CATHOLICS who joined millions of people worldwide rallying for peace last weekend said they were bewildered that Prime Minister John Howard had chosen to ignore the opinions of the hundreds of thousands who marched in Australia.
In television interviews after the marches to protest against Australia’s involvement in a United States-led campaign of war against Iraq, Mr Howard said he would not be deterred by the groundswell of opinion.
Director of the Social Action Office (SAO) of the Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes Queensland, Josephite Sister Annette Arnold; executive officer of the Social Justice Commission of Toowoomba diocese, Mark Copeland; and administrator of St Mary’s Community, South Brisbane, Fr Peter Kennedy, who all took part in organising participation in the peace rallies, were astounded at Mr Howard’s response.
Sr Arnold said it was an historic day for Brisbane last Sunday to have 50,000 to 100,000 people take to the streets for a cause.
‘People have been stirred,’ she said. ‘The memory of war is in people’s minds and hearts, and they feel war is not the way to resolve the conflict over Iraq.
‘The disappointment is John Howard’s reaction.’
Fr Kennedy, who marched in Brisbane with a large contingent from St Mary’s, South Brisbane, said it was noticeable that the crowd was so happy.
Fr Kennedy said his response to Mr Howard’s attitude was in line with that expressed by former United Nations chief weapons inspector, Richard Butler, who was quoted in the media last Monday as saying he was ‘simply astonished’.
Mr Copeland also urged Mr Howard to listen to the people.
‘I can’t believe that among 500,000 people, that half of them wouldn’t be from his own constituency,’ he said.
