24.02.2003
Austrian Bishop Urges Genuine Dialogue, More Than Threats for Military Action against Iraq
Representatives of LWF Churches in Vienna for Europe Pre-Assembly ConsultationVIENNA, Austria/GENEVA, 24 February 2003 (LWI) - The Europe region preparatory consultation for the July 2003 Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Tenth Assembly opened in the Austrian capital with a call to prayer for peace and an appeal to the global community to avert the use of military force against Iraq.
In his sermon during the Sunday opening worship service of the February 23-26 LWF Europe Pre-Assembly Consultation, Bishop Herwig Sturm, head of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria, said "I pray that Saddam Hussein will think of the people of his country and spare them this war,” and that United States President George W. Bush would not consider "destruction" as part of his responsibility in this world.
Sturm expressed hope that the world community, especially the USA and Great Britain, would not only threaten to use military force as the last resort in Iraq, but would also conduct an honest dialogue with the aim of mutual security and the reconstruction of that country. In recent weeks, people from all walks of life have participated in demonstrations worldwide pressing their governments not to support the use of force against Iraq. The US accuses Iraq of violating United Nations resolutions by refusing to give a full account of its chemical biological and nuclear weapons' programs. Iraq insists that it has complied with the UN demands.
The Austrian bishop noted that the LWF pre-Assembly is taking place at a time when war in Iraq is becoming more and more likely and imminent. In Vienna as in other places, thousands of people have been praying for peace and tens of thousands have demonstrated in the streets, along with millions world-wide. In Austria this involvement has most recently given rise to accusations against Christians, that they are naïve, deluded or even hypocrites. As bishop of some 355,000 Lutherans, Sturm asked if "the participation of Christians in the struggle for a peaceful solution implies that they are not willing to look reality in the face." It was his prayer that the knowledge and approach demonstrated by Christians in ecumenical dialogue and inter-religious conversations could also be of benefit to the political sphere.
Sturm emphasized that the church is not a “naïve white-washing club,” but rather sees the world as it truly is - harsh, frustrating, full of contradictions and efforts made in vain by everyone trying to make things grow and bloom. Into this world, he said, God’s word is sown as a seed, “quiet and defenseless, but with the power to create and liberate life.” It is freely available for all people especially for those who have been treated so unkindly by fate, by other persons or structures of violence and injustice, said Sturm.
But he also criticized Christian churches saying that “The world is waiting for models of encounter which dispel hostility and reconcile, and for bread which nourishes, while we are fiddling with our churches’ image, or ways to preserve them, or fighting for the best places.”
The European preparatory meeting for the LWF Assembly is being held in Vienna at the invitation of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria. It is the second of five regional meetings prior to the Assembly, with the aim to deliberate the Assembly theme and content from the viewpoints of the different regions. The Tenth Assembly, under the theme “For the Healing of the World,” will take place 21-31 July 2003 in Winnipeg, Canada, hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
Issues of economic globalization, cooperation among LWF member churches in Europe and preparations for the Assembly are at the center of discussions at the regional consultation. Its program aims to prepare the Assembly delegates for both the content and practical aspects of the Assembly’s work. The consultation also offers the delegates opportunities to exchange views and invites them to coordinate their common interests and concerns for inclusion in the Assembly agenda.
Some 80 persons are taking part in the consultation, including more than 60 Assembly delegates drawn from the region's LWF member churches. Around 1,000 participants are expected at the Assembly including 436 delegates from the 136 LWF member churches. The Assembly is the LWF’s highest decision-making body, meeting every six years.
The first regional preparatory meeting was held January 23-26 in North America, in Denver, Colorado, USA. Further meetings are planned for Asia, March 2-6 in Medan, Indonesia; Africa, March 23-26 in Nairobi, Kenya; and Latin America and the Caribbean, April 6-9 in San Salvador, El Salvador. A women’s pre-Assembly took place 14-19 November 2002 in Montreux, Switzerland. The last of the preparatory conferences, a world-wide youth conference in July 2003, will take place near Toronto, Canada.
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