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Methodists regret complicity with bush in war { November 12 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051112/NEWS/511120368/1004http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051112/NEWS/511120368/1004
Published Saturday, November 12, 2005
Bishops Condemn War in Iraq
United Methodists call on President Bush to withdraw U.S. troops.
By Cary McMullen
Ledger Religion Editor
LAKELAND -- Florida United Methodist Bishop Timothy Whitaker has endorsed two documents that condemn the war in Iraq as "unjust and immoral" and call on President Bush to present a plan for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
The documents consist of a "statement of conscience" signed by nearly 100 United Methodist bishops and a formal resolution adopted Nov. 4 by the Council of Bishops at a semi-annual meeting.
They reiterate some positions taken earlier by the bishops and by a United Methodist agency and express renewed and specific criticism of the war by the leaders of the second-largest Protestant church in the United States, which includes Bush in its membership.
The "Statement of Conscience -- A Call to Repentance and Peace with Justice" was written by retired Bishop Kenneth Carder of Durham, N.C., and circulated among the bishops for about two weeks prior to the council meeting.
It was signed by 96 bishops, more than half of the 164 active and retired United Methodist bishops worldwide.
Among other points, the statement says:
"(W)e repent of our complicity in what we believe to be the unjust and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq. In the face of the United States Administration's rush toward military action based on misleading information, too many of us were silent."
It confesses a "preoccupation" with other matters "while American men and women are sent to Iraq to kill and be killed, while thousands of Iraqi people needlessly suffer and die . . ."
It expresses appreciation for the "sacrifices" of American military personnel, but continues, "we confess our betrayal of the scriptural and prophetic authority to warn the nations that true security lies not in the weapons of war . . ."
The signers of the statement make a commitment to pray for the end of the war and to avoid "being so cautious in confronting evil that we lose our moral authority."
They also call on United Methodists to "object with boldness when governing powers offer solutions of war that conflict with the gospel message."
The resolution Whitaker voted for was taken up by the Council of Bishops and was adapted from a statement by retired Bishop Marshall "Jack" Meadors Jr. of Atlanta.
Only the 68 active bishops of the church were eligible to vote on the measure, and it passed without dissenting votes, although some bishops abstained, said Stephen Drachler, executive director of public information for the United Methodist Church.
The resolution restated many of the same points in the statement of conscience, but in addition it:
Supports a congressional resolution stating "it is the sense of the Congress that it be the policy of the United States to withdraw all U.S. military troops and bases from Iraq."
Calls on Bush "to immediately draw up and present to the Congress and the American people a plan and timeline for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces in Iraq."
Calls for the appointment of a United Nations envoy to encourage peace talks and for a multilateral approach to rebuilding Iraq.
Whitaker has been a consistent critic of the war, even before it was launched, based on the view that it did not meet traditional "just war" criteria.
He said Friday that he did not see the documents as startling or unusual, given a previous statement by the bishops at the conclusion of last year's General Conference.
But he said they were more pointed and specific because of recent revelations about the manipulation of intelligence prior to the war.
"The discourse has moved to a different level. I don't think it's unfair to talk about these things," he said. "I think we have to have a public discussion about the war, how we got into it and how it's going to end."
The signers of the statement of conscience included bishops considered conservatives, including J. Lawrence McCleskey, bishop of Charlotte, N.C.
Whitaker said may of the bishops had not publicly made statements before the war, "but some wished they had."
Carder said by phone from his office that the statment of conscience was not meant to be accusatory or partisan but rather a personal confession of responsibility.
"In a democratic society, the decisions that are made to go to war or policies that impact the poor are made in our name. We have a responsibility to speak out as citizens and as Christians," he said.
Among the points in the statement is a confession by the bishops of "our failure to make disciples of Jesus Christ and to be a people who welcome and love all those for whom Christ died."
Asked if this referred to a failure toward Bush, who attended Methodist churches in Dallas and Austin, Texas, both Whitaker and Carder said it was intended more broadly.
"I understand that to mean that all of us who claim to be followers of Christ accommodate so much to the values of our culture and the political climate of our nation, we're not really listening to the one who issued a challenge to culture. Jesus Christ calls us to be makers of peace. The question is, are we really listening to that call?" Whitaker said.
A frequent critic of pronouncements by United Methodist leaders about social and political issues said Friday that he was "not surprised but disappointed" by the documents.
"They failed to make any reference to the brutal nature of Saddam Hussein's regime. As United Methodist agencies and leaders have done in the past, they tend to fault the United States exclusively while ignoring the wider context," said Mark Tooley, executive director of UMAction, a committee of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a conservative Washington watchdog organization.
Tooley expressed respect for Whitaker's views, but said the documents represent liberal political sentiments.
"Bishop Whitaker is one of the very few bishops whose opposition to the war has been based on intelligent, theologically orthodox criteria. The problem with the most recent statement is that those who put it together are pseudo-pacifists who disagree with United Methodist teaching on war," he said.
Tooley also said that the resolution passed by the Council of Bishops should have avoided making specific political judgments.
"Nobody questions their right to participate in public debate. For the church or its officers to attempt to tie the gospel to one or more sides in a political debate is not beneficial to the church or the gospel," he said.
Whitaker responded there would be criticism of the bishops whether they spoke or not.
He acknowledged he does not have an answer to the question of how the United States should extricate itself from Iraq.
"These are issues of strategy we like to entrust in the hands of our leaders. But it's not irresponsible for citizens to begin talking about it. It doesn't hurt to raise our voices," he said.
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