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CWS on the Gospel Call to Peacemaking
The involvement of the church and of individual Christians in the quest for peace and justice is rooted in the teachings of Jesus, who calls us, his followers to love our neighbors as ourselves (the second commandment, Mark 12:31), to act in love even for those we would consider our enemies, and to treat others as we would want to be treated by them (Luke 6).
By the light of this Gospel mandate, Church World Service -- a cooperative humanitarian ministry of 35 Christian denominations in the U.S. -- is deeply troubled by the prospect of our nation launching a war against Iraq. As people of faith -- and out of respect for established international principles -- we reject the use of preemptive military force that puts the lives of innocent Iraqi children and families at risk.
Born in the aftermath of World War II, Church World Service knows well the terrible cost of modern warfare, especially to the most vulnerable. In the various wars that have taken place around the world since1945, some 24 million people have been killed -- 90 percent of them civilians, mostly women and children. Of the more than 35 million refugees and internally displaced persons worldwide, more than 80 percent have been uprooted by war or civil strife, and some 28 million of the 35 million uprooted are women and children.
Is this war just?
Since the time of St. Augustine, some 1,600 years ago, people of faith have been grappling with the question of whether war is ever just, given the human suffering that accompanies it. Augustine and many other Christian thinkers since have articulated specific criteria that must be met for a war to be considered "just," including proper authority, proper cause, reasonable chance of success, and proportionality. Proportionality -- aggression that does not exceed precipitating harm, as well as the shielding of non-combatants -- is perhaps the requirement most often violated given the indiscriminant nature of modern armaments -- not just weapons of mass destruction, but landmines, bombs, etc.
Some experts have estimated that a preemptive war against Iraq could result in as many as a half million civilian casualties and leave millions more without food and shelter. Hundreds of thousands of young men and women from the U.S., Brittain, and other nations would also be put in harm’s way. The call for non-military solutions to the current crisis is a recognition of the shared responsibility of states and citizens alike for the safety and security of both Iraqi civilians and our nations’ own sons and daughters.
By all counts, Iraqi civilians have already suffered greatly as a result of post-Gulf War trade sanctions. UNICEF has estimated that over 500,000 children under age five died as a result of sanctions-induced shortages between 1991 and 1998.
Is preemptive war on Iraq the solution to terrorism?
War on Iraq likely puts U.S. citizens and those of other nations at greater risk: It would almost certainly serve to fuel terrorism around the world, not stem it. Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations would likely use a preemptive U.S. war on Iraq as a prime recruitment tool.
Speaking out for peace
In recent weeks and months, many millions of people across the United
States and around the world have been working for and praying for peace
as we collectively teeter on the brink of war.
Church World Service and its partner, the Middle East Council of Churches,
are working to be instruments of peace and justice in the Middle East.
We have joined with other religious organizations and leaders and organizations
across the nation and around the world in urging a peaceful, diplomatic
solution to the Iraq crisis.
In January, CWS Executive Director Rev. John L. McCullough participated in a Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) humanitarian/peace mission to Iraq, and warns that launching war would mean catastrophe for Iraqi civilians, both in terms of food security and public health. “Iraqis are facing an enormous human disaster if there is war. We are on the verge of opening a Pandora’s box,” says McCullough.
Church World Service continues to reach out with humanitarian assistance for Iraqi civilians. We have jointly initiated the “All Our Children” campaign to help meet the critical ongoing health needs of Iraqi children for antibiotics, anesthesia, IV solution kits, and clean water resources. Since 1991, Church World Service has provided more than $3 million in blankets, food, and medical supplies for families and children in Iraq.
The Iraqi people are asking for peace. If war takes place against Iraq, the whole region will be in chaos. All a military offensive against Iraq will do is bring more destruction, more suffering.
Rev. Dr. Riad Jarjour, General Secretary
Middle East Council of Churches
(to the Church World Service Board of Directors, October 2002)