Anglican Communion News Service

Presiding Bishop Frank T Griswold released a statement today responding to President George W Bush's State of the Union message and calling on the administration to "exhaust all diplomatic and multilateral initiatives" as the alternative to a unilateral assault on Iraq.

The statement, entitled "The challenges of global citizenship," echoes previous statements issued by Bishop Griswold, the Executive Council and the House of Bishops of the church on the possibility of war with Iraq.

"I will not second guess those who unquestionably have better information than is available to me about options for action in response to Iraq," Bishop Griswold wrote. "However, I call on President Bush to exhaust all diplomatic and multilateral initiatives as the alternative to waging war. Our recent history makes plain how intertwined are the world's nations; the fate of one hangs on the fate of another. Unilateral actions would strain tenuous relationships between the United States and other nations, and undermine our shared goal of eradicating global terrorism and preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Therefore, I strongly urge the President to act only in concert with the United Nations Security Council."

Bishop Griswold praised Bush for his decision to commit the resources of the Federal government to the fight against AIDS. "I warmly applaud the President's call for $15 billion over the next five years for the global fight against HIV/AIDS and this evidence of his compassionate commitment. I will strongly support him as he seeks funding and implementation for this bold new initiative," he said. "Sub-Saharan Africa is being devastated by this disease and a generation is dying, leaving orphaned children who are at risk of being drawn into armies and made tools of terror. However, the situation is not hopeless if we commit ourselves to addressing this grave threat which affects us all."

Bishop Griswold added, "Our nation has an opportunity, and responsibility, to reflect the values and ideals that we espouse by focusing upon issues of poverty, disease and despair, both within our own nation and throughout the global community. The freedoms we enjoy as citizens of the United States oblige us to attend both to our own welfare and to the well-being of the world. A nation that is a super power, and declares itself to be 'under God,' must exercise the role of super servant. Fighting to eradicate HIV/AIDS and caring for those beyond ourselves is in the best tradition of American generosity and compassion.

"My prayers are with our President and other leaders of our nation and world that they may seek to forge peace, with the men and women of the armed forces, including our military chaplains, and their families. I pray that compassion and reconciliation and healing may become the realities of our common life, thereby reflecting God's own passionate desire for the well-being of the world God sent his Son to save." Bishop Griswold read the statement to the Executive Council, which responded with a resolution stating that the council "commends to the whole church the Presiding Bishop's statement of 30 January on current global affairs and adopts the statement as an expression of the mind of the council." The council met this week in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. La Iglesia Episcopal Dominicana has been a part of Province IX of the Episcopal Church since 1897.

Article from: ENS by Jan Nunley