Catholic groups well represented at big anti-war rally at Capitol

Published: 2007-01-30

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholic groups were well represented at a Jan. 27 rally against the Iraq War that drew tens of thousands to the nation's capital to protest the current war policy and President George W. Bush's plan to send 21,500 additional soldiers to Iraq. Retired Bishop Walter F. Sullivan of Richmond, Va., a former bishop-president of Pax Christi USA, was one of the speakers at the rally, which preceded a march past the Capitol. Some rally participants stayed in Washington to lobby members of Congress Jan. 29. The rally was organized by United for Peace and Justice, a coalition of more than 1,300 organizations that have declared their opposition to the war. "Pax Christi from the very beginning has condemned the invasion of Iraq as unlawful and immoral, as well as (condemned) the four-year war that has devastated this country and led to the deaths of thousands and thousands of innocent people," Bishop Sullivan told Catholic News Service Jan. 29. "Our fundamental belief is that violence only begets more violence and that war is not the solution to any human problem."

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