Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester

Response to War in Iraq

Column: "This Lent, ask God for end to Iraq War" (2007)

Bishop Clark's Statement on Start of War

War Threat Colors Lenten Journey (2003)

Bishop Matthew Clark's Statement on War in Iraq

What many have said was inevitable is now upon us. The United States, with what President Bush has characterized as "a coalition of the willing", has launched a military campaign to disarm and overthrow the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein. I am struck by the great irony that presents itself in the timing of this action, which takes place as we prepare for Easter, a season of life and new beginnings.

While a decisive victory by our military forces seems certain, I am convinced of the truth of Pope John Paul II's recent reminder that "war is always a defeat for humanity".

Saddam Hussein is a brutal dictator who has inflicted horrible atrocities on his enemies, and on his own people. But I am concerned about the path we are following to deal with the threat he poses. With the Holy See, I question whether the alternatives to war were exhausted and I am mindful that our nation has acted without the strong consensus of the international community and the diplomatic bodies formed to resolve such issues. I also fear that the good that may come from this war will be outweighed by the unintended and unexpected evil that it could bring. Most importantly, I have grave concerns that this military action has moral implications that will haunt our nation for years.

I am mindful of the innocent and vulnerable people in Iraq - the civilian men, women and children who have suffered for so long and will no doubt endure even greater pain and sorrow. It is my expectation that our nation will continue to respect and uphold long-held tenets of human rights and the laws governing war. In all our actions in war, we must value the lives and livelihood of Iraqi civilians as we would the lives and livelihood of our own families and citizens.

Always, my thoughts and prayers and affection are with the faithful young women and men of our armed forces answering the call of our president. They and their families will inevitably endure great sorrow. Reservations or concerns about this war should not be transferred to military personnel and their families. They need and are entitled to our steadfast prayer and support. We need also to understand that those whose conscience calls them to refuse to participate in this war find support in the moral tradition of the Church.

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We continue to hope and pray for peace. Our Lenten prayer and fasting can lead us more deeply into the peace of Christ. As a people of faith, we are called to follow our consciences as we continue to raise our voice in support of peace. Civil discourse, public communal prayer, financial support for relief organizations, as well as expressions of concern to elected officials can all be acts of prayerful hope.

I encourage our pastoral leaders to keep the doors of our churches open as an invitation for all to gather to pray for peace. I pray that we can all be signs of hope, confident that God, who values all people, is present in all the circumstances of our lives.

Peace to all.

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War threat colors Lenten journey

As we come to the holy season of Lent, I want to share some thoughts with you about the possibility of our nation initiating a war with Iraq. I hope that the following considerations will find a place in your thinking, prayer and conversations in the weeks ahead.

Of great concern are the moral and ethical implications of a pre-emptive strike against an already suffering people. Earlier this year, in a statement to diplomats assigned to the Vatican, Pope John Paul II reminded world leaders: "War is never just another means that one can choose to employ for settling differences between nations. As the Charter of the United Nations and international law itself remind us, war cannot be decided upon, even when it is a matter of preserving the common good, except as the very last option and in accordance with very strict conditions, without ignoring the consequences for the civilian population both during and after the military operations."

Our Holy Father's impassioned words to the diplomatic corps echo the cries of the prophets and a century of Catholic social teaching as he urges: "No to war. War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity. International law, honest dialogue, solidarity between states, the noble exercise of diplomacy: These are methods worthy of individuals and nations in resolving their differences."

I am deeply troubled by the evermore intense talk of our nation invading Iraq. And I know from many conversations and from following print and electronic media that I am by no means alone in this concern. People across our nation and around the world question this impetus toward war, and insist that there are better ways to protect the human family from the threat posed by Saddam Hussein. I believe with them that we have not come close to the point at which we can legitimately claim that war is the last and only resort available to us. Even in today's news, I read that Pope John Paul II has asked Cardinal Pio Laghi to bring President Bush a message urging him to commit to international law and diplomacy as surer means to genuine and lasting peace, and to seek that peace by all means short of war.

We are by all standard measures the most powerful and wealthiest nation on earth -- perhaps in the history of the world. With such power come enormous responsibilities. Our hallmarks in the international arena ought to be extraordinary patience and restraint, and a commitment to persuasion and negotiation -- not coercion -- to achieve our legitimate goals.

If we do not take that course, we expose ourselves to such criticisms as these:

1) We seize by force what we cannot achieve by persuasion;

2) We behave as though we believe that might makes right;

3) We place our national interests above common concern for the community of nations; and

4) We are willing to wreak havoc on another nation to protect a standard of living that is far above that which a vast majority of the world's people can ever hope to achieve.

I am mindful, as I write these words, that some readers will disagree with me, even be angered or troubled by what I have written. To them, I would say that my effort has been to represent my thinking about the Iraq question in light of our Catholic moral tradition as best I understand it.

To my earlier references to the position of the Holy See, let me add an invitation to read "A Statement on Iraq" by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (www.usccb.org/Departments/Social Development World Peace) and "Reflections on a War Against Iraq," prepared by the Priests' Council of our diocese (www.dor.org/Response to Iraq/Terrorism).

For those who may not have access to the Internet, I have asked the Justice and Peace staff at Catholic Charities to make these documents available to all. Please call 585/328-3210, ext 1303, to receive these printed materials.

Whether you agree or disagree with what I have written, I know that we all yearn for the peace that only God can give. So I invite you to join me in the days ahead in responding to this invitation recently extended by our Holy Father: "This year we will undertake the penitential journey toward Easter with a greater commitment to prayer and fasting for peace, challenged by the growing threat of war. ... Peace, in fact, is a gift of God to be invoked with humble and insistent trust ... without surrendering before difficulties, it is also necessary to seek and go down every possible avenue to avoid war, which always brings mourning and grave consequences for all."

Peace to all.

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Lenten Practices

In the Catholic tradition, the forty days of Lent have been a time to pray and fast in imitation of Jesus' forty days in the desert prior to the beginning of his public ministry. We take time to recommit ourselves to our baptismal promises, measuring our values against those of Jesus.

Through sin we break our relationships within the human family and with God. Lent is a time to repent of our sin in order to restore those relationships. War is a breaking of our right relationships (shalom) with God, our neighbor and the earth. Therefore, when war is imminent we need to hear the call to repentance through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. As the threat of war grows ever stronger, as Catholics, we turn to the traditional disciplines of Lent to help us focus on discerning God's will.

How will you incorporate prayer, fasting and almsgiving into your Lenten experience.

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Bishop Clark Urges Caution on Iraq

The Episcopal and Roman Catholic bishops of Rochester expressed concerns Tuesday over a possible American attack on Iraq. Meeting together, they said military action would have dire consequences for the Iraqi people and for U.S. standing among other nations.

While denouncing terrorism and the "evil" of Saddam Hussein, Episcopal Bishop Jack McKelvey and Catholic Bishop Matthew Clark said they also endorsed strongly worded sentiments against U.S. action expressed in statements issued separately.

A statement issued by Clark and the advisory Priests Council, and a new local Episcopalian resolution, label an American "first strike" as contrary to Christian belief that war must always be the last resort and only a defensive war can ever be justified.

The two bishops urged their flocks - which total nearly 370,000 people - to study the issue carefully and express their own feelings to their congressional representatives.

"We risk doing something that will be destructive and painful to the people of Iraq and which will isolate our nation from the rest of the world," Clark said, adding that he did not believe all diplomatic options were exhausted.

An attack by the United States, especially without the agreement of other nations and a strong alliance, would be "to flirt with isolationism and generate enmity."

McKelvey added that American military losses in war could be substantial and, added to the deaths of civilian Iraqis, would create a tragedy of immense scope, as well as risk a widening conflict in a world already on edge.

"War would throw gasoline on the fire," he said. "We are concerned about the ramifications, mass destruction, nuclear weapons and the prudence of a first strike. . . . Saddam is clearly an evil person, but we must remember he does not speak for the suffering Iraqi people."

The statement issued by Clark and the Priests Council, a 24-member group that advises him, says, "Saddam Hussein is a danger to neighbors, an enemy to his own people and a threat to world peace . . . and we urge the international community to negotiate a peaceful settlement that will bring an end to the threat he poses to world peace."

Both Clark and McKelvey urged lifting U.S. sanctions against Iraq, which they said have caused great suffering by the Iraqi people, as a first step to opening diplomatic doors and to avoid armed conflict.

Episcopalians, in their statement approved by delegates at this past weekend's convention downtown, express similar sentiments and call for a re-focusing of federal fiscal policy.

"This convention," the resolution said, "calls for an adjustment of our national spending priorities to redress the imbalance of almost $400 billion allocated this fiscal year for the military . . . in contrast to the small amounts allocated for domestic programs."

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Statement of the Priests' Council
of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester

Reflections on Possible War with Iraq

The Bush administration is making plans to launch a war against Iraq. As religious leaders and loyal citizens we feel deeply our responsibility to invite our people and all people of good faith to reflect on the moral issues that a projected war on Iraq inevitably brings to the fore.

1. We recognize that Saddam Hussein is a danger to neighbors, an enemy to his own people and a threat to world peace. We condemn his aggressive policies and we urge the international community to take steps to negotiate a peaceful settlement that will bring an end to the threat he poses to world peace.

2. Given this, we believe that a war against Iraq by the United States or the United Nations conflicts with Catholic teaching that only a defensive war can be justified and then only if the situation meets the criteria for a just war. Pope John Paul II, who has consistently spoken against war as a means of settling international disputes, said on World Peace Day 1999: "Recent history clearly shows the failure of recourse to violence as a means for resolving political and social problems. War destroys, it does not build up; it weakens the foundations of society and creates further divisions and long-lasting tensions."

3. One of the conditions for a just war demands that it be undertaken only as a last resort. In the present situation other options for dealing with Saddam Hussein are available.

4. We believe that new doors for diplomatic action could be opened. Economic sanctions could be lifted, in particular, those sanctions that target the Iraqi people, especially women and children.

5. We encourage the United Nations to continue its negotiations with Iraq to resume weapons inspections and to make every effort to see that the inspection team is enabled to carry out its work effectively and expeditiously. The Bush administration seems to dismiss this effort out of hand. This is unfortunate; it undermines the efforts of the United Nations and offers little incentive to Saddam Hussein to accept the inspectors.

6. War against Iraq will have dire consequences. It will mean the death of many American military personnel. Are the lives of our young people to be expended in the dubious expectation that removing Saddam Hussein will bring democracy to Iraq? Are we prepared to inflict heavy loss of life on the Iraqi civilian population, if, as is expected, Saddam Hussein concentrates his military forces in urban areas? As Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, Secretary for the Holy See's Relations with States, recently cautioned: "[W]e need to be careful not to confuse justice with revenge and to make sure that entire populations do not pay the price for the cruelty of those responsible for terrorist attacks."

7. We are particularly concerned that a war against Iraq will surely increase the anti-American sentiment that is already widespread throughout the world. Moreover, it will continue to erode the already volatile situation that exists in the Middle East, possibly unleashing terrorist attacks in reprisal for an attack on Iraq.

8. We are also concerned that at the end of such a war, if Saddam Hussein is overthrown, it will be necessary to deploy hundreds of thousands of American service persons to Iraq to create stability and democratic institutions. This effort will cost billions of dollars, money which could be used for health care, social services, education, etc. in the U.S.

We join with Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, in his letter of September 13, 2002 to President Bush: "We respectfully urge you to step back from the brink of war and help lead the world to act together to fashion an effective global response to Iraq's threats that conforms with traditional moral limits on the use of military force."

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U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
www.usccb.org