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| Fifth Column |
| Episcopalians urge believers to "wage reconciliation" |
| 2001-10-11 |
The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church has issued an unusually disgraceful statement on the terrorist attacks. After urging believers to "wage reconciliation" (i.e., not war), the bishops said: "The affluence of nations such as our own stands in stark contrast to other parts of the world wracked by the crushing poverty which causes the death of 6,000 children in the course of a morning." The number 6,000 and the reference to a single morning, of course, are meant to evoke September 11 in a spirit of moral equivalence. In plain English, the bishops seem to think Americans are in no position to complain about the Manhattan massacre since 6,000 poor children around the world can die in a single day. The good bishops are apparently willing to tolerate 6,000 murders because the West has failed to eliminate world poverty, and perhaps should be blamed for causing it. But the terrorist attack has nothing to do with hunger or disease. And the bishops' statement is a moral mess. How many murders can Episcopalians overlook because of the existence of crushing poverty? If 6,000, why not 60,000? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |