wfn.org | ACNS3287 Bishop Griswold urges multilateral approach to Iraq,

["Anglican Communion News Service" <acnslist@anglicancommunion.org>]

ACNS 3287     |     USA     |	  31 JANUARY 2003

Bishop Griswold urges multilateral approach to Iraq, praises Bush for AIDS
initiative

by Jan Nunley

[ENS] Presiding Bishop Frank T Griswold released a statement today
responding to President George W Bush's State of the Union message and
calling on the administration to "exhaust all diplomatic and multilateral
initiatives" as the alternative to a unilateral assault on Iraq.

The statement, entitled "The challenges of global citizenship," echoes
previous statements issued by Bishop Griswold, the Executive Council and the
House of Bishops of the church on the possibility of war with Iraq.

"I will not second guess those who unquestionably have better information
than is available to me about options for action in response to Iraq,"
Bishop Griswold wrote. "However, I call on President Bush to exhaust all
diplomatic and multilateral initiatives as the alternative to waging war.
Our recent history makes plain how intertwined are the world's nations; the
fate of one hangs on the fate of another. Unilateral actions would strain
tenuous relationships between the United States and other nations, and
undermine our shared goal of eradicating global terrorism and preventing the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Therefore, I strongly urge the
President to act only in concert with the United Nations Security Council."

Bishop Griswold praised Bush for his decision to commit the resources of the
Federal government to the fight against AIDS. "I warmly applaud the
President's call for $15 billion over the next five years for the global
fight against HIV/AIDS and this evidence of his compassionate commitment. I
will strongly support him as he seeks funding and implementation for this
bold new initiative," he said. "Sub-Saharan Africa is being devastated by
this disease and a generation is dying, leaving orphaned children who are at
risk of being drawn into armies and made tools of terror. However, the
situation is not hopeless if we commit ourselves to addressing this grave
threat which affects us all."

Bishop Griswold added, "Our nation has an opportunity, and responsibility,
to reflect the values and ideals that we espouse by focusing upon issues of
poverty, disease and despair, both within our own nation and throughout the
global community. The freedoms we enjoy as citizens of the United States
oblige us to attend both to our own welfare and to the well-being of the
world. A nation that is a super power, and declares itself to be 'under
God,' must exercise the role of super servant. Fighting to eradicate
HIV/AIDS and caring for those beyond ourselves is in the best tradition of
American generosity and compassion.

"My prayers are with our President and other leaders of our nation and world
that they may seek to forge peace, with the men and women of the armed
forces, including our military chaplains, and their families. I pray that
compassion and reconciliation and healing may become the realities of our
common life, thereby reflecting God's own passionate desire for the
well-being of the world God sent his Son to save." Bishop Griswold read the
statement to the Executive Council, which responded with a resolution
stating that the council "commends to the whole church the Presiding
Bishop's statement of 30 January on current global affairs and adopts the
statement as an expression of the mind of the council." The council met this
week in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. La Iglesia Episcopal Dominicana
has been a part of Province IX of the Episcopal Church since 1897.

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