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| Iraq | |
| Anglican synod prays for Sammy | |
| 2003-02-27 | |
| Not that anyone cares but... The Church of England's General Synod offered prayers for Saddam Hussein yesterday before condemning military action against Iraq without a fresh United Nations mandate. After a highly-charged emergency debate called by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Church toughened its anti-war stance by insisting that Western leaders "must" comply with international law through the UN. But here's the surprise. Not everyone's buying it However, the debate revealed a surprisingly high level of dissent from that line, with one in seven voting against the motion, and a significant number of speakers backing the right of George Bush and Tony Blair to use force even if they fail to secure UN backing. Among the 49 Synod members who opposed the motion, which affirmed the joint statement made last week by Dr Rowan Williams and his Roman Catholic counterpart Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, were a number of archdeacons and other senior churchmen. Along with the guy who should have been the new Archbishop of Canterbury and probably will be when the liberals walk The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, who has argued that a pre-emptive strike against Iraq could be legitimate, also broke ranks with his colleagues by abstaining. The usual suspects said the usual things The Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, led the prayers for all those involved with government and leadership, including for "our Prime Minister and all MPs, for President Bush and the United States administration, for Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi government". Also remembered were members of the Armed Forces and their families. Opening the debate, Dr Hope acknowledged that there were "differing and diverse views" on the issue, and conceded that the country was facing "a serious dilemma". He added: "A determined Iraqi refusal to comply with UN resolutions cannot simply be met by inaction, passivity, appeasement or indifference. At the same time there remain among Christians very real doubts about the moral legitimacy of a war with Iraq, with all the human suffering which it will entail." There aren't any with this Christian
Where in the Bible does it say that, Dr. Hope? Canon Andrew White, the director of International Ministry at Coventry cathedral, argued that the West was partly responsible for creating the crisis in Iraq and efforts to depose Saddam, such as sanctions, had increased the suffering of the Iraqi people. The sanctions that have "increased the suffering of the Iraqi people" are UN sanctions, Canon White. But the Archbishop of York thinks we need UN approval. Care to explain the discrepancy? He said: "As many Iraqis have died at the hands of the West as they have at the hands of Saddam." I assume you've got an unbiased source for that statement. No? British military chaplains have the same concerns as their American counterparts The Ven Barry Hammett, the Archdeacon for the Royal Navy, warned the Synod to be careful of making statements which the Armed Forces would regard as against them. He said: "Such men and women are not a breed apart from the population in general. They are not people immune from the concerns and anxieties which we all share." He said that seldom had people under military discipline faced such a dilemma. And apparently have a great deal more nuanced view of the situation than the antiwar clergy Brig Ian Dobbie from Rochester, who retired from the Army in 1992, said that the Western leaders were almost certainly in possession of intelligence about the activities of Saddam which they could not share publicly for security reasons. He said that when he served in Northern Ireland he was not always told all he would have liked to know but he was told what he needed to know. He believed that Mr Blair and President Bush could be trusted to act honourably even if they did not get the support of the UN. He added: "I do not believe that our leaders so lack integrity that they would send our nations to war just for a glory trip or to secure oil supplies." One Geoffrey Locke warned against idolatry Geoffrey Locke from Lichfield warned against demonising the United States and idolising the UN. He said that if the West took no action Saddam would spin the issue out until he was sufficiently armed so that no one would dare to take action against him. | |
| Posted by:Christopher Johnson |