WASHINGTON (CNS): US bishops have urged the United States to ‘step back from the brink of war’, saying they ‘find it difficult to justify the resort to war against Iraq.
The bishops said on November 13 that they agreed with the Holy See and bishops from the Middle East that resorting to war under current circumstances ‘would not meet the strict conditions in Catholic teaching for overriding the strong presumption against the use of military force’.
The statement prefaced its conclusions by explaining that the ‘grave choices about war and peace, about pursuing justice and security’, are not only military and political choices but also moral ones involving matters of life and death.
‘Traditional Christian teaching offers ethical principles and moral criteria that should guide these critical choices,’ it said. Instead of primarily pursuing a course to war in Iraq, the bishops said, ‘it is vital that our nation persist in the very frustrating and difficult challenges of maintaining broad international support for constructive, effective and legitimate ways to contain and deter aggressive Iraqi actions and threats’.
