Church and war

Robert Zollitsch, the chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, has called for a reassessment of the situation in Afghanistan. Zollitsch, who is the head of the Catholic Church in Germany, also demanded that "new decisions" were made.

"For far too long we have only dealt with isolated questions," he said. "Many measures have been unsuccessful and grave mistakes have been made."

His comments came in a newspaper interview over the weekend and have fuelled the debate over how Germany's religious leaders position themselves with respect to the country's military efforts in Afghanistan.

Just before Christmas, the head of the Protestant Church Bishop Margot Kaessmann, had strongly condemned the situation in Afghanistan, calling for the withdrawal of the 4,400 German troops stationed in the country.

"There is no such thing as a 'just war.' I cannot legitimize it from a Christian point of view," Kaessmann said. "There is nothing right in Afghanistan. All these strategies have just obscured the fact that soldiers are using their guns and even killing civilians."

Although Zollitsch avoided any direct references to Kaessmann's criticism, his comments have been interpreted as supporting her.

The Protestant Church on Monday welcomed Zollitsch's position as a "sign of solidarity" with Kaessmann.

Mixed reactions from within the church

But the reaction to Kaessmann's criticism has not been unanimous within the church. The Protestant army chaplain in Afghanistan, Hartwig von Schubert, criticized Kaessmann in an open letter, accusing her of lacking solidarity with the soldiers on the ground.

Hamburg's Catholic Bishop Hans-Jochen Jaschke also criticized Kaessmann, saying that religious leaders should not get involved in everyday politics.

He said the church should not hesitate to speak out against war, but must refrain from any concrete recommendations from the pulpit.

Kaessmann's comments have also drawn criticism from outside the church. On Monday, historian Michael Wolffsohn strongly condemned her statement that there was no such thing as a "just war."

He told the Bild newspaper that "Christianity does indeed have the concept of a just war. Unfortunately, injustice and crime sometimes can't be defeated any other way."

"If Ms Kaessmann does not see the struggle against Hitler as a just war, then she has lost all sense of proportion - especially from a Christian perspective."

However, Kaessmann's predecessor Manfred Kock, said the criticism of her would only divert attention from the actual problems in Afghanistan. He stressed that she had not discriminated against the soldiers on the ground but had called for a controlled withdrawal and a more humanitarian effort.


ai/EPD/KNA/dpa
Editor: Rob Turner