significant ecumenical alliance among the churches." He said that the new call to the churches is more than a statement; it is a "pastoral strategy" in dealing with those who are affected. He expressed a deep concern that the Gulf War is obscuring violence in other parts of the world -- such as South Africa, the Baltic, Liberia, Central America, and China.
The Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky of the Orthodox Church in America and president of the NCC said an important role for the church is to "look at the human implications of issues -- including U.S. policy," and not rely on mere statistical information that dehumanizes the conflict. He expressed a cautious hope that the conflict might break the "log-jam" and lead to an eventual solution for all the related conflicts in the region.
When asked what role the churches could play in seeking practical, political solutions to the crisis, Campbell said she was convinced that the pressure on Congress from the people was increasing. "I am a believer in the effectiveness of public opinion," she said, adding that it would take a movement at the "grassroots, local level" to turn things around.
The NCC also released a new booklet, Pressing for Peace, that sketches peacemaking efforts by the churches following the August invasion of Kuwait.
The English delegation has become more vocal in questions concerning a cease-fire. In an open forum on the Gulf crisis, most participants were very critical of the rush to war and endorsed the idea of an immediate cease-fire. As a possible signal, however, that it may not be easy to forge a consensus on the crisis, members of the Church of England delegation have been vocal in opposing the idea of an unconditional cease-fire. "If we call for an unconditional cease-fire, we buy cheap peace that solves nothing," said Bishop Tom Butler. The cease-fire must come in the context of the United Nations resolution demanding that Iraq withdraw from Kuwait, Butler said.
In an interview with the press, Archbishop-elect of Canterbury George Carey added fuel to the controversy when he said, "I have always questioned the just-war theory, and I question the medieval basis of it. But I believe that certain wars are justifiable, even if not entirely just. I believe this is a justifiable war, but I wouldn't want to say it is holy, and I certainly wouldn't want to say it is just....Any war is a sign of failure on the part of politicians and leaders. It is an aspect of what Christians regard as original sin."