Catholic Primate tells Blair war is unjustified
The Catholic Primate of Ireland Archbishop Sean Brady has handed in a letter to British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressing his concerns about an imminent US-British attack on Iraq.
The letter was handed to Mr Blair during a meeting in Downing St last week, but Dr Brady only revealed the news today.
In a statement, he said that war with Iraq is a matter of life and death and the choices facing Mr Blair include moral choices as well as political and military ones.
Dr Brady, the Archbishop of Armagh, said he believes war on Iraq would be unjustified "since adequate evidence of an imminent and serious attack is lacking".
Dr Brady acknowledged that not attacking Iraq could have negative consequences, but he added that a war could provoke unpredictable instability all over the Middle East, as well as future terrorist attacks.
"The use of military force in Iraq could bring incalculable costs for an already oppressed people," his statement said.
"The lives of Iraqi men, women and children should be valued as we would value the lives of members of our own families and the citizens of our own country.
"From a Christian point of view, it strikes me that the most pervasive error in this matter seems to be the assumption that mass suffering from war is simply inevitable and acceptable in the world, as long as it does not begin to affect those who now have the privileges and the advantages."
Meanwhile, Cardinal Desmond Connell, the Archbishop of Dublin, has asked his congregation to pray that world leaders will do all they can to avoid war.
In a statement, the Cardinal said the ongoing talk of war in the Middle East is worrying and he reiterated Pope John Paul's recent statement that "war itself is an attack on human life".
"Peace cannot be assured by force of weapons alone," Dr Connell said.
"This sadly has been our experience here in Ireland. International law, honest dialogue, solidarity and diplomacy between the nations are means of striving for peace worthy of human beings."
