Sydney
29 June 2003
Home
Archive
Subscribe
Links
Contact
‘Unethical’
to kill an embryo
Roll on, Cologne
And
they’re racing ... to help Vinnies
‘Renewal
of my faith’
Seminar ‘rekindles Bible
fire’
Year 9 - May the force be with
you
‘Appoint acting judges’ to solve
visa backlog
Charity race day
Society needs to ‘share pain of others’
Bombs found at Mass site
Movement
seeks inquiry on Iraqi conflict
Cambridge
choir in Sydney visit
China visitors
The Catholic Weekly- Spiritual tension
Letters
Moral
values ‘a major role’ for the Church
Challenge
to your neighbourhood?
Jesus Christ,
the ultimate healer
Parents’ acts
inspired Sr Huyen
Religion, art ‘a
very powerful mix’
Classic
rite controversial, but ‘a jewel’
Real
feelings of life and faith
Bishop Peter
Ingham’s message
Clergy-principals’
conference day
Students share justice
issues
New team looks at needs
New director of vocations
Vocation
Awareness Diocesan Poster Competition
Diocesan
catechists train
Gothic paradise -
the legacy of Pugin
Movement seeks inquiry on Iraqi conflict
By
Chris Lindsay
A movement of Catholic intellectuals and professionals has
called for a public inquiry into Australia’s decision to go to war in Iraq.
The
Australian Catholic Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs, which is described
as a movement engaged in “critical analysis, careful reflection and just action”,
says an inquiry is necessary to determine what the Government knew, or ought to
have known, about the true status of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.
The movement’s president, Minh Nguyen, says the existence of weapons of mass destruction was the crucial argument for Australia in joining the “coalition of the willing” to invade Iraq.
But no evidence of their existence had yet been uncovered.
“The Government has asked us to be patient but whether they eventually find something is not the issue,” he said.
“Even if weapons of mass destruction are to be found, we know they are certainly not the result of intelligence gathered before the war.”
Mr Nguyen said the decision to invade Iraq cost thousands of lives and brought a fragile society into near anarchy.
The call for an inquiry has been backed by Fr Bruce Duncan, co-ordinator of the program of social justice studies at Yarra Theological Union in Melbourne and frequent commentator in The Catholic Weekly.
“There are grave moral questions regarding the Iraq war,” he said.
“And, in the bigger picture, there are serious moral concerns regarding the new principle of unilateral, pre-emptive strikes against another country.
“This undermines the system of international security built up over the last 50 years.
“Under this new principle the tradition of the ‘just war’ theory has been junked.”
He said the US seems to have asserted its right to attack any country it does not like and remove their regimes.
“But where do you draw the line? Why not intervene now in Sudan or the Congo for humanitarian reasons?”
The Redemptorist priest added: “Ironically the US’s determination to destroy Iraq’s so-called weapons of mass destruction will only encourage other countries to get nuclear weapons for self defence as soon as possible.
“Just look how cautious the US is in its treatment of North Korea.”