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In a letter mailed to pastors and parish council chairs on Holy Thursday, Milwaukee Bishop Richard J. Sklba, addresses the death toll caused by the 10 year embargo of Iraq and reminds fellow Catholics of the Church's call to care for the needy everywhere. Bishop Sklba asks parish leaders to find ways for their parishes to respond to this crisis. The sanctions, along with the destruction caused by the 1991 Gulf War, have resulted in the deaths of over one million Iraqis, more than half of whom are children.
Bishop Sklba notes that although "every level of teaching authority in the Church has clearly and repeatedly condemned the continuation of the sanctions and the bombing of Iraq…our government seems to ignore the pleas… the media relegates the reports to minor sidebars… and our Catholic people seem ignorant of the crisis."
Included with his letter is a 14-page report entitled "Are the Children Our Enemy? Background for the Catholic Response to the Crisis in Iraq."
Prepared by the
Archdiocesan Office for World Mission, the report includes background articles, statements from religious leaders, numerous suggestions on how parishes can respond, and reflections from the Sunday liturgical readings from April 30 to September 3, 2000. These reflections were prepared by Bishop Sklba and are intended to help homilists incorporate the relevant principles of Catholic Social Teaching in their homilies. The suggested actions involve not only human concerns committees, but also staff, parish councils and other organizations within each parish.
Parishes looking for assistance or additional resources can call the Office for World Mission at 414-769-3406.
Copies of the report may be downloaded from the link below.
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| |  - IraqInfoPack | | | |
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| | Article created: 4/20/2000 |
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