Whereas the ecumenical movement has stated since the end
of the Second World War that "war is contrary to the will
of God" [Amsterdam, First Assembly, World Council of Churches,
1948]; and
Whereas the ecumenical movement has always affirmed that
"through [our] reconciliation with God by the cross, [our]
reconciliation with one another is possible" [New York, Meeting
of the Provisional Committee of the World Council of Churches,
1945]; and
Whereas the ecumenical movement has consistently argued
that "peace requires an attack on the causes of conflict
between the powers" [Amsterdam, First Assembly, World Council
of Churches, 1948]; and
Whereas the world ecumenical movement has stated that "the
production and deployment of nuclear weapons as well as their
use constitute a crime against humanity [Vancouver Assembly 1983];
and
Whereas the Kentucky Council of Churches has declared in
its statement, "We Are A Household of Faith," that "we
believe ourselves to be called together to live out our hope,
to encounter one another in honesty and openness, to bear witness
to the work of Christ in our presence in the world, and to
seek justice, peace and reconciliation;" and further,
that "we believe we have been sent to share the Gospel with
others, to do works of mercy and compassion; to relate to each
other in ways which respect the dignity of each one; and to
enable all people to live in peace" [Kentucky Council
of Churches, We Are A Household of Faith, adopted 1989?]; and
Whereas Christ blessed those who are the peacemakers and
called his followers to be "salt and light" to the world
[Matthew 5: 9, 13-15]; and
Whereas the calls by President Bush and others in his administration
for pre-emptive military action to remove Saddam Hussein from
power in Iraq have grown more insistent;
Therefore, this 55th Assembly of the delegates to the Kentucky
Council of Churches, hereby affirms the following points:
1. Peace requires that all avenues of reconciliation must be explored.
2. We are concerned about the situation in Iraq, and are convinced
that the Iraqi government has a duty to stop its internal repression
of its citizens, end its threats to the peace of the world, abandon
its efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction, and respect
the legitimate role of the United Nations in ensuring that it
does so.
3. We believe that the international community is weakened and
respect for law is undermined when national governments act individually
rather than collectively to secure justice, safety, and peace
among the nations. We affirm with the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops: "This 'war on terrorism' should be fought with the
support of the international community and primarily by non-military
means, denying terrorists resources, recruits, and opportunities
for their evil acts. As our nation seeks to defend our people
and values, we should hold fast to our basic principles of justice,
freedom, fairness, and openness in our treatment of all persons,
especially vulnerable immigrants and refugees." [Statement
released by the USCCB on Sept 10, 2002]
4. We observe with grave concern as the United States government
makes statements that seem to indicate that it will act unilaterally,
no matter what opinions and positions are taken by other nations.
5. We worry that the lack of compelling evidence that Iraq has
developed nuclear weapons undermines the democratic process whereby
a sound decision may be made regarding the justification of an
attack on Iraq. We question whether there are sufficient grounds
to fear an imminent attack on the United States. We are concerned
also about internal discord and division in our nation just at
a time when we have been learning the great worth of community
and honoring the amazing diversity within our nation.
6. We believe that a potential pre-emptive attack against Iraq
would exacerbate the violent crisis that continues between Palestine
and Israel. Moreover, we also believe that there is grave danger
that military action, far from defeating terrorism, will create
even more terrorists, fueling a conflagration of hatred that will
last for generations to come. The events of September 11th have
shown us that it is very hard to protect citizens against terroristic
violence that does not discriminate between civilians and the
military. This is a new situation in human history. Again, we
join our voices to the eloquence of the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops in asserting: "As we confront evil acts, which no
cause can justify, this 'war on terrorism' must not deflect us
from sustained commitment to overcome poverty, conflict and injustice,
particularly in the Middle East and the developing world, which
can provide fertile ground in which hopelessness and terrorism
thrive. Our faith calls us to seek not only a safer world, but
a more just and peaceful world for all God's children." [Ibid]
Thus, we, the delegates to the 55th Annual Assembly of the
Kentucky Council of Churches hereby resolve:
· To call the United States government to restraint in
the use of military action against Iraq and stop the rush to war;
· To urge the pursuit of all diplomatic means possible,
in active cooperation with the United Nations, to work toward
reconciliation to resolve the crisis with Iraq;
· To ask that our member communions and their congregations
to pray for peace and justice for all people, actively engage
in study and dialogue about the issues with Iraq that are pushing
the world to the brink of a war that seems to us to have as likely
a chance for devastating consequences as positive results;
· To encourage all Christians to be in touch with their
elected leaders and the media to express their opinions of conscience
and concern as God gives them light and wisdom.
Adopted unanimously this 18th day of October, 2002, in Lexington,
Kentucky by the delegates and officers of the Kentucky Council
of Churches, meeting in their 55th Assembly.
RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY:
Nearly all of our member denominations have a statement from national
church leadership. These may be accessed via the Internet at their
web-sites. If you do not know your denomination's national web-site,
you may access it through the Kentucky Council of Churches' web-site
at:
www.kycouncilofchurfches.org
We also call your attention to the following sites not affiliated
with our member communions:
www.coe-wcc.org (World Council
of Churches)
www.ncccusa.org (National
Council of Churches)
www.usccb.org (U.S. Catholic
Conference of Bishops)
www.fourthfreedom.org
(Fourth Freedom Forum)
www.urgentcall.org (Urgent
Call for Nuclear Disarmament)
There are also useful
links at each of the above sites that will turn up more information.
Several of our member denominations are producing study booklets
which may be found at the following URLs:
UNITED METHODIST: http://www.umc-gbcs.org/gbpr170.htm
ROMAN CATHOLIC: http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/bush902.htm
BAPTIST PEACE
FELLOWSHIP: http://www.bpfna.org/WarNotAnswer.html
AMERICAN
BAPTIST CONVENTION: http://www.abc-usa.org/news/2002/20020911.html
and http://www.abc-usa.org/resources/resol/war.htm
EVANGELICAL
LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA: http://www.elca.org/bishop/iraq.html
EPISCOPAL CHURCH: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/presiding-bishop/postings/article_64.asp
PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH USA: http://www.pcusa.org/peacemaking/iraq/ and http://www.pcusa.org/peacemaking/actnow/iraq.pdf
and http://www.pcusa.org/iraq/
CHRISTIAN
CHURCH DISCIPLES OF CHRIST: http://www.mnchurches.org/pages/peace/disciplesstatement.html
SOCIETY
OF FRIENDS: http://www.fum.org/about/peacepage.htm and http://www.fgcquaker.org/friendswitness/joint-09-24-02.html
UNITED
CHURCH OF CHRIST: http://www.ucc.org/justice/action/w090402.htm
and http://www.ucc.org/justice/iraq1.htm
OTHER DENOMINATIONS:
http://www.mnchurches.org/pages/peace/peace.html