wfn.org | Sprague, Jackson meet with U.N. secretary-general

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

March 28, 2003	News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212)870-38037New York
10-21-71BPI{183}

NOTE: Head-and-shoulders photographs of Bishop C. Joseph Sprague and U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan are available.

NEW YORK (UMNS) - United Methodist Bishop C. Joseph Sprague of Chicago and
the Rev. Jesse Jackson met March 27 with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to
discuss the war in Iraq.

"We talked about several issues that are of deep concern to us and, we
believe, to the whole church community," Sprague told United Methodist News
Service as he waited for a flight at LaGuardia Airport after the meeting.

The bishop, who recently preached at Jackson's Rainbow/Push Coalition
headquarters in Chicago, was invited by Jackson to accompany him to the
United Nations.

One topic of discussion with Annan and his staff was the need for the Geneva
Convention to be honored during the war in Iraq. "We want to be certain that
POWs are treated as international law mandates," Sprague explained. Some in
the church community, he added, have expressed an interest in visiting with
prisoners of war on both sides.

The two religious leaders also expressed deep concern about getting food and
water to the Iraqi people, particularly the children. "I want to know what's
going to be done and what the church can do to assist with the whole business
of humanitarian aid," Sprague said.

The bishop said Annan assured the pair that "the U.N. is poised to deliver"
such aid, but needs access to do so.

The secretary-general also met March 27 with British Prime Minister Tony
Blair to discuss the issue of humanitarian aid in Iraq. The U.N. Security
Council has been considering the reauthorization of the Iraqi oil for food
program.

Both Sprague and Jackson told Annan they believe it is not too late to broker
a peace agreement in Iraq, despite the ongoing war.

"We surely received encouragement from the secretary-general for church
communities to lift a voice for peace," Sprague said. He added that anyone
who believes in a God of reconciliation "must advocate for and be open to
possibilities beyond our comprehension. We must never give up."

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United Methodist News Service
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