People 'outraged' at war talk

Sydney
16 February 2003

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People 'outraged' at war talk

Bishop Peter Ingham addresses 5000-strong anti-war rally at Wollongong Mall

From an address by the Bishop of Wollongong, Bishop Peter Ingham, to a peace rally on Saturday, February 8

A state of mind has been promoted that war is now inevitable and imminent. It may be so in the mind of the US administration and its allies.

Yet the accumulated common sense of ordinary thinking people is outraged at the prospect of a pre-emptive strike against Iraq when the public evidence is, as yet, insufficient to justify going to war, especially without the backing of the UN Security Council.

That is why, in this time of great tension for the world community, ordinary thinking people are protesting on the streets - because we can see what a dangerous path we tread in a world where violence is not easily forgotten and radical extremists will rage in its wake and unleash forces of evil that will be extremely difficult to contain.

We urge President George Bush, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Prime Minister John Howard to step back from the brink of war.

We urge them to use their influence and leadership to help bring the world to act together to work out, within the UN, an effective response to Iraq's threats that conforms with traditional moral limits on the use of military force.

The Pope said: "War is not always inevitable - war is always a defeat for humanity!

"As the charter of the UN plus international law itself remind us, war cannot be decided upon, even when it is a matter of ensuring the common good, except as the very last option, and in accordance with very strict conditions, without ignoring the consequences for the civilian population both during and after the military operations."

Today we call on those in our nation, who exercise political authority and diplomatic influence, to do all in their power to avoid war and to build peace.

We are demanding caution; this rally speaks the mind of concerned citizens to our politicians on the issue. World peace is at stake here; our integrity as a nation is at stake.

Not only will history judge us by our actions and inactions but, more significantly, God will judge us!

The politics and culture of the Middle East are complex issues that most westerners would have great difficulty understanding. There are no simple quick-fix solutions there.

Badly devised, externally imposed and short-sighted 'western' solutions have led from one problem to another in the Middle East throughout the past century.

The Pope is committed with all the spiritual and diplomatic means at his disposal to find a solution to this crisis.

The moral aspects and consequences of a possible war against Iraq all have to be considered.

Whom doesn't it suit to confront one billion Muslim people and run the risk of decades of hostility from the Muslim world?

The World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches in Australia deplore the fact that some of the most powerful nations of the world regard war as an acceptable instrument of foreign policy.

The humanitarian consequences as well as the social, cultural, religious and diplomatic long-term results have to be looked at.

We pray God will guide those responsible to take decisions based on careful reflections, moral principles and high legal standards.

When we proclaim the precious gift of peace, we can take comfort in the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount - "blessed are the peacemakers".

Blessed are those who build bridges of honest dialogue, of transparent understanding -- blessed are those who try to connect and bring people together, who reconcile.

Everything we do to overcome injustice, excessive economic or social inequalities, to overcome envy, distrust and pride raging among people and nations, will contribute to building up peace and avoiding war.

War is expensive; peace is priceless.

True peace cannot be found through fear and aggression, but only through love and reconciliation.

Rather than adapting to the climate of terror, we must transform it, by offering hope.

Genuine security is found in wisdom not weapons - in building bridges not making bombs, in enlarging our compassion, rather than building walls and separating, dividing and excluding.

Faced with the madness of a world that is capable of self-destruction, I want to affirm the madness of the Cross, of non-violence, of the outstretched hand of reconciliation, of hope and faith in God.

When we proclaim the precious gift of peace, we need to do so, not so much as a people who only hope for peace, but as people who have found peace ourselves. So we can offer this peace as a sure gift to others. In this way peace will begin to take hold.