"Our country responded (to the September 11, 2001 attacks) by seeking to reclaim a privileged and secure place in the world, raining down terror on the truly vulnerable among our global neighbours ... entering into imperial projects that seek to dominate and control for the sake of national interests. Nations have been demonised and God has been enlisted in national agendas that are nothing short of idolatrous." my underlining
“…national agendas that are nothing short of idolatrous.” Holy Mackeral, who said those words?
It’s none other than the US National Council of Churches. And President Bush better take note, cause the Council considers his Iraqi policies as idolatrous!
The Council released a letter to Washington urging President Bush to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, saying that reports of alleged torture violated the fundamental Christian belief in the dignity of the human person.
It also denounced the US-led war in Iraq, accusing Washington of raining down terror on the unfortunate Iraqis. The Council then apologised to other nations for the violence, degradation and poverty the USA has sown. It went on to say:
"We lament with special anguish the war in Iraq, launched in deception and violating global norms of justice and human rights. We mourn all who have died or been injured in this war. We acknowledge, with shame, abuses carried out in our name." my underlining
Amen!
All the while, I thought the US Churches and the God-fearing Bible-belt populace were the reasons that Bush got elected for two terms. (the less-Christian-fanatical West and East coasts voted against Bush) And online, you can see a lot of these people support the war fanatically, calling everyone else unpatriotic.
ReplyDeleteSo this begs the question, how authentic and sincere are the statements you referred to? Especially when it was issued from Brazil, and reported by an Australian people. This points to the fact that Americans will probably not be aware that these statements were made.
US National Council of Churches - I never heard of it. There are so many Christian factions in the US, including ones dominated by individualistic personalities like Rev. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Pat Robertson. I doubt this "Council" has any real teeth. Otherwise they would make the statement inside America for maximum publicity.
The report in the Sydney Morning Herald referred to an international news agency AP as the news source.
ReplyDeleteThe congregation for the World Council of Churches met in Brazil. The Council includes more than 350 mainline Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox churches. The US National Council is part of the World Council. Maybe the World's meet is the most appropriate place for the US Council to make the long overdue apology.
I don't know who said this, but you know, you can fool some people all the time, all the people some of the time, but never all the American people all the time.