November 26, 2002

CHICAGO – The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said in a Nov. 26 public statement the ELCA will continue to urge the U.S. government to work with the international community to use peaceful means to disarm Iraq. Hanson made his remarks just before the Thanksgiving holiday and as U.N. weapons inspectors formally began their work to locate and document weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

In his statement, the presiding bishop said he welcomed the unanimous vote of the U.N. Security Council which called for the government of Iraq to comply with the inspections aimed at removing and destroying weapons of mass destruction. Hanson also said he welcomed President George W. Bush's efforts "to seek an international consensus on steps to ensure Iraqi disarmament."

The inspections were authorized by the U.N. Security Council Nov. 8, when it adopted U.S. Security Council Resolution 1441.

"Because this church begins with a strong presumption against all war and supports military action only as a last resort, it is our prayer that Iraq will comply fully with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441, and that this resolution will be a tool for avoiding war," Hanson said.

The ELCA and a number of the church's partners working for peace in the Middle East have expressed concern about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and have supported a strict embargo on military-related items, Hanson said. The ELCA continues to support U.N. efforts to disarm Iraq, he said.

Efforts of the U.N. and U.S. government are helpful "in establishing legitimate authority for the use of force," but important issues remain, he said.

"I am mindful of the many messages which I receive from church leaders around the world," Hanson said. "I hear their deep concerns about the possibility of war as a pre-emptive measure either to control the weapons of mass destruction or for the overthrow of threatening regimes. They continue to encourage me to raise questions about the impact of war on Iraqi civilians and the potential destabilizing effects of a war within the region."

Hanson said many world church leaders have said that efforts to prevent terrorism "be considered in relation to the broader questions of human security, especially poverty and economic sustainability."

"I am deeply moved and encouraged by the promises of churches around the world to hold the U.S. churches and the people of the United States in their prayers," he said. Hanson said that the ELCA Church Council, at its meeting this month, said it welcomes the attention given by churches and others in the United States "to invite a deeper moral deliberation regarding a potential war with Iraq."

"In accord with our Church Council action, we will continue to urge the U.S. government to work with the international community to find peaceful means to disarm Iraq, to pursue regional arms control agreements, and to work to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Iraq," Hanson added.

Hanson's Nov. 26 statement follows a public statement on Iraq he issued Aug. 30. In that, he criticized officials in the Bush Administration who spoke publicly about the use of pre-emptive military force to disarm Iraq. He said such a war could not be justified and called for renewed diplomatic efforts through the U.N. to disarm Iraq.

ELCA News Service