Rome (Fides Service) - "As Anglican Bishops we say that as things stand, there are no good reasons for a war." Anglican Bishop Richard Garrad, Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome said this in a conversation with Fides Service. The Bishop who represents the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See was illustrating a statement issued by the Anglican Bishops in England who affirm that a war on Iraq would be "morally unjustified". The Bishops say that Military action against Iraq while it is still possible to find a peaceful solution would be "inopportune and premature". "However, Bishop Garrad affirms, if the United Nations Organisation were to approve a decision for war then the matter could be re-examined. The Church of England is not one-way pacifist: our teaching, like that of the Catholic Church, includes the possibility of a just war, but in this case, the necessary conditions, an attack by an adversary or support for terrorism which is a danger to the international community, do not exist. We think it will be very difficult to find evidence to legitimate an attack on Iraq. It would be unjust to bomb the people of Iraq, already sorely tried by the embargo, they would suffer even more."
The Bishop recalls that "building peace is a duty for all Christians: in our civil life we can always choose to be merciful, to show compassion, to build peace. It is our duty to work for peace and for unity among Christians, as we are highlighting during the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. If we are united, on the one hand we offer credible witness for peace among all believers in Christ, on the other we form a great Body and we can cry out to governments: no to violence, no to terrorism, no to war! In the Gospel according to St John, Christ prays that his disciples may be "one so that the world may believe". We must realise that unity is not for us alone, it is for the world".
Bishop Garrrad backs the repeated appeals launched by Pope John Paul II: "In his many messages and speeches, the Pope repeatedly underlines the urgency of peace and unity. We appreciate his words greatly and they must be put into practice: we Christians must ensure that our spiritual life is not separate from our daily life. Separation of life in the Spirit and life in the world is the first cause of all sin. We must not repeat the act of Adam who chose to separate himself from God. The world belongs to God not to men!"
The Bishop concludes: "Since I have been in Rome as representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See, I have come to realise that the elements of unity among Christians are many more and much stronger than those that divide us. I hope that all Christians will live this Week as a time of prayer and as a time of grace given to us by the Lord. May the Lord grant us peace and unity" PA (Fides Service 20/1/2003).