World church heads call for people-focussed Middle East vision
-17/08/06
“Why such awf
World church heads call for people-focussed Middle East vision
-17/08/06
“Why such awful destruction?” was the question heard over and over again by members of a recently returned high-level Christian pastoral delegation in relation to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
Entrusted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Conference of European Churches (CEC), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) with the mission of expressing global ecumenical solidarity with churches and people affected by the conflict in the Middle East, the delegation came back with the task of transmitting the hopes and expectations of the churches in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel to the international ecumenical family.
Reporting on their 10 -15 August 2006 visit to Beirut and Jerusalem, the three members of the delegation – CEC President Rev Jean-Arnold de Clermont, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tours (France) Mgr Bernard Aubertin, and WCC programme executive on racism, Ms Marilia Alves-Sch¸ller ñ emphasized that the representatives of Lebanon’s various communities with whom they met had all agreed that the answer to that question is that the destruction was both deliberate and planned.
In support of that analysis, community leaders mentioned their concern at the growing influence of neo-conservative forces in the US on Israelís political leadership. In particular they questioned US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice’s comment that “The suffering of Lebanon is the labour pains of the new Middle East”.
The delegation also wished to strongly affirm all that representatives of Lebanonís different communities had shared with them about the over-riding value of the multi-cultural and multi-confessional nature of their society. For the community leaders, this represents a guarantee for peace. They noted that Lebanese of all religious faiths – Christians and Muslims, both Sunni and Shi’ia – had remained firmly unified despite the enormously divisive pressures of the war.
The second message members of the delegation brought back was that it is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and not the role and actions of Hezbollah that is at the heart of the present crisis. Nevertheless, the delegation reported that all religious leaders with whom they spoke condemned all use of indiscriminate violence from whatever source, including Hezbollah.
Welcoming the delegation to the Ecumenical Centre on behalf of the four Geneva-based sponsoring ecumenical organizations, WCC general secretary Rev Dr Samuel Kobia concurred that “It is only by addressing the Israel-Palestine issue, and only a comprehensive and just settlement of that issue that can bring peace and security in the Middle East”.
In Jerusalem, the delegation heard both the chief rabbi and the chief judge of the Islamic court separately voicing the same negative perceptions of each other’s communities. “They have no compassion for their children,” both men had declared. Another view the delegation also heard expressed was that the idea of permanent warfare seems to dominate thinking in the Middle East, and that there is a need for all thinking in the region to be demilitarized.
Although perceptions of “the other” bode ill for the ability to return together to the negotiating table and overcome mutual distrust and grief, members of the delegation said that they had also heard many church leaders voicing concern about how people can remove the hatred from their hearts and learn to live together as neighbours.
As “a tangible and concrete expression of the ecumenical family’s solidarity and a way of sharing their grief,” the visit from the ecumenical delegation was a sign of the World Council’s intention to broaden its coordination of the ecumenical response to the Middle East crisis, and for more concerted efforts in this direction, Kobia explained.
“The situation in the Middle East is changing,” he said. “A new political, economic and moral landscape requires new elements to be brought into the equation for a just peace in the Middle East.” New WCC programmes mandated by the WCC’s recent (February 2006) Assembly will lay the groundwork for that, Kobia said.
A 16 August 2006 message signed by the general secretaries of the WCC, CEC, LWF, and WARC and distributed at a press conference with the ecumenical delegation concludes: “In the light of all that they tell us, we shall during the next weeks reflect prayerfully and urgently together on the contribution which the churches can make in furthering the cause of peace in the Middle East.”
[Also on Ekklesia: Israel-Palestine conflict is cause of Lebanon chaos say church leaders 15/08/06; Church appeals continue as violence shadows Lebanon ceasefire 14/08/06; Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams writes about Lebanon – 13 Aug 2006; Stop this insanity, say Australian church leaders 13/08/06; Sentamu to launch week-long York fast against violence 12/08/06; Ex-hostage and US church leader call on Abrahamic faiths for just-peace 11/08/06; Christian Peacemaker Teams activists face Israel military aid vigil charge 11/08/06; Church agency warns over unexploded munitions in Lebanon 09/08/06; Global church leaders make peace boat trip to Beirut 09/08/06; Palestinian refugee camp hit by Israeli bombing raid 09/08/06; Churches deplore killing of French aid workers in Sri Lanka 09/08/06; Mennonites respond to massive Lebanese humanitarian needs 09/08/06; World church leaders strongly condemn Middle East violence 08/08/06; Tony Blair phones Christian Aid director about Lebanon crisis 08/08/06; Hundreds of thousands march against the war in Lebanon 06/08/07 Cana mayor describes bombing horror and calls for Christian support 06/08/05; End this blind faith in violence, says WCC leader 04/08/06; Church group goes directly to Beirut to call for a ceasefire 03/08/06; Development agencies petition Tony Blair for an immediate ceasefire 02/08/06; Unite for MidEast peace, say US Sikhs, Christians, Muslims and Jews 01/08/07; Lebanon destruction a ‘crime against humanity’ says aid group 30/07/06; No way to security through fighting, says Holy Land bishop 29/07/06; Blair to press Bush for ceasefire as churches push for peace 28/07/06; Israel sees ceasefire hesitancy as a green light for its Lebanon bombing 27/07/06; Mennonites call on USA and Canada to pursue non-violent alternatives 27/07/06; Christian groups urge Blair to back ceasefire calls 26/07/06; South African churches propose bold Middle East conflict transformation process 26/07/06; Why violence cannot solve Lebanon or Gaza Strip showdowns 24/07/06; Christian Aid emergency appeal swings into action 24/07/06; Mennonites issue action alert on Middle East crisis 24/07/06; Middle East churches document and condemn Lebanon horror 23/07/06; US churches appeal to Bush as Israel seizes Lebanese village 23/07/06; Aid agencies say Blair must call for immediate Middle East ceasefire 22/07/06; WCC urges churches to support Middle East appeals 21/07/06; Churches redouble efforts and prayers for an end to Middle East hostilities 21/07/06; Williams laments Lebanon vicious spiral of violence 20/07/06; Gaza, Israel and Lebanon crises are imperilling Middle East security 19/07/06; Historic Galilee sites hit by rocket attacks 18/07/06; Pope condemns Lebanon raids as G8 converges and Blair blames Iran and Syria 17/07/06; Christians call for end to Lebanon violence as Israel vows revenge 16/07/06; Middle East Christians in anguish over Lebanon violence 14/07/06; Embattled Hezbollah backs Iraq ‘doves of peace’; Christian warnings substantiated as Israel targets Hamas; Ex-spy wages peace on terror in the Middle East]
World church heads call for people-focussed Middle East vision
-17/08/06
“Why such awful destruction?” was the question heard over and over again by members of a recently returned high-level Christian pastoral delegation in relation to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
Entrusted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Conference of European Churches (CEC), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) with the mission of expressing global ecumenical solidarity with churches and people affected by the conflict in the Middle East, the delegation came back with the task of transmitting the hopes and expectations of the churches in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel to the international ecumenical family.
Reporting on their 10 -15 August 2006 visit to Beirut and Jerusalem, the three members of the delegation – CEC President Rev Jean-Arnold de Clermont, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tours (France) Mgr Bernard Aubertin, and WCC programme executive on racism, Ms Marilia Alves-Sch¸ller ñ emphasized that the representatives of Lebanon’s various communities with whom they met had all agreed that the answer to that question is that the destruction was both deliberate and planned.
In support of that analysis, community leaders mentioned their concern at the growing influence of neo-conservative forces in the US on Israelís political leadership. In particular they questioned US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice’s comment that “The suffering of Lebanon is the labour pains of the new Middle East”.
The delegation also wished to strongly affirm all that representatives of Lebanonís different communities had shared with them about the over-riding value of the multi-cultural and multi-confessional nature of their society. For the community leaders, this represents a guarantee for peace. They noted that Lebanese of all religious faiths – Christians and Muslims, both Sunni and Shi’ia – had remained firmly unified despite the enormously divisive pressures of the war.
The second message members of the delegation brought back was that it is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and not the role and actions of Hezbollah that is at the heart of the present crisis. Nevertheless, the delegation reported that all religious leaders with whom they spoke condemned all use of indiscriminate violence from whatever source, including Hezbollah.
Welcoming the delegation to the Ecumenical Centre on behalf of the four Geneva-based sponsoring ecumenical organizations, WCC general secretary Rev Dr Samuel Kobia concurred that “It is only by addressing the Israel-Palestine issue, and only a comprehensive and just settlement of that issue that can bring peace and security in the Middle East”.
In Jerusalem, the delegation heard both the chief rabbi and the chief judge of the Islamic court separately voicing the same negative perceptions of each other’s communities. “They have no compassion for their children,” both men had declared. Another view the delegation also heard expressed was that the idea of permanent warfare seems to dominate thinking in the Middle East, and that there is a need for all thinking in the region to be demilitarized.
Although perceptions of “the other” bode ill for the ability to return together to the negotiating table and overcome mutual distrust and grief, members of the delegation said that they had also heard many church leaders voicing concern about how people can remove the hatred from their hearts and learn to live together as neighbours.
As “a tangible and concrete expression of the ecumenical family’s solidarity and a way of sharing their grief,” the visit from the ecumenical delegation was a sign of the World Council’s intention to broaden its coordination of the ecumenical response to the Middle East crisis, and for more concerted efforts in this direction, Kobia explained.
“The situation in the Middle East is changing,” he said. “A new political, economic and moral landscape requires new elements to be brought into the equation for a just peace in the Middle East.” New WCC programmes mandated by the WCC’s recent (February 2006) Assembly will lay the groundwork for that, Kobia said.
A 16 August 2006 message signed by the general secretaries of the WCC, CEC, LWF, and WARC and distributed at a press conference with the ecumenical delegation concludes: “In the light of all that they tell us, we shall during the next weeks reflect prayerfully and urgently together on the contribution which the churches can make in furthering the cause of peace in the Middle East.”
[Also on Ekklesia: Israel-Palestine conflict is cause of Lebanon chaos say church leaders 15/08/06; Church appeals continue as violence shadows Lebanon ceasefire 14/08/06; Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams writes about Lebanon – 13 Aug 2006; Stop this insanity, say Australian church leaders 13/08/06; Sentamu to launch week-long York fast against violence 12/08/06; Ex-hostage and US church leader call on Abrahamic faiths for just-peace 11/08/06; Christian Peacemaker Teams activists face Israel military aid vigil charge 11/08/06; Church agency warns over unexploded munitions in Lebanon 09/08/06; Global church leaders make peace boat trip to Beirut 09/08/06; Palestinian refugee camp hit by Israeli bombing raid 09/08/06; Churches deplore killing of French aid workers in Sri Lanka 09/08/06; Mennonites respond to massive Lebanese humanitarian needs 09/08/06; World church leaders strongly condemn Middle East violence 08/08/06; Tony Blair phones Christian Aid director about Lebanon crisis 08/08/06; Hundreds of thousands march against the war in Lebanon 06/08/07 Cana mayor describes bombing horror and calls for Christian support 06/08/05; End this blind faith in violence, says WCC leader 04/08/06; Church group goes directly to Beirut to call for a ceasefire 03/08/06; Development agencies petition Tony Blair for an immediate ceasefire 02/08/06; Unite for MidEast peace, say US Sikhs, Christians, Muslims and Jews 01/08/07; Lebanon destruction a ‘crime against humanity’ says aid group 30/07/06; No way to security through fighting, says Holy Land bishop 29/07/06; Blair to press Bush for ceasefire as churches push for peace 28/07/06; Israel sees ceasefire hesitancy as a green light for its Lebanon bombing 27/07/06; Mennonites call on USA and Canada to pursue non-violent alternatives 27/07/06; Christian groups urge Blair to back ceasefire calls 26/07/06; South African churches propose bold Middle East conflict transformation process 26/07/06; Why violence cannot solve Lebanon or Gaza Strip showdowns 24/07/06; Christian Aid emergency appeal swings into action 24/07/06; Mennonites issue action alert on Middle East crisis 24/07/06; Middle East churches document and condemn Lebanon horror 23/07/06; US churches appeal to Bush as Israel seizes Lebanese village 23/07/06; Aid agencies say Blair must call for immediate Middle East ceasefire 22/07/06; WCC urges churches to support Middle East appeals 21/07/06; Churches redouble efforts and prayers for an end to Middle East hostilities 21/07/06; Williams laments Lebanon vicious spiral of violence 20/07/06; Gaza, Israel and Lebanon crises are imperilling Middle East security 19/07/06; Historic Galilee sites hit by rocket attacks 18/07/06; Pope condemns Lebanon raids as G8 converges and Blair blames Iran and Syria 17/07/06; Christians call for end to Lebanon violence as Israel vows revenge 16/07/06; Middle East Christians in anguish over Lebanon violence 14/07/06; Embattled Hezbollah backs Iraq ‘doves of peace’; Christian warnings substantiated as Israel targets Hamas; Ex-spy wages peace on terror in the Middle East]