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CATHOLIC INFORMATION SERVICE
FOR AFRICA (CISA)
<cisa@wananchi.com>
Issue No. 204, Thursday, March 20, 2003
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As America began its
bombardment of Iraq at 0230 GMT on Thursday morning, not
everyone in Baghdad was scared and running away for their own
dear life. Sisters of the Mother Teresa-founded
Missionaries of Charity congregation vowed to remain in
Baghdad to care for Iraqi orphans during the expected
hostilities. Caritas is also continuing its mission to the
Iraqis. A group of Christian peacemakers had also vowed
before Thursday’s attacks to stay on and be with the Iraqi
people, to wait for the bombs.
CONTENTS
Christian Peacemaker Teams to Remain with the Iraqis
Missionaries of Charity Won’t Leave Baghdad
Caritas-Iraq to Continue Assistance
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Christian Peacemaker Teams to Remain With the Iraqis
Another team of Christians, ‘Christian Peacemaker
Teams’ (CPT), was in Baghdad before Thursday’s attacks,
ready and waiting for any bombs. The team comprises members
from the United States and Canada.
CPT is a program of Brethren, Quaker and Mennonite Churches
and other Christians that support non-violence. They are
committed to reducing violence by getting in the way, along
with Iraq Peace Team (IPT), and to accompany threatened Iraqi
civilians.
CPT has posted volunteers in Iraq since October 25, 2002. More
recently, additional delegations have gone to Iraq to educate
the public and ‘get in the way’ of potential military
attacks.
In the event of an escalation (as has already occurred), CPT
and IPT members will continue to accompany prayerfully Iraqi
civilians at specific places, and document the on-going
catastrophe of war.
The CPT has been praying, holding vigils and fasting at
various places in Baghdad. Prior to Thursday’s attacks, the
team has been calling on people of faith to do all they can to
stop further bombing of Iraq.
One CPT member, Margaret (Peggy) Gish from Goshen, Indiana,
said in a statement: “We are one small part of a larger
worldwide movement putting pressure on our government to find
a peaceful solution. I am here to be among the Iraqi people,
letting them know we care, that their lives are just as
important as ours, and that they are our friends, not enemies.
I want to be a voice for the Iraqi people to the people back
home.”
Another team member, Scott Kerr, from Downers Grove, Illinois,
said: “When Christians take peacemaking as seriously as
governments take war making, we will change the world.”
On March 15, 2003, CPT wrote a letter from Baghdad, addressed
to the churches in Canada and the United States.
“As members of Christian Peacemaker Teams, from both Canada
and U.S., we have found a warm welcome in the homes of Iraqis.
We have visited the institutions that shape this society.
“Iraqi people understand that the low intensity war of
sanctions and bombings in the ‘no fly’ zones is
perpetrated by our very own government. Yet they seem to have
the moral and spiritual resources to treat us graciously, even
though our bombings and sanctions have destroyed their economy
for more than a decade, killing hundreds of thousands of
people, many of them children.
“Despite these facts, the US government and some of its
citizens, as well as some people in other countries, view Iraq
as the enemy.
“We urge our governments to learn to be as gracious and
loving as the Iraqi people, to cease bombing and threatening
Iraq, and instead to develop non-violent and just economic,
cultural and religious relationships.
“We believe that the health and well-being of our own
children and the equally beautiful children of Iraq depend
upon stopping these cycles of war and economic violence.
“Our battle is not against human forces, but against the
rulers and authorities and their dark powers that govern this
world (Ephesians 6: 12)
“Bombing and invading a country will not stop the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It will not
bring about good government, nor is it moral to take over the
resources of another country. To care for God's creation, we
desire the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction from
every country in the world. Christian leaders of all
denominations are calling out against this war.
“We accompany the people of Iraq by visiting families,
hospitals, churches, mosques and orphanages, by listening to
shopkeepers and people on the street. We pray and fast; we
report our experiences to our church communities and attempt
to love the individuals who plan to bomb the Iraqis and us.
“In order to live out our convictions, we will continue to
be prayerfully present in Iraq and develop friendships with
Iraqi people even in the event of an escalation of violence
here. We don't know what we might experience in a bombing or
occupation, but we plan to accompany civilians in specific
places of our choosing. In an occupation, we will be on the
streets, documenting and trying to prevent human rights
abuses. At this time, the Iraqi government is not restricting
us or determining where we go or what we do. We will continue
to cry out against the apostasy of war in this setting of
God's creation.
“We invite you, sisters and brothers, to the non-violent
life of Jesus. >From prayer and fasting find the strength
to stop paying for war. From joy in discipleship, hold fast to
the evangelistic boldness to invite soldiers and corporate
technocrats to abandon their posts. From the faith that
teaches us that we are all sisters and brothers, believe in
the reality of barriers broken down between all enemies. Live
in Easter hope.”
CPT in the US can be reached at <cpt@igc.org>, and in
Canada at <cptcan@web.ca>, or online at http://www.prairienet.org/cpt
(Source: CPT)
Missionaries of Charity Won’t Leave Baghdad
Sr Densy, local superior of the Missionaries of Charity
congregation, said all her nuns would remain with the
children, even if war broke out.
Sr Densy and three other colleagues who run an orphanage in
the Iraqi capital refused to leave the country, even as UN
volunteers, weapons inspectors and journalists were
evacuating, ahead of the impending US-led attacks.
“These children need us, we must look after them,” she
said. (Source: Church Resources, quoting UCA News)
Caritas-Iraq to Continue Assistance
Caritas-Iraq has 80 agents and 15 centres spread
throughout the country, which provide food for some 10,000
families and 20,000 children; potable water for 300,000
people; and medical care for some 6,000 individuals.
Because of the crisis, Caritas-Iraq has transferred its
operating structures to Amman, Jordan. It has prepared 400
doctors and volunteers to assist. It has designated 87
churches as centres of refuge and protection for civilians.
With the help of the Caritas international network,
Caritas-Iraq has provided for the purchase of essential goods,
sanitary and water purification equipment, and medicines for
40 health centres. (Source: Church Resources)
CATHOLIC INFORMATION SERVICE FOR AFRICA (CISA)
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