Peace and reconciliation are at the heart of the Gospel. In the global Anglican Communion, our church insists that one mark of mission commits us “to seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind, and to pursue peace and reconciliation.
Canada’s current military mission in Iraq and Syria
Leaders of 23 churches, including Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, and Bishop Susan Johnson, national bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, have written to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to express concern about the government’s decision to expand the Canadian military mission against the extremist group ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
Church partners in the region have expressed concerns that more violence “will foster new or renewed grievances, further fracturing the social fabric of Middle Eastern society and making the restoration of peace a more difficult task,” the letter explained.
“We are convinced that military efforts to end or limit the present atrocities must be accompanied by other steps,” the leaders wrote. They urged the government to “strengthen its diplomatic efforts, increase humanitarian assistance and support for refugees, support civil society organizations, control arms, and focus on the protection of the rule of law and respect for human rights especially through inclusive government structures in Iraq and Syria.”
Partners
- Project Ploughshares: a non-governmental organization that works with churches, governments and civil society, in Canada and abroad, to advance policies and actions to prevent war and armed violence and build peace.