U.S. Bishops Oppose Pre-Emptive, Unilateral Force Against Iraq

Any pre-emptive, unilateral use of military force to overthrow the government of Iraq cannot be justified at this time, the U.S. bishops told President Bush. The bishops urged Bush to step back from the brink of war and help lead the world to act together to fashion an effective global response to Iraq’s threats. In a letter to Bush, the bishops used Catholic just-war criteria to argue that unilateral strikes against Iraq would differ from the use of force against Afghanistan, which was part of a broader war against terrorism in response to attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

Given the precedents and risks involved, we find it difficult to justify extending the war on terrorism to Iraq, absent clear and adequate evidence of Iraqi involvement in the attacks of Sept. 11 or of an imminent attack of a grave nature, the bishops said. The letter, dated Sept. 13 of this year and released in Washington on Sept. 17, was signed by Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, on behalf of the bishops’ administrative committee.

In the bishops’ letter, Bishop Gregory said the Catechism of the Catholic Church limits the just-war criterion of just cause to cases in which the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations is lasting, grave and certain. He asked: Is there clear and adequate evidence of a direct connection between Iraq and the attacks of Sept. 11 or clear and adequate evidence of an imminent attack of a grave nature?... Is it wise to dramatically expand traditional moral and legal limits on just cause to include preventive or pre-emptive uses of military force to overthrow threatening regimes or to deal with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction? Should not a distinction be made between efforts to change unacceptable behavior of a government and efforts to end that government’s existence? He said the moral credibility of force depends on legitimate authority, and as such, decisions of such gravity require compliance with U.S. Constitutional imperatives, broad consensus within our own nation, and some form of international sanction, preferably by the U.N. Security Council.

He added that war against Iraq could result in dangerous and unpredictable effects upon Iraqi civilians and Middle East stability, in violation of the criteria of the probability of success and proportionality. Would...force succeed in thwarting serious threats or, instead, provoke the very kind of attacks that it is intended to prevent? he wrote. How would another war in Iraq impact the civilian population, in the short and long term? How many more innocent people would suffer and die, or be left without homes, without basic necessities, without work?

Would the United States and international community commit to the arduous, long-term task of ensuring a just peace or would a post-Saddam [Hussein] Iraq continue to be plagued by civil conflict and repression and continue to serve as a destabilizing force in the region? he asked. Would war against Iraq detract from our responsibility to help build a just and stable order in Afghanistan and undermine the broader coalition against terrorism?

Nearly Half of Americans Unchurched, Census Finds

Just over half of all Americans have organizational ties to a religious body, but nearly as many remain without a church home, according to the results of a religious census conducted every 10 years. The study, Religious Congregations and Membership in the United States: 2000, was released on Sept. 18 by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies and the Glenmary Research Center. The data showed that 141.4 million Americans50.2 percent of the total U.S. population of 281.4 millionwere associated in the year 2000 with one of the 149 religious bodies participating in the study, which for the first time included Muslims and some other non-Christian groups in its latest totals. Ten years ago, when the study was called Churches and Church Membership in the United States: 1990, about 55 percent of the U.S. population were affiliated with a religious congregation.

At 62 million, Catholics were the largest single denomination represented in the United States in 2000, although Protestants grouped together were more numerous at 66 million. Catholics also experienced one of the largest increases in membership, 16.2 percent. Only the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (19.3 percent), Christian Churches and Churches of Christ (18.6 percent) and Assemblies of God (18.5 percent) had larger increases since 1990. Most mainline Protestant denominations experienced declines.

The data for the study was gathered not by the U.S. Census Bureau, which dropped its question on religion in the 1950s over concerns about separation of church and state, but by the religious organizations themselves. Some groups, such as Jehovahs Witnesses, do not want to participate in the census and therefore are not counted. Some -- such as Buddhists, Hindus and certain Orthodox and black Baptist churches -- only provided information on the number of congregations, not the number of adherents.

The report found:

66 million Protestants in 222,000 congregations.

Just War

I want to thank you for the very insightful article by John Langan, S.J., about whether or not we should invade Iraq (9/9). But I wish to offer some points for you to consider. First, the use of the term vigilante justice seems to be an oxymoron, based on the question raised about the justice being done by the aggrieved and angry party, which implies that it is more likely to be vengeance than justice.

Second, Father Langan seems to imply that if one could prove that the consequences of an invasion of Iraq can be mitigated, then such action might be acceptable. This can never be the case, because the primary consequence of such a unilateral action would be to undermine the rule of law. What makes us different from Iraq? We claim that Iraq is seeking nuclear weapons, but we have more weapons than any other nation on earth. Isn’t our willingness to restrain our power and abide by international law the very essence of the difference between us and Iraq? Wouldn’t a unilateral invasion of Iraq destroy that difference? Wouldn’t it make us the most dangerous rogue nation in the world? If we got away with such an invasion, what would convince other countries that we can be trusted to restrain our power in the future?

Even if we are able to gain support from other countries in the region, wouldn’t a pre-emptive strike undermine the just war principles? The author chose to defer consideration of the just war principles until after all can agree that the goals for the region would not be hampered by an invasion of Iraq. That is a mistake. While I have serious reservations about the just war principles (to some extent because I do not believe that the church ever applies them honestly or in a timely manner), I believe it is a mistake to wait until after everyone agrees that a war is necessary to bring up the moral principles that should instruct such decisions. Once everyone believes that war is necessary, there is great pressure to bend the just war principles to conform to that belief.

Many are looking at the issue of war with Iraq in simplistic terms. Evil must be resisted. Your article has done much to remove the blinders from people’s eyes so that they can see the complexity of what they contemplate. But it does not challenge them to see the ultimate truth. If evil is to be resisted, why aren’t we resisting war itself? The just war principles give us permission to use evil to attain justice and security. But what good is justice and security when we have embraced evil?

Stephen D. Stratoti

The image beside these words was lovely, serene. It depicted a sunny day with just a few clouds. We saw Jesus seated on a rock under a tree, children gazing at him with fond reverence. But before I could become lost in the painter’s skillful strokes, one of my children yanked the book from her sister’s hand as another child spilled a container of juice on the newly scrubbed kitchen floor. Ah yes, real life with children! So I sighed and admitted that our children are not sitting quietly anywhere, much less gazing reverently into the Redeemer’s eyes. But despite the fact that they cannot touch Jesus, I know they experience a vibrant relationship with God. On a good day, I hear what the children have to teach me.

First Lesson: Joyful Noise

Our two-year-old, Bridget, is fond of the simple family ritual of grace before meals. She first encountered the familiar tune The Lord Is Good to Me in the loving home of her day care provider. Now she requests that prayerful song by calling out apple seed! each evening. And she is right that we should daily thank the Lord for giving me the things I need, the sun, and the rain, and the apple seed. Thus Bridget, a tiny priestess with blond ringlets, gathers her little flock around our table and reminds us to thank and praise the Lordnot quietly, but in jubilant song that ends with a vigorously made Sign of the Cross and, finally, Eat Papa, eat! She knows, no doubt, that God sits at the table with us and wants nothing more than that the meal be celebrated with joy. O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation (Ps. 95:1).

Second Lesson: Living Water

A friend told me about the experience of allowing her two-year-old daughter to receive Communion in the family’s Episcopal church. It is their pastor’s conviction that children should not be refused Communion if they genuinely desire it. Little Elisabeth was begging to receive and finally, after reflecting on the matter with their priest, her parents consented. Elisabeth’s reception of the host went without incident. But as she and her mother arrived at the cup, Elisabeth enthusiastically plunged her entire hand into it. As a parent who takes young children to Mass, I can fully understand why my friend went slinking to the rear of the church, grateful that she could be at the end of the Communion line. But I can envision a carpenter’s son smiling by the side of a well: If there’s living water in there, honey, don’t be shy; go for it!

Third Lesson: On Prayer

Megan, our middle child, intently notices everything her big sister does. On a recent visit to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, Grandma gave all the girls rosaries. One day, our oldest daughter was reverently fingering her rosary and making her way, with reasonable accuracy, through the corresponding prayers. Where does the Our Father go? she would ask, trying to recall the lessons from her first grade teacher. Megan must have been watching. A day or two later I found her quietly perched on top of the bunk bed, rosary in hand, offering the only prayer she can recite: Bless us, O Lord, and these your gifts.... Rest assured, dear Megan, that even when we cannot yet pray as we ought, the Spirit of God looks upon our desire to pray and intercedes with sighs too deep for words (Rom. 8:26).

Fourth Lesson: A Friend of Jesus

Some years ago I was praying with our children at bedtime. We had already concluded when I recalled an additional intentiona sick friend whom I thought we should remember. I suggested we add the friend to our prayers. Our oldest daughter shook her head, We can’t. God just left. He went out the window, she informed me. And then, to my tremendous surprise, with a smile she added, And he wasn’t wearing any pants! I knew there was no need to run to the analyst’s couch with that one, for children somehow dwell in Eden for at least a few years after their birth. Instead I found myself musing about how real, how present God was to our child in that moment. As though God were a close friend, sitting in the room and conversing with us that evening. I do not call you servants any longer; I have called you friends (Jn. 15:15).

Fifth Lesson: Encountering God

Mountaintops, deserts and bathtubsGod is always there if we are looking. Our daughter Shannon was nearly four when she looked up at me from her evening bath and spoke with quiet reassurance: You are my God sometimes. What? I replied with something like alarm in my voice that I really meant as surprise. Nothing, she said sheepishly. No, it’s okay, honey, you didn’t say anything wrong. I just didn’t quite hear you. What did you say? Once again she spoke directly, You are my God sometimes. The beauty and weight of those words engulfed me. How did a three-year-old come to understand that each of us, created in God’s good image, can reveal at least a piece of the face of God to another? She is no student of theological anthropology. Here is what she knew: my husband and I brought her into being. We give her love on a daily basis. We forgive her mistakes. We sustain her little life. While we clearly are not God, at this moment Shannon recognized the ways in which we mirror God for her. I in them and you in me (Jn.17:23).

We are each summoned to receive the kingdom of God with the simplicity of a little child. But how is thatwearing pigtails, sporting skinned knees and giggling? No. Our children possess much greater depth. If we are willing to learn from them, we may be lucky enough to grow in our faithfaith that is joyful and eager, faith that is reverent and familiar, faith that looks upon goodness and love and proclaims God’s presence. Perhaps this is the prayer that God whispers into each child’s ear:

May you not become so preoccupied that you forget joy.