wfn.org | Interfaith leaders call for justice - and restraint

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Note #6843 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

14-September-2001
01325

Interfaith leaders call for justice - and restraint

"Let us begin ... seeking the healing and grace of God"

by Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE - Scores of religious leaders from a variety of religious
traditions and from across the theological spectrum have issued a statement
in response to the Sept. 11 terror attacks in New York and Washington,
offering solace to the bereaved and pleading for restraint on the part of
the U.S. government when the inevitable retaliation comes.

	"We must not allow this terror to drive us away from being the people God
has called us to be," the more than 100 Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders
said. The statement was signed by at least six Presbyterians, including the
Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the General Assembly stated clerk.

	The statement, dated Sept. 13, called for "sober restraint" from the U.S.
government as it ponders how it will respond. More religious leaders were
signing the statement Thursday and Friday via the National Council of
Churches' web site, www.ncccusa.org.

	The group joined other Americans in demanding justice for the perpetrators
of the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and
the Pentagon in suburban Washington, D.C., but cautioned that "we must not,
out of anger or vengeance, indiscriminately retaliate in ways that bring on
even more loss of innocent life." To do so, the group said, would be to
succumb to terrorists' desire for "a world created in their image."

	The complete text of the statement:

Deny Them Their Victory:
A Religious Response to Terrorism

We, American religious leaders, share the broken hearts of our fellow
citizens.  The worst terrorist attack in history that assaulted New York
City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, has been felt in every American
community.  Each life lost was of unique and sacred value in the eyes of
God, and the connections Americans feel to those lives run very deep.  In
the face of such a cruel catastrophe, it is a time to look to God and to
each other for the strength we need and the response we will make. We must
dig deep to the roots of our faith for sustenance, solace, and wisdom.

First, we must find a word of consolation for the untold pain and suffering
of our people. Our congregations will offer their practical and pastoral
resources to bind up the wounds of the nation. We can become safe places to
weep and secure places to begin rebuilding our shattered lives and
communities. Our houses of worship should become public arenas for common
prayer, community discussion, eventual healing, and forgiveness.

Second, we offer a word of sober restraint as our nation discerns what its
response will be. We share the deep anger toward those who so callously and
massively destroy innocent lives, no matter what the grievances or
injustices invoked. In the name of God, we too, demand that those
responsible for these utterly evil acts be found and brought to justice. 
Those culpable must not escape accountability.  But we must not, out of
anger and vengeance, indiscriminately retaliate in ways that bring on even
more loss of innocent life. We pray that President Bush and members of
Congress will seek the wisdom of God as they decide upon the appropriate
response.

Third, we face deep and profound questions of what this attack on America
will do to us as a nation. The terrorists have offered us a stark view of
the world they would create, where the remedy to every human grievance and
injustice is a resort to the random and cowardly violence of revenge - even
against the most innocent. Having taken thousands of our lives, attacked our
national symbols, forced our political leaders to flee their chambers of
governance, disrupted our work and families, and struck fear into the hearts
of our children, the terrorists must feel victorious.

But we can deny them their victory by refusing to submit to a world created
in their image. Terrorism inflicts not only death and destruction but also
emotional oppression to further its aims.
We must not allow this terror to drive us away from being the people God has
called us to be.  We assert the vision of community, tolerance, compassion,
justice, and the sacredness of human life, which lies at the heart of all
our religious traditions. America must be a safe place for all our citizens
in all their diversity. It is especially important that our citizens who
share national origins, ethnicity, or religion with whoever attacked us are,
themselves, protected among us.

Our American illusion of invulnerability has been shattered.  From now on,
we will look at the world in a different way, and this attack on our life as
a nation will become a test of our national character. Let us make the right
choices in this crisis - to pray, act, and unite against the bitter fruits
of division, hatred, and violence. Let us rededicate ourselves to global
peace, human dignity, and the eradication of injustice that breeds rage and
vengeance.

As we gather in our houses of worship, let us begin a process of seeking the
healing and grace of God.
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