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The Lutheran World Federation
Lutheran World Information |
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| 22.03.2002 |
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| LWF President Krause Criticizes US 'Axis of Evil' Stance on Some Governments |
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Call for 'Axis of Hope, Faith and Love'
VANCOUVER, Canada/GENEVA, 22 March 2002 (LWI/ELCANEWS) - Bishop emeritus Christian Krause, President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has criticized US President George Bush's "axis of evil" reference to some world governments allegedly engaged in terror activities.
Addressing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Conference of Bishops at its March 7-12 meeting in Vancouver, Canada, Krause who recently retired as bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick, Germany, called "for an 'axis of hope, faith and love,' rather than pointing out where the good guys and bad guys are."
The trauma of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States of America is "still deeply rooted," in the United States, Krause said. Referring to the LWF Tenth Assembly theme "For the Healing of the World," Krause assured
the ELCA's advisory body consisting of the church's 65 synod bishops, presiding bishop and secretary, that LWF members throughout the world continue to pray for healing. The bishops held their twice yearly meeting in the Canadian city at the invitation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) bishops. On occasion they meet with other groups. The ELCIC will host the forthcoming LWF Assembly 21-31 July 2003 in Winnipeg.
The LWF president spoke to the ELCA bishops on March 11, the sixth-month anniversary of the terrorist attacks. He noted the events of September 11 were among three incidences that changed the world at the turn of the millennium. "Our self understanding of what guarantees security ended," he said of that day.
Krause said he appreciated the public statement of the Rev. H. George Anderson, then ELCA presiding bishop, in response to the attacks. Anderson's statement expressed his shock at the attacks and emphasized restraint and peace. More people should be talking about peace and reconciliation, Krause noted.
He said other events that changed the world at the turn of the millennium included the end of the Cold War and globalization in electronic communication and economic activity. The end of the Cold War offers opportunities in Eastern Europe, where there are few Christians. "We must stay together and proclaim the gospel in a totally secularized society," Krause said. In other parts of the world, he said, churches especially in the Southern Hemisphere have been neglected, and "charismatic movements" are growing, thus posing the question of the integration of charismatic movements for a historic church like the Lutheran one.
Globalization has eliminated borders. Growth in electronic communication through such tools as the Internet is advantageous to some people, but out of reach for two-thirds of the world's population, he said.
The Middle East is of special concern to the LWF, Krause said. The LWF operates Augusta Victoria Hospital, located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Most of its patients are Palestinians, some of whom are part of a dwindling Christian presence there, he said.
"There will be no peace in this world if there is no peace in Jerusalem," Krause said. "The LWF is determined to remain active in the region (at Augusta Victoria) and be in solidarity with our Christian brothers and sisters in the member church there, and we pray for peace for all." The LWF's "confession of unity" gives strength to smaller Lutheran churches in the world such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (ELCJ), with congregations in Jerusalem Jordan and Palestine, he said.
Augusta Victoria Hospital is currently involved in a tax case with the Israeli government. Israel wants the hospital to pay millions of dollars in back employment taxes, from which the hospital has been exempt for many years. The case is now in an Israeli court, and a judge overseeing it has urged the parties to reach a resolution. Krause said the issue is not necessarily the hospital building, but "the soil… We have made it clear we will not move. We hope we can solve this issue." The LWF Executive Committee may convene in Jerusalem in June, he said, to meet with Israeli officials about the hospital and to show support for the ELCJ.
In Chicago, Krause met privately with Rev. Mark S. Hanson, who became presiding bishop of the ELCA last November. Krause expressed gratitude for the collaboration with Hanson and extended his appreciation for the excellent working relationship with the past presiding bishop Anderson, an LWF vice-president since 1997.
Krause met with the heads of respective ELCA units and discussed the challenges of their work, and how closer cooperation with the LWF could help meet such challenges. Topics included the implication of national and international dialogues and agreements. Of major concern in the US is how the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ), the only global agreement of its kind, could provide a model for future ecumenical discussions and relations. The LWF and Roman Catholic Church signed the JDDJ on 31 October 1999 in Augsburg, Germany.
Krause, who also serves as president of the Luther Center in Wittenberg, Germany, met with the center's ELCA representatives to determine further collaboration. In his capacity as chairperson of the governing board of the Church Development Service, an association of Protestant churches in Germany, he conferred with representatives of the ELCA World Hunger Program.
Krause was visiting LWF North American member churches March 9-21. The LWF Tenth Assembly and the role of the churches after the September terrorist attacks on the US were major topics. In April he will visit with churches in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia.
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