c. 1998 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ The outgoing president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops called Thursday (Nov. 19) for a reshaping of the United Nations embargo against Iraq because of its harmful effect on Iraqi civilians.”The international community should not resort to means which effectively punish the Iraqi people for the actions of an authoritarian regime over which they have no control,”said Bishop Anthony M. Pilla of Cleveland in the statement released on the final day of the conference’s four-day meeting.

Discussion of the statement came at the conclusion of the fall gathering, during which the bishops also approved documents calling on politicians and Catholic voters to support the church’s anti-abortion stance and urging the laity to be active on social justice issues.

Pilla’s statement also criticized the Iraqi government’s role in the long-standing conflict.”The Iraqi government has a duty to stop its internal repression, to end its threat to peace, to abandon its efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction, and to respect the legitimate role of the United Nations in ensuring that it does so,”the statement said.

But Pilla’s statement said there was an urgent need to reiterate concerns about how the embargo should be”reshaped, reduced and ended quickly.”Doing so should not be seen as a reward for irresponsible behavior on the part of the Iraqi government, but as necessary to relieve a morally intolerable situation for ordinary Iraqis who are suffering immensely.” While he urged the lifting of trade restrictions on civilian materials, Pilla wrote that”political sanctions and a strict embargo on military-related items”should remain in place.

Pilla, who completed his three-year term as president Thursday, has been succeeded by the former vice president of the conference, Bishop Anthony Fiorenza, leader of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas. Fiorenza, in turn, is succeeded by Bishop Wilton Gregory of Belleville, Ill., the first African-American to be chosen for the vice presidential post.

In an address on the closing day of the meeting, Fiorenza spoke optimistically about the state of the Catholic church in America.”Our parishes are vibrant and more people are more intimately involved in the mission of the church than ever before,”he said.”Parish study groups, scripture classes, evangelization committees, social ministries dedicated to justice and charity are common today but were almost unheard of a generation ago.” But he stressed that the conference must continue to keep the church committed to helping oppressed people, including the poor, immigrants and those affected by racism.

During the four-day meeting, the bishops overwhelmingly adopted a new anti-abortion policy that strongly urged Catholics from public officials to voters in the pews to uphold the church’s views against abortion.

The statement,”Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics,”addresses being in solidarity with the poor and calls euthanasia and abortion”preeminent threats to human dignity.” But some of the statement’s strongest words were for public office holders.”We urge those Catholic officials who choose to depart from church teaching on the inviolability of human life in their public life to consider the consequences for their own spiritual well-being, as well as the scandal they risk by leading others into serious sin,”reads the new policy statement, which was passed by a 217-30 vote, with three abstentions.

The bishops also adopted, by a unanimous voice vote, a statement called”Everyday Christianity: To Hunger and Thirst for Justice,”which calls on Catholics to address social issues in all areas of their lives _ in their families, in their workplaces and as consumers.”Our culture often suggests that religion is a private matter, to be tolerated as long as it is detached from our lives as workers and citizens,”the statement says.”Catholic men and women look to our parishes to find the support, tools and concrete help they need to resist this tendency and instead proclaim Christ’s love, justice and peace in everything they do.” On the final day of the meeting, the bishops heard a report from Archbishop Edwin O’Brien, archbishop of military services, about the need for more Catholic priests to serve in the military. He said there are 397 active-duty priests when military calculations show the number actually needed is 707.”Too many of our men and women in uniform might not see a Catholic priest for months on end,”O’Brien said.

(BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)

During the four-day meeting, bishops also:

_ Approved a statement called”Welcome and Justice for People with Disabilities.”The statement declared:”Parish liturgical celebrations should be accessible to people with disabilities and open to their full, active and conscious participation, according to their capacity.” _ Voted to spend $400,000 on immediate efforts to help the dioceses in Latin America recover from hurricanes Georges and Mitch.

_ Discussed how the U.S. church might apply”Ex Corde Ecclesiae,”Pope John Paul II’s statement of principles for Catholic higher education to American Catholic colleges and universities. Some bishops felt a proposed document applying the statement to U.S. institutions would help ensure that Catholic professors are upholding church law while other bishops criticized the document and said it could lead to anything from litigation to institutions deciding to no longer be Catholic.

_ Discussed how the church might combat racism. Bishops, urged to go beyond long-standing statements condemning racial prejudice, suggested practical efforts, ranging from multiracial and multiethnic small-group Bible studies to discussing racism with confirmation candidates.

DEA END RNS