[Peace-discuss] Blair chastized

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

The Mirror U.K. December 26, 2002:
BLAIR SLAMMED OVER IRAQ BY HIS OWN PRIEST
By Tom Newton Dunn

TONY BLAIR was yesterday accused of "moral surrender" over war in Iraq -
by his own priest.

Father Timothy Russ hit out after the Blair family attended his Catholic
church near Chequers.

After the service Fr Russ, a family friend, told the Daily Mirror
violence and loss of life are not God's way to solve the world's problems.

Father Russ, priest at St Anne's Roman Catholic Church near the PM's
Chequers home said: "Man must live by the will to integrity rather than
the will to power. The PM is caught up in the will to power game. That
is his problem.

"He has had a moral surrender from his past. His positions have changed
over the years... He may not like me very much for telling you but it is
my job to try to speak the truth from God."

Father Russ spoke as religious leaders around the world branded military
strikes on Baghdad unjustified and said they would unleash untold
suffering in the region.

After giving the Blairs and other worshippers a sermon on peace in their
Christmas Day trip to church, Father Russ said the PM had "morally
surrendered" over plans to attack Iraq.

The Roman Catholic priest added: "My sermon was all about the need to
keep the light shining bright and not let the darkness overcome it. It
was a message about the need to replace our whole conduct on the wisdom
of Christ and God.

"He may not like me very much for telling you but it is my job to try to
speak the truth from God and apply it to a very fallen world."

Father Russ, a Cambridge graduate with a first in economics and member
of MENSA, writes to Downing Street regularly to make his forthright
feelings known to the PM.

He added: "I make my feelings known to him in letters, to which he
responds very well."

The Blairs have been regulars at St Anne's for the last five years since
the Labour government came to power. And they have got to know Father
Russ well as a good family friend and priest.

Yesterday Mr Blair arrived at church first, wearing a casual blue
pullover and carrying youngest child Leo, two, followed by Cherie and
the couple's other three teenage children.

Almost a hundred other locals made up the congregation at the church
near Wendover, Bucks.

Security was unobtrusive as the Blairs chatted to fellow worshippers
after the hour-long service.

As the family left, Cherie and eldest son Euan stopped to chat to Father
Russ for a few minutes.

Previous Prime Ministers used to worship in another nearby Anglican
church. But Catholic Cherie decided on St Anne's instead to match her faith.

Father Russ's comments came as Catholic, protestant and Muslim heads
urged Mr Blair and George Bush not to go to war but to strive for peace
in an "already troubled and dangerous world".

More than 20 bishops in Britain signed a strongly-worded statement to
the two leaders insisting a pre-emptive strike on Iraq would be
"illegal, unwise and immoral".

In his Christmas message from the Vatican, Pope John Paul II said war
must be avoided even though terrorism leaves the world in fear.

The 82-year-old added: "May humanity accept the Christmas message of peace.

"From the cave of Bethlehem there rises today an urgent appeal to the
world not to yield to mistrust, suspicion and discouragement."

The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams launched a thinly-veiled
attack on Blair and Bush.

He said: "It is as if the wise, the devious and the resourced can't help
but make the most immense mistakes of all.

"The strategists who know the possible ramifications of politics miss
the huge and obvious things and wreak havoc and suffering.

"Despite better communications, intelligence and surveillance, the
innocent continue to be killed.

"Here we all are, tangled in the same net...stepping deeper and deeper
into tragedy."

Cardinal Cormac Murphy- O'Connor, leader of the Catholic church in
England and Wales, added: "We must never give up and assume that war is
inevitable.

"Let us pray that each one of us, particularly those involved in
international diplomacy and politics, will maintain our permanent
commitment to building and maintaining peace in our world."

The Archbishop of York David Hope admitted war may be inevitable, but
said: "The Christian tradition is unequivocally clear, namely that war
as a method of settling international disputes is incompatible with the
teaching and example of our Lord Jesus Christ. So the Christian instinct
in every age is always programmed against war."

The declaration written by the 20 bishops, endorsed by dozens of
American religious leaders, said: "As the calls for action against Iraq
continue from our governments, despite the opening for UN weapons
inspections, we are compelled by the prophetic vision of peace to speak
a word of caution. Mistakes are an inevitable consequence of any war, no
matter how sophisticated the weaponry.

"If the military strategy includes massive air attacks and urban warfare
in the streets of Baghdad, tens of thousands of innocent civilians could
lose their lives."

Muslim leaders warned an attack on Iraq would be widely interpreted as
an assault on Islam. And speaking in Baghdad's Anglican Church, Iraqi
Christian priest Ikram Mahni said: "We pray to halt this war and let us
live in peace together, Christians and Muslims, in Iraq