Statement on Syria

Statement on Syria

The
Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is
gathered for its September 2013 meeting in Washington, DC, just three miles
away from the Capitol where Congress is debating a resolution to authorize the
use of military force in Syria.Today we
prayed for our nations’ leaders and for the Church and people of Syria.Having just participated, with our people, in
the Holy Father’s Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace in Syria, the Middle East
and the world on September 7, we commit ourselves to continued prayer and
action for peace in the days ahead.

As
our nation contemplates military intervention, we stand in solidarity with the
Church and people of Syria, and with our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and the
bishops of the Middle East.We affirm
the actions and messages of our President, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and the
Chairman of our Committee on International Justice and Peace, Bishop Richard E.
Pates, and now add our own collective voice to theirs in the national debate.

Chemical
weapons have no place in the arsenals of the family of nations. There is no
doubt that the use of chemical weapons in Syria was a heinous crime against
humanity.As Pope Francis declared: “With
utmost firmness I condemn the use of chemical weapons: I tell you that those
terrible images from recent days are burned into my mind and heart. There is a
judgment of God and of history upon our actions which are inescapable!”

Tragically,
the deaths from chemical weapons are only part of the grievous story of Syria
these days.More than 100,000 Syrians
have lost their lives.More than 2
million have fled the country as refugees.More than 4 million within Syria have been driven from their homes by
violence.A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding
in Syria.We call upon our nation and
the international community to save lives by pressing for serious dialogue to
end the conflict, by refraining from fueling further violence with military
attacks or arms transfers, and by offering more humanitarian assistance.

We
have heard the urgent calls of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and our suffering
brother bishops of the venerable and ancient Christian Churches of the Middle
East. As one, they beg the international
community not to resort to military
intervention in Syria.They have made it
clear that a military attack will be counterproductive, will exacerbate an
already deadly situation, and will have unintended negative consequences.Their concerns strongly resonate in American
public opinion that questions the wisdom of intervention and in the lack of
international support.

We
recall a decade ago when the Holy See and the Church in the Middle East
urgently warned of the “unpredictable” and “grave” consequences of a U.S.-led
invasion of Iraq, concerns we shared with our government.Although Syria is not Iraq and the resolution
before Congress calls for a limited strike, not an invasion, the warnings we
are hearing from the Holy See and local bishops of the region are similar; they
question the probability of success of the use of military force in shortening
the conflict and saving lives.We are
also aware of the heavy burden already borne by the military and their
families.

For
this reason, we make our own the appeal of Pope Francis: “I exhort the
international community to make every effort to promote clear proposals for peace
in that country without further delay, a peace based on dialogue and
negotiation, for the good of the entire Syrian people. May no effort be spared in guaranteeing
humanitarian assistance to those wounded by this terrible conflict, in
particular those forced to flee and the many refugees in nearby countries."

The
Congressional resolution acknowledges that “the conflict in Syria will only be
resolved through a negotiated political settlement.”Instead of employing armed force, our nation
should work with the international community and direct all of its considerable
diplomatic capabilities to initiate dialogue and negotiation. The use of force
is always a last resort, and it should only be employed by legitimate authority
in accordance with international norms.The lack of international and domestic consensus in this case is deeply
troubling.Recent international
proposals to secure and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons deserve serious
consideration, evaluation and encouragement.

We
affirm the longstanding position of our Conference of Bishops that the Syrian
people urgently need a political solution.We ask the United States to work with other governments to obtain a
ceasefire, initiate serious negotiations, provide impartial humanitarian assistance,
and encourage efforts to build an inclusive society in Syria that protects the
rights of all its citizens, including Christians and other minorities.

As Congress struggles
with the complex challenges and humanitarian catastrophe that have engulfed Syria,
we offer the voice of the Universal Church and our prayers for peace.

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