Gulf War Dominates Agenda in Opening Days of WCC Meeting in Australia
Episcopal News Service. February 14, 1991 [91030]
The global implications of the war in the Middle East was uppermost in the minds of the nearly 1,000 delegates gathering for the seventh assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Canberra, Australia, February 7-21.
On the eve of the assembly, the WCC executive committee, anticipating the importance of the issue, released a statement appealing to all parties in the conflict "for an immediate cessation of hostilities and negotiations for an end to the war and the resolution of the crisis."
The executive committee expressed its hope "that the assembly may become an occasion for united action and witness for peace, and that its message may be one of comfort at this time of affliction, courage at this time of tribulation, and hope at this time of anguish and despair."
A three-day meeting of women prior to the assembly issued a message pointing out that women, youth, and children are the "primary victims of any war." The statement also called for an immediate cease-fire and negotiations and urged member churches "to make clear to our governments that we will actively resist the militarization and trade in armaments that make war inevitable."
Sir Paul Reeves, former primate of the Anglican Church of New Zealand and governor-general, said in his sermon during the opening worship service on February 7 that "in this time of unease and destabilization the dogs of war have been straining at the leash long before they were finally set loose." Reeves, who recently assumed a post as the first full-time representative of the Anglican Communion at the United Nations, said he spoke "as one for whom the escalation of the Gulf War is neither holy nor just. New wounds are opened; old patterns of discord are reinforced."
According to Reeves, the war reinforces four great evils: unjust distribution of the world's wealth, social injustice within nations, the rise of militarism, and irreversible damage to the environment. Referring to the assembly theme, "Come Holy Spirit, Renew the Whole Creation," Reeves said all these issues must be dealt with together "if we really want the whole creation to be renewed."
"When I hear calls for holy war or just war I shudder," WCC General Secretary Emilio Castro told a packed news conference on opening day. He said he hoped the assembly would "go deeper" than the statement by the executive committee. At the same time, he cautioned that the WCC "is not the United Nations at prayer" and it should speak as people of faith, providing "basic perspectives on life's important issues." He added that the war had prevented some delegates from attending but would not disrupt the work of the assembly.
In his report to the opening plenary session, Castro said the "unimaginable changes" that have taken place in recent years are evidence that the winds of the Holy Spirit are "blowing afresh in this world." Despite the war and other religious and ethnic conflicts, he noted some signs of hope such as the desire of young people to seek peaceful solutions to world problems. The assembly theme "is a recognition of the inadequacy of all human resources and the affirmation of the faith that God lives," Castro concluded.
Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke stepped into the controversy when he told the opening plenary that he was proud of Australia's role and that he endorsed his country's participation because "there are times when you can't just talk about peace...you must do the hard work necessary to protect and guarantee it." One of the seven WCC presidents, Metropolitan Paulos Mar Gregorios of the Oriental Orthodox Church in India, drew sustained applause when he said that no one questioned the need for Iraq to leave Kuwait but "there is genuine doubt about the means taken to make Iraq do that." He added that all occupied territories should be liberated.
At a press conference Gregorios was challenged about his rudeness to head of the host nation. "We did not want to leave the impression that the prime minister and the WCC were in basic agreement," Gregorios said. Gregorios visited the Middle East prior to the war and said that the Arabs shared their own perceptions of the situation. Arab leaders told Gregorios that the West feared Iraq's growing military and technological power, that the United States was looking for a way to test its new superpower status, and that U.S. foreign policy was basically anti-Arab and anti-Muslim.
When asked about a solution to the crisis, Gregorios said Iraq must leave Kuwait, the U.S. troops must leave Saudi Arabia, and all parties must seek a comprehensive solution -- including a peace conference to settle all regional conflicts. "There is still a fundamental disagreement on whether or not war is an acceptable means to settle disputes," he said.
The WCC's director of international affairs, Ninan Koshy, said that the war is being justified in the name of the United Nations, "raising fundamental questions about the system" and new criticism about whether or not the military action is in keeping with the U.N. charter. Koshy commended the courageous witness of the U.S. churches in opposing the war.
U.S. representatives to the WCC assembly met after a plenary to discuss peacemaking efforts of their churches before and after the outbreak of war. Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning said that a year ago "we had every reason to look forward with confidence to a new world order. The Berlin Wall had fallen, the Cold War was over, and Nelson Mandela was free." Since the August 2 invasion of Kuwait, "a great shadow has fallen over what appeared to be a bright new landscape. The new world order looks suspiciously like the old, with bombs and bullets doing all the talking," he told U.S. delegates.
Browning sketched peacemaking efforts by church leaders -- including his October letter to Episcopalians questioning reasons for unleashing "the greatest military force since the Vietnam War." The church began to speak out "with remarkable unanimity," Browning said. The National Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a letter to President George Bush contending that military action in the Persian Gulf could violate the just-war criteria. In a statement, the General Board of the National Council of Churches deplored the "reckless rhetoric" and "imprudent behavior" of the administration.
Leaders of churches with partner churches in the Middle East consulted by conference calls and on November 29 sent a strongly worded letter to President Bush opposing the use of military force. A group of 18 church leaders joined a peace delegation to the Middle East in December at the invitation of the Middle East Council of Churches and returned with a clear message that "war is not the answer." Browning carried that message to a special meeting with President Bush and Secretary of State James Baker when he returned from the Middle East on December 20. While participating in a peace march in Washington, D.C., on the eve of the January 15 ultimatum, Browning talked with President Bush and underscored his opposition to the use of military force.
At a later press conference, Browning outlined the efforts by church leaders and said they continued to keep in constant telephone contact, seeking ways to promote peace efforts. He announced that the church leaders were issuing a new statement calling for a cease-fire and "a fresh effort to find a diplomatic solution." The statement called on churches to "open their doors and their hearts to the American people in a time of national trauma," and to offer prayers "for wisdom and compassion on the part of political leaders on all sides of this conflict, and for mercy and justice for war's many victims." The church leaders said they were united in their call to be peacemakers because the Gospel "cannot be reconciled with what is now happening in the Gulf." (See separate story; text of statement in Newsfeatures.)
Bishop Melvin Talbert of the United Methodist Church, a participant in the peace pilgrimage and a signer of the new statement, said that "now that the war has started, our answer is the same: War is not the answer." He emphasized that the church leaders were opposed to U.S. policy, not the troops. While some were questioning the stance of the church leaders, Talbert said "the most patriotic thing would be to stop the war." He said he was "puzzled" by support for that policy, as represented in the polls, because he perceived that peace demonstrations were involving more and more Americans.
The war in the Persian Gulf is not a regional war but a third world war with "far-reaching, destructive global implications," according to Armenian Orthodox Archbishop Aram Keshishian of Lebanon. Sharing a news conference with Browning, the archbishop said the war is not a religious war or a holy war or a just war but one with definite political, military, and economic objectives. He said the war was a conflict between "a superpower that claims to be the policeman of the world and a regional superpower seeking domination in the Middle East."
While he personally believes "the chances for peace are still there," Keshishian expressed fears that the coalition fighting Iraq has moved beyond the United Nations mandate and is not interested in a peaceful settlement.
A young Korean theologian struck a responsive chord in her plenary address challenging the concept of "an omnipotent, macho, warrior God who rescues all good guys and punishes all bad guys." Instead, Chung HyunKyung of the Presbyterian Church of South Korea said she relied on "the compassionate God who weeps with us for life in the midst of cruel destruction of life."
Using the Gulf War as an example, she urged a move "from a culture of death to a culture of life." She called on the churches to "use the energy of the Holy Spirit to tear apart all the walls of division and the culture of death that separates us."
As an active demonstration of their concern, delegates joined in a peace march from the Canberra convention center, through the streets of the city, to a worship tent on the campus of Australian National University.
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