National Catholic Reporter, September 16, 2005
Two groups of Catholic nuns have condemned the war in Iraq, with one group calling for a withdrawal of U.S. troops and the other urging Catholic military personnel to refuse to fight.
The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, meeting in Anaheim, Calif., and the National Coalition of American Nuns, meeting in Elm Grove, Wis., each denounced the war in separate statements.
The conference, an umbrella group for the leaders of some 75,000 U.S. Catholic sisters, said the war has resulted in the “alienation and diminishment of the moral and political leadership of the United States.” It called on the U.S. government to “develop a responsible plan” for the withdrawal of troops in Iraq and to “redirect needed resources to meet human needs at home and in other parts of the world.”
“War dehumanizes and diminishes all of the human community and devastates the Earth,” the conference statement said. “The ongoing war in Iraq is taking an immense toll on human life, not only of young men and women in the military, but also the lives of innocent civilians of all ages.”
The statement reiterated the conference’s longtime opposition to “the research, development, testing and use of nuclear weapons and of the diversion of funds from human services and needs to the buildup of armaments.”
The National Coalition of American Nuns represents some 1,200 nuns in the United States. In its statement, the nuns said U.S. bishops need to tell Catholics that “killing in an unjust war is murder.”
“If a war is unjust, the role of Catholic military chaplains needs to be questioned,” the nuns said. “If a war is unjust, Catholics may not join the military, or if they are already in the military, they must refuse to kill.”
The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, in a separate statement, marked the 60th anniversary of the use of the atomic bombs in Japan that ended World War II. The statement said in part: “We in LCWR have consistently spoken publicly about our opposition to the use of military force and instruments of war, including nuclear weapons that cause so much suffering and devastation.
“We call our government to conscience as we see it increase its military budget and add to the proliferation of nuclear arms.”
The National Coalition of American Nuns lambasted the separation barrier erected by Israel around Palestinian lands, urged greater leeway for conscientious objectors in the military and called on U.S. bishops to apologize for their “secretive, destructive behavior” during the sexual abuse scandal.