wfn.org | WCC NEWS: WCC statement on church bombings in Iraq

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153   +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org 

For immediate release - 02/08/2004

 WCC STATEMENT ON CHURCH BOMBINGS IN IRAQ

The WCC has forcefully denounced the series of bombings which targeted
Christian churches in Iraq on 1 August 2004.

Responding to the news, the general secretary of the WCC, Rev. Dr Samuel
Kobia said "I was appalled to learn about the bombing of churches in Iraq.
This action further undermines efforts to rebuild Iraq as a democratic
society where all religious communities and peoples can live in harmony.
The WCC has worked for many years to foster understanding and dialogue
among Muslims and Christians, which have a long history of peaceful
co-existence in the region. The Council has been at the forefront of
ecumenical efforts to promote peace in Iraq and condemned the US-led
intervention in the country. WCC and its member churches have actively
supported humanitarian relief work in Iraq since the conflict started. We
strongly condemn all forms of violence which target religious communities
or any group of people, and which seek to introduce religious enmity into
this conflict."

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches Rev. Dr Samuel
Kobia, in a pastoral letter addressed to the churches in Iraq, has
expressed his solidarity with all the people of Iraq as they pass through
these critical and turbulent times and has assured them of prayers of
support.

Speaking from Cairo, the WCC Middle East secretary Lina Moukheibar
emphasized that this was the first time Christian churches had been the
object of attack. "We should remember that the escalation of violence in
Iraq has affected thousands of people, both Muslims and Christians, and our
solidarity is with all victims."

According to reports, the bomb blasts in Baghdad also damaged offices and
property of the WCC-related humanitarian organization ACT-Action by
Churches Together, as well as of the Middle East Council of Churches
(MECC).

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153  +41 79 507 6363
	 media@wcc-coe.org 

The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in more
than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly,
which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally
inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by
general secretary Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.

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