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AUSTRALIA-BISHOPS Oct-4-2007 (390 words) xxxi
Australian bishops warn against joining U.S. in pre-emptive strike
By Anthony Barich
Catholic News Service
PERTH, Australia (CNS) -- The Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference said it did not believe the war in Iraq is justified and warned against participating in another pre-emptive strike with the United States.
While admitting that Australia's alliance with the U.S. is an "important element of Australia's international security arrangements," the bishops questioned whether the doctrine of pre-emption was consistent with Catholic teaching on just war.
The bishops stressed that war cannot be judged only by its consequences.
They said Australians "would fail in our duty ... if we were again to take military action without our own thorough assessment of its morality and prospects, and without broad international approval."
"Obligations to an ally cannot include an obligation to engage in war that is not justified," the bishops said.
In a statement issued Sept. 17 and titled "Who Is My Neighbor? Australia's Role as a Global Citizen," the bishops raised concerns about actions taken without broad international support and a mandate from the United Nations.
"Our thoughts turned to the Iraqi people," the bishops said, "who had already endured years of war, trade sanctions and a brutal dictatorship."
"We prayed for the men and women of the Australian Defense Force who had been deployed to the region and the loved ones they left behind," they said. More than 1,500 Australian troops currently serve in Iraq.
The Australian bishops said international terrorism "poses a whole set of new challenges to nations wanting to act as good global citizens," but questioned what actions are justified in the pursuit of the goal of preventing terrorism.
According to a survey by the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney released Oct. 3, 64 percent of respondents were somewhat or totally opposed to Australia's military presence in Iraq, and 50 percent felt the same way about Australia's presence in Afghanistan. All major political parties in Australia have supported an alliance with the U.S. since 1941.
Meanwhile, the bishops said that they believe a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is crucial to peace in the Middle East and the world.
"Australia as a global citizen should do everything possible to support the United Nations and other agents of mediation to bring about a just peace in the Holy Land," the bishops said.
END
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