A CATHOLIC VOICE
ON THE INVASION AND OCCUPATION OF IRAQ
by the staff of the 8th Day Center for Justice - May, 2005

INTRODUCTION:  We address ourselves to the US Catholic Community and all people of good will. As
a Catholic social justice organization working for systemic change, 8th Day Center for Justice proclaims
and promotes the fundamental Gospel values of  nonviolence, the dignity of each person, the common good
and the integrity of creation. In this spirit, we denounce the unprovoked US-led invasion of Iraq in
March 2003, the ongoing occupation -- including torture and all other human rights violations, and all
US efforts to control Iraq’s economy, security and political life.

RATIONALE for 8th Day’s Position: The whole Catholic voice has not been heard. We appreciate the
Vatican position before the invasion. Prior to March 2003, the Vatican – along with the US Conference of
Catholic Bishops as well as  the leaders of most major religious denominations -- declared that the pending
attack failed “just war” criteria.¹ Despite its declaration, the Vatican failed to use its moral authority to
guide military personnel away from participation in this war. Furthermore, once the attack began the
Vatican supported the US occupation as a necessary force for stabilizing the country.² 8th Day Center adds
its voice to those who disagree with this position.

8th Day’s position is that the invasion was immoral and illegal
       • the reasons for the invasion were inaccurate and manipulated the public trust³
       • the US did not have a “just cause” because it was under no imminent threat³
       • all reasonable diplomatic options had not been exhausted³
       • the invasion would set a precedent for preventive strikes⁴
       • the invasion violated several articles of international law⁵

8th Day’s position is that the occupation is an extension of this immoral invasion
       • the number of deaths and injuries of combatants and civilians are incomprehensible⁶
       • the US is training local death squads (Salvadoran Option) akin to the dirty wars it conducted in
           Central America in the 1980s⁷
       • prisoners are designated “enemy combatants”, without recourse to international standards or due
           process⁸
       • torture has become a normal part of the occupation⁹
       • the US employs the policy of “Rendition”, that is, sending prisoners to other countries for the
           purpose of torture.9
    
       • Iraq’s infrastructure has been devastated¹⁰
       • Iraq’s antiquities, treasures of the human community, and culture have been destroyed¹¹
       • the use of Depleted Uranium munitions has turned Iraq into a radioactive “hot zone”¹²
       • the US plans to maintain indefinite military, economic and administrative authority over Iraq₁₃
       • Iraqis voted for "a timetable for the withdrawal of the multinational forces from Iraq"¹⁴
    

       • US military personnel have been placed in the untenable moral position of killing or being killed¹⁵
       • the US “back door” draft -- a unilateral extension of military enlistments -- prolongs this untenable
           moral position¹⁶
       • resistance fighters target everyone aligned with the occupation forces¹⁷
       • vast numbers of civilian and military personnel are suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
             (PTSD)¹⁸
    
       • many nations now seek nuclear weapons as a deterrence to a “preventive” attack and occupation by
            the US¹⁹
       • astronomical military spending steals from people who are made poor through cuts in social
             programs.²⁰

CALL: In recognition of the priority of self determination of the Iraqi people, and in light of the immorality
of the invasion and occupation, we call for . . .
     1.   the immediate, planned withdrawal of all US troops, and the cessation of any plans for permanent US
     military installations in Iraq and the control of the Iraqi economy;
           the international community to offer assistance to the people of Iraq in building a system of public
     order which ensures both the protection of  human rights and safeguards against indigenous and/or
     foreign entities destabilizing Iraq to control its oil resources.
     
     2.   all occupying military personnel to reconsider their involvement in this immoral undertaking and
     refuse to participate any further;
           the Catholic community -- in light of the social, economic and legal risks incurred by such a decision -
     - to support those who are reconsidering their involvement, or who refuse to participate, by offering
     the following services: personal counseling, guidance in seeking Conscientious Objector status,
     sanctuary from prosecution, free legal advice, financial aid, and even heralding their moral fortitude.
     
     3.   the Catholic community to demand US restitution for all the harm done to the Iraqi people, their
     institutions and the land. Restorative Justice demands nothing less.
     
CLOSING: In the spirit of the Gospel command to treat all persons as our sisters and brothers and to
show respect for all creation, the staff of the 8th Day Center for Justice denounces, once again, the
unprovoked US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the ongoing occupation -- including torture and all
other human rights violations, and all US efforts to control Iraq’s economy, security and political life. We
invite you to join your voice to our call.

ACTION
1. Share this statement with your family, friends, coworkers and your faith community via email. Or, print
and distribute a copy with a photo, from http://www.8thdaycenter.org/aboutus/statements.html
2. Send a copy to your local bishop and ask them how they are going to respond to the Call.
3. Send a copy to your local newspaper or church newspaper with a request that they provide some
coverage of the statement.

Endnotes
1. Statement of Cardinal Pio Laghi, Special Envoy of John Paul II to President George Bush,
Washington D.C., United States of America, Wednesday, 5 March 2003,
http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2003/03-051.shtml ; Iraq War 'Unjustifiable', Says Bush's
Church Head, Ed Vulliamy, The Observer (UK), Sunday, 20 October, 2002, http://www.observer.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,815693,00.html; Letter to
President Bush on Iraq, September 12, 2002, Churches for Middle East Peace,
http://www.cmep.org/letters/2002Sep12_BushReIraq.htm
2. Pope Tells Bush Situation in Iraq Must Be "Normalized" Agence France Presse, June 4, 2004,
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0604-03.htm ; Irresponsible to pull out of Iraq now, Vatican
official warns, Vatican, May. 27, 2004, http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=29836
3. The secret Downing Street memo, The Sunday Times - Britain, May 1, 2005,
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1593607,00.html ; The Secret Way to War, The New York
Review of Books, 6/9/05, http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18034 ;Wolfowitz comments revive doubts
over Iraq's WMD, USA Today, 5/30/03,
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-05-30-wolfowitz-iraq_x.htm
4. India Mulls 'Pre-Emptive' Pakistan Strike, Cites U.S. Iraq War Precedent, AFP, 04/11/03,
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2867.htm
5. The United Nations, International Law, and the War in Iraq, World Press Review online,
http://www.worldpress.org/specials/iraq/ ; Iraq war illegal, says Annan, BBC, Sept. 16, 2004,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3661134.stm
6. Study puts Iraqi toll at 100,000, CNN.com, October 29, 2004,
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/10/29/iraq.deaths/ ; Iraq Body Count,
http://www.iraqbodycount.net/ ; U.S. deaths in Iraq surpass 1,600, CNN.com, May 8, 2005,
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/05/08/iraq.main/; Casualties of the conflict in Iraq since 2003,
from Wikipedia the free encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_and_occupation_of_Iraq_casualties#Iraqi_military_casualties
7. The Salvador Option, Newsweek, Jan. 14, 2005,
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6802629/site/newsweek/
8. ‘Enemy combatant’ added to DOD doctrine, United Press International, 4/08/05,
http://washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20050408-043247-5208r.htm; Bring Justice to Thousands Still
Illegally Detained in Iraq, Amnesty International, 7/17/04, Women’s International League for Peace and
Freedom, http://www.peacewomen.org/news/Iraq/July04/justice.html
9. Getting Away with Torture? Command Responsibility for the U.S. Abuse of Detainees, Human Rights
Watch, April 24, 05, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/us0405/
10. Health fears grow in polluted Iraq, BBC News, 7/24/04,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3922055.stm; U.S. Blames Own Contracting Rules for Iraq
Reconstruction Failures, The New Standard, 4/15/05,
http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=1691 ; Allied Air War Struck Broadly in
Iraq; Officials Acknowledge Strategy Went Beyond Purely Military Targets, The Washington Post, June
23, 1991, http://www.scn.org/ccpi/WashPostWarDamage23Jun91.html ; Oil ministry an untouched
building in ravaged Baghdad, AFP, April 16 2003,
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/16/1050172643895.html
11. The 2003- Iraq War & Archaeology, University of Vienna, Austria, 5/23/05,
http://iwa.univie.ac.at/index.html;
12. Poison Dust: a new look at U.S. radioactive weapons, DVD, International Action Center, NY, NY,
2005, http://www.iacenter.org/poison-dust.htm; Remains of toxic bullets litter Iraq, Christian Science
Monitor, 5/13/03, http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0515/p01s02-woiq.html
13. Iraq Elections I, 8th Day Center for Justice Bulletins, 1/28/05,  
http://www.8thdaycenter.org/resources/bulletins/05_0128.html
14. Getting the Purple Finger, The Nation, 2/11/05,
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050228&s=klein; Survey Finds Deep Divisions in Iraq; Sunni
Arabs Overwhelmingly Reject Sunday Elections; Majority of Sunnis, Shiites Favor U.S. Withdrawal, New
Abu Dhabi TV/Zogby Poll Reveals, Jan 28, 05, Zogby International, Utica, NY, http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=957
15. Lenten Reflection I: Regaining my humanity, 8th Day Center for Justice Bulletins, 3/11/05,
http://www.8thdaycenter.org/resources/bulletins/05_0311_Lenten_Reflection_II.html
16. California case could shed light on 'back-door' draft, USA Today, 8/23/04,
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/2004-08-23-wickham_x.htm; Beating the Back Door
Draft, Austin Chronicle.com, 8/8/04,
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2004-10-08/pols_naked9.html
17. Iraqi Shiites march for ouster of U.S., Colin McMahon, Chicago Tribune, 4/10/05,
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0504100402apr10,1,6578831.story?coll=chi-newsna
tionworld-utl ; Unembedded in Iraq, Newtopia Magazine and Alternet, 12/6/04
http://www.gp.org/articles/shaw_2004_12_06.html
18. Trauma of Iraq war haunting thousands returning home, USA TODAY, 2/28/05,
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-02-28-cover-iraq-injuries_x.htm ;
19. U.S. doubts North Korean claims, Richard Roth, CNN.com,world, 10/2/03,
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/10/01/nkorea.nukes/
20. Cost of the war in Iraq, http://www.awitness.org/journal/cost_iraq_war.html; a Failed "Transition":
The Mounting Costs of the Iraq War, http://www.ips-dc.org/iraq/failedtransition/index.htm