Volume 25, Number 1    April 2003

As Iraq war rages, religious voices still protest, send aid to victims

At press time March 27, the U.S. war on Iraq was in its ninth day, air bombardment had destroyed hundreds of so-called military targets in Baghdad, home of 5.5 million Iraqi civilians, and U.S. and British ground forces were poised to attack the city. Public opinion polls in the U.S. showed support for the war now that U.S. troops were engaged and taking casualties. But religious voices, overwhelmingly opposed to the war before its inception, continued to protest. Faith leaders from John Paul II to Desmond Tutu to the Dalai Lama condemned the war. Pax Christi USA organized a multi-group demonstration and civil disobedience in Washington March 26, led by Nobel Peace laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Bishop Tom Gumbleton, Daniel Ellsberg and SOA Watch founder, Fr. Roy Bourgeois.

The same day, 17 civilians died and 45 were injured in a Baghdad shopping area. CTA member Kathy Kelly of Chicago, founder of Voices in the Wilderness, visited the scene two hours after the blast. She is one of 26 members of VitW's Iraq Peace Team living in Baghdad, visiting hospitals and bombing sites to reach out to Iraqi civilians being killed or injured. (She will be a speaker at the CTA conference in November.) Their daily reports are available on the Web with photographs of the wounded and grief-stricken people, especially the children.

Humanitarian aid
Information about civilian casualties - unavailable from the U.S. military - is best sought in the alternative press (www.indymedia.com) and websites (www.electronicIraq.net). The grim body count is recorded daily at www.iraqbodycount.net Catholic Relief Services and other aid agencies are struggling to dispense emergency food and medicine. Send donations online: www.catholicreliefservices.org or mail to CRS, 209 W. Fayette St., Baltimore MD 21201-3443. Oxfam International is especially concerned about Basra, a city of 1.5 million where electricity and water systems are down, imperilling many lives, especially of children. To donate online, go to www.oxfam.org

Prayer, study and action opportunities are posted regularly on the CTA website: www.cta-usa.org/iraq.html CTA peace buttons are available in bulk: 30 for $25. Call 773-404-0004, ext. 260.