wfn.org | United Methodist bishop takes hope for peace to Rome

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

March 3, 2003	News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212)870-38037New York
10-71BPI{118}

NOTE: A photograph of Bishop William Boyd Grove is available at
http://umns.umc.org/photos/bishops/grove.jpg.

By United Methodist News Service

When United Methodist Bishop William Boyd Grove visited Rome recently, a
number of Italians asked him if he thought a U.S.-led war against Iraq could
be averted.

He gave the same answer to each question: "My political hope is small, my
gospel hope is large."

Grove was part of a six-member delegation, sponsored by the U.S. National
Council of Churches, which visited Rome Feb. 26-27 to discuss the need for a
peaceful resolution to the Iraq situation. The Federation of Protestant
Churches in Italy served as host. The group talked briefly with Pope John
Paul II and more extensively with Vatican officials, met with Italian
politicians, and gathered with the Protestant community.

For Grove, the delegation's mission - essentially to let Europeans know that
many American religious leaders are opposed to war - was important. "I
believe, as do many, that it is a rush to war, and that this war, if it
occurs, doesn't meet the criteria of 'just war' in any sense," he said.

The bishop noted that he is not a pacifist and is not against war under all
circumstances. However, he believes U.S. military action against Iraq is
morally unjustified.

The pope already has spoken out against a possible war. "We didn't go to
persuade the Vatican," Grove explained. "We really went to let them know how
many Americans and American Christians feel."

Delegation members were given front-row seats for the pope's Feb. 26 public
audience. "We were taken up to meet him and to express to him what we came to
say," the bishop said. The group also handed the pope a letter from Pax
Christi USA, a Catholic organization, asking him to come to New York to
address the U.N. Security Council regarding his opposition to a war with
Iraq.

The next day, the delegation discussed the request with Msgr. Giampaolo
Crepaldi, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, who said
he would present the letter to the Vatican's secretary of state. Msgr. John
Mutiso-Mbinda, a senior staff associate with the Pontifical Council for
Christian Unity, also met with the group.

Grove said the delegates were "warmly received" in a meeting with Fabio
Mussi, the vice president of Italy's Congress. Also present was Valdo Stini,
a former member of Congress and active Waldensian churchman. The Waldensian
and Methodist churches in Italy joined in a federation in 1979, although
local congregations have maintained their individual identities.

In addition to meeting with Italian church leaders, the delegates
participated in a worship service at a Baptist church across from the Italian
Parliament, with Grove serving as preacher.

The Rome delegation was the fourth organized by the NCC to visit various
European countries. Earlier delegations met with German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder in Berlin, British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London and the
French foreign ministry in Paris. A fifth delegation, led by the Rev. Robert
Edgar, a United Methodist pastor and NCC chief executive, is traveling to
Moscow March 3-5 to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In Grove's opinion, the sending of peace delegations, financed through gifts
by an anonymous donor, is one of the NCC's most significant actions in recent
years. "I really can't think of anything more positive that we could have
done with that money right now," he said.

The bishop also noted that the pope and others have called upon Christians to
make March 5 a day of prayer and fasting for peace. Grove said he plans to
participate.

Other members of the Rome delegation were the Rev. Tyrone Pitts, general
secretary, Progressive National Baptist Convention; the Rev. Victor Makari,
Office for Middle East and Europe, Presbyterian Church USA; the Rev. Eileen
Lindner, National Council of Churches; the Rev. Gwynne Guidbord, Office of
Ecumenicity, Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles; and the Rev. Joseph Nangle,
Pax Christi, Washington. 

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United Methodist News Service
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