THREE Catholic bishops and nine other Church leaders have appealed to the Federal Government not to join an anticipated military attack on Iraq.
Archbishop Francis Carroll and Auxiliary Bishop Pat Power of Canberra and Goulburn joined with the leaders of nine other Churches in the national capital to sign a letter to Prime Minister John Howard on August 7, expressing their ‘grave concerns’.
They urged a diplomatic solution as an alternative, asking if an Iraqi life is of any less value than an American or Australian life.
‘Prime Minister,’ they wrote, ‘we are deeply concerned that the United States’ leadership is too easily marching towards a war course and that Australia is seemingly giving its unquestioning support.’
They say that in an attack, ‘the lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of innocent Iraqi citizens will be at risk’.
‘It is all too easy for so-called civilised countries to devalue the lives of ordinary people in poorer countries.’
Australian Catholic Social Justice Council chairman, Bishop William Morris of Toowoomba said in a separate statement on August 9: ‘We cannot fight terror with terror.’
