Protesting an Attack on Iraq

Re “Bishops Dare to Dissent,” Opinion, Oct. 13: Jack Miles suggests that the Catholic bishops are rising to the occasion in taking a lead role against an attack on Iraq. Bishop Wilton D. Gregory has suggested that such a war would violate the standards of a “just war.” I suspect that most Catholics and Protestants alike have little interest in the bishops’ moral pronouncements. After all, most Christian Americans probably think that Jesus’ teaching that God loves our enemies -- and asks that we do the same -- is some sort of embarrassing silliness.

Keith Shirey

Altadena

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I applaud the stand of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops against rushing to war. We need healthy dissent to preserve our democracy. Because I was in college during the protests against the war in Vietnam, I remember that protests can be effective.

Rod Nelson

La Mirada

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The dogs of war are being unleashed upon the world. Shame on our administration, which has chosen to follow the model of the Vietnam War, whether from fear, vengeance, arrogance or a lust for control of oil supplies. Shame on those members of Congress who voted from political expediency rather than conscience. But most of all, shame on the members of the public who have ignored the advice of major religious councils that preventive war is immoral and supported preemptive war on civilians of a country that has made no statements of intent or moves to attack us.

Woe to us when Muslim anti-American sentiments surge. Woe to us if North Korea, Iran or Saudi Arabia is next on our enemies list. And woe to us all if the Koreas, China, Pakistan, India or Israel should follow our example.

Robert P. Wolf

Claremont

Since the majority in the U.S. Congress has demonstrated its lack of conscience by singing along with Bush’s war chant, I’ll vote my conscience in the next elections. Also in the next presidential election, I will help make “regime change” in the U.S. a reality.

Watana Charoenrath

Agoura Hills

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I offer an unfortunate but increasingly appropriate addendum to one of Jesus’ pronouncements in the Sermon on the Mount:

The meek shall inherit the Earth, but only after the belligerent have blown it up into worthless, bloody little bits.

Donald McBain

Venice