Again.
Happily, no one cares what Anglican leaders think about wars being fought in the Middle East. The only thing that stirs less interest in the general populace is what Anglican leaders think about religion.
I can’t bring myself to use the word ceasefire, since a ceasefire is not what Germond and Johnson want. They want Israel to stop fighting, at which point Hamas, Hezbollah and the IDF will join hands around the campfire and sing All You Need is Love.
From here:
Dear Prime Minister:
It has now been more than a year since the horrifying Hamas attack on Israel. Violence has continued with the decimation of Gaza by Israeli bombing and increasing settler attacks on Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank. In recent days, open hostilities in the region have expanded to include Lebanon, Yemen and Iran. Our hearts break at the horrific suffering and rising death toll caused by these armed conflicts.
We continue our call for a full and sustained ceasefire, for the release of all captives, for the immediate flow of life-saving food, water, aid, fuel and humanitarian assistance for the millions of Gazans suffering at this time, for an end to all arms transfers to Israel, and the end of occupation. We continue our call on leaders to lay down weapons and to work for a just and lasting regional peace.
We express our disappointment that Canada abstained from the September 18, 2024 United Nations motion calling on Israel to end its “unlawful presence” in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. We believe it is only through an end to the occupation and a just, comprehensive and lasting peace settlement that the security of both Palestinians and Israelis can be assured.
We call on the Government of Canada to diligently support all provisions of international law and a rules-based world order. Failure to consistently support international law allows the powerful to act with impunity, causing great suffering to the most vulnerable, marginalized and powerless people globally.
We continue to pray for an end to suffering—remembering in our prayers all who have died on all sides of the conflict, hostages and their families, those maimed and injured, all who have lost their homes and those who have not been able to move to safety—and for the opening of a humanitarian corridor into Gaza and a peaceful solution to this war.
Sincerely,
Rev. Susan Johnson
National Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in CanadaThe Most Rev. Anne Germond
Acting Primate, Anglican Church of Canada
I agree with this statement. With the leader of the Hamas passed away the war should be over and all hostages retoured on both sides.
With respect, I’m not sure which statement you agree with. The one I agree with is, ‘They want Israel to stop fighting, at which point Hamas, Hezbollah and the IDF will join hands around the campfire and sing All You Need is Love.’
What a choice pair of useful idiots!
It won’t be safe to visit Gaza for a long time yet.
Retaliation is what most people act. Turning the other cheek requires help from the triune God.
A call by religious leaders for peace and an end to suffering is an entirely appropriate response, thus the last paragraph of that letter was really the only one necessary.
A call by religious leaders which contains statements about “ending arms transfers to Israel”, “[the] United Nations motion calling on Israel to end its ‘unlawful presence’ in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank” and “international law and rules-based world order [a nonsense, by the way, since the world is not a sovereign state]” is merely ideological posturing and political cant.