wfn.org | Use Peaceful Means to Disarm Iraq, Says ELCA Presiding Bishop

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 26, 2002

USE PEACEFUL MEANS TO DISARM IRAQ, SAYS ELCA PRESIDING BISHOP
02-281-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said in a Nov. 26 public
statement the ELCA will continue to urge the U.S. government to work
with the international community to use peaceful means to disarm Iraq.
Hanson made his remarks just before the Thanksgiving holiday and as U.N.
weapons inspectors formally began their work to locate and document
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
     In his statement, the presiding bishop said he welcomed the
unanimous vote of the U.N. Security Council which called for the
government of Iraq to comply with the inspections aimed at removing and
destroying weapons of mass destruction. Hanson also said he welcomed
President George W. Bush's efforts "to seek an international consensus
on steps to ensure Iraqi disarmament."
     The inspections were authorized by the U.N. Security Council Nov.
8, when it adopted U.S. Security Council Resolution 1441.
     "Because this church begins with a strong presumption against all
war and supports military action only as a last resort, it is our prayer
that Iraq will comply fully with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441,
and that this resolution will be a tool for avoiding war," Hanson said.
     The ELCA and a number of the church's partners working for peace
in the Middle East have expressed concern about Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction and have supported a strict embargo on military-related
items, Hanson said.  The ELCA continues to support U.N. efforts to
disarm Iraq, he said.
     Efforts of the U.N. and U.S. government are helpful "in
establishing legitimate authority for the use of force," but important
issues remain, he said.
     "I am mindful of the many messages which I receive from church
leaders around the world," Hanson said.  "I hear their deep concerns
about the possibility of war as a pre-emptive measure either to control
the weapons of mass destruction or for the overthrow of threatening
regimes. They continue to encourage me to raise questions about the
impact of war on Iraqi civilians and the potential destabilizing effects
of a war within the region."
     Hanson said many world church leaders have said that efforts to
prevent terrorism "be considered in relation to the broader questions of
human security, especially poverty and economic sustainability."
     "I am deeply moved and encouraged by the promises of churches
around the world to hold the U.S. churches and the people of the United
States in their prayers," he said.  Hanson said that the ELCA Church
Council, at its meeting this month, said it welcomes the attention given
by churches and others in the United States "to invite a deeper moral
deliberation regarding a potential war with Iraq."
     "In accord with our Church Council action, we will continue to
urge the U.S. government to work with the international community to
find peaceful means to disarm Iraq, to pursue regional arms control
agreements, and to work to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Iraq,"
Hanson added.
     Hanson's Nov. 26 statement follows a public statement on Iraq he
issued Aug. 30.  In that, he criticized officials in the Bush
Administration who spoke publicly about the use of pre-emptive military
force to disarm Iraq.  He said such a war could not be justified and
called for renewed diplomatic efforts through the U.N. to disarm Iraq.
-- -- --
     The full text of Presiding Bishop Hanson's statement on U.N. and
U.S. actions related to Iraq can be found at
http://www.elca.org/bishop/messages.html on the ELCA Web site.

     Links to ELCA and ecumenical statements and resources related to
Iraq are available through the Web site of the Lutheran Office for
Governmental Affairs (LOGA), the ELCA's federal public policy advocacy
office in Washington, D.C.  LOGA maintains a site at
http://www.loga.org on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html