Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis.

Leadership Statement ssjtosf current view.pdf

Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis
Leadership Statement on Abuse of Iraqi Prisoners

Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis Oppose Military Intervention in Iraq

WHEREAS, our Franciscan tradition calls us to be peacemakers and reconcilers in this world; and

WHEREAS, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious have resolved to use every means to oppose military intervention in Iraq, including letters to President Bush, appropriate Cabinet members, and Members of Congress; and

WHEREAS, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops state that "given the precedents and risks involved, we find it difficult to justify extending the war on terrorism to Iraq, absent clear and adequate evidence of Iraqi involvement in the attacks of September 11th or of an imminent attack of a grave nature."; and

WHEREAS, a United States invasion of Iraq would be a clear violation of international and U.S. law especially Article 2 of the UN Charter which forbids the threat of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state and requires its members to settle their international disputes by peaceful means, the Pact of Paris which renounces aggressive acts of war, and the US Federal law which prohibits assassination of foreign leaders,

The Sisters of St. Joseph, Third Order of St. Francis oppose military intervention in Iraq and call upon our leaders to settle any disputes using peaceful means.

Iraq is more than Saddam Hussein. It is a country of 25 million people. It includes civilians who would be at risk for death in any military confrontation. We cannot in good conscience support such a risk.

We will continue to pray for wisdom for our leaders, leaders in the Middle East including Saddam Hussein, and peace in our world. In the spirit of St. Francis, who subjected himself to the Sultan when all were claiming the Saracens as evil, we pray for the day when we are connected by our similarities rather than separated by our differences.