UUA President Returns From Interfaith Meeting to Discuss Consequences of War

(Boston, May 5, 2003)    UUA President William G. Sinkford has returned to Boston following his participation at a meeting sponsored by the National Council of Churches in Chicago (April 29-30) to discuss the consequences and lessons of the recent war against Iraq.  In a statement released by the NCC and signed by Rev. Sinkford and other religious leaders participating in the summit, the leaders said, "War is a blunt instrument, which provides no lasting solution but too often leads to further violence. We ask the American people to reflect now on the price of unilateralism: the cost of war and militarism; the human toll of the war in Iraq; the erosion of civil liberties in the United States; the shift of resources away from human need to military purposes.

"In order to reflect most effectively on the choices that we face we call on interfaith leaders in every American community to gather in town meetings, teach-ins and other forms of community reflection to explore what kind of society we seek to become."  The statement also calls on the U.S. to draw back from the "use and threat of first-strike war"' end unilateral U.S. control over Iraq's reconstruction; bring U.S. occupation of Iraq to an end by transferring authority to the United Nations and multilateral, non-governmental organizations in Iraq; and make available U.S. resources to serve the decisions and needs of the Iraqi people.

Rev. Robert Edgar, General Secretary of the NCC, said, "We have come together because of our conviction that the United States can and must exercise global leadership in pursuit of peace, justice, freedom, and human dignity for all persons.  We must adopt a foreign policy based on a civil and faithful respect for multilateral institutions, for human rights, and for a fair and sustainable global economy."  Commenting on the summit's outcomes, Rev. Sinkford said, "One of the most positive outcomes of the summit in my view was the recognition of the vital role congregations can play on the journey to peace. Congregations must continue to initiate and deepen interfaith dialogue in their communities. It will be the strength of these relationships across religious and cultural divides that will allow us, through the coming months and years, to find the paths toward peace."

For more information on the NCC Summit:

• An Urgent Call for Reflection, Hope and Action (April 30, 2003) Interfaith Summit
• Words of Reflection from the Summit (April 30, 2003) Interfaith Summit
• Attendance list for the Interfaith Summit (April 29 and 30, 2003) Chicago Interfaith Summit

For discussion and education:
Visit the website for "Iraq After the War," a curriculum developed by The CHOICES Program at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies.  The program explores a range of contrasting policy options on post-war Iraq. The curriculum can be printed at no charge.

Media coverage of this conference:

• Interfaith leaders call for end to U.S. occupation in Iraq (5/1/2003) Sufiya Abdur-Rahman, Chicago Tribune
• Anti-war religious leaders discuss lessons of war (5/1/2003) Don Babwin, Associated Press

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