In his Christmas Day message, Pope John Paul II called on all religions and on all people of good will to avoid war and build
peace instead. In particular he talked about the building conflict in the Middle East. In his New Year’s address in January the
Pope again repeated that military force must be the very last option and a war would be “a defeat for humanity.”

In a speech to the Vatican’s Diplomatic Corps on January 13, 2003, the Pope called war “a defeat for humanity.”

Work and pray for an end to war
 More recently, on March 24, 2003, after the start of the U.S. led war on Iraq, Pope John Paul II reminded a group of military chaplains that the vast majority of humanity rejects the use of war to resolve conflicts between nations.

“It should be clear by now that war used as an instrument of resolution of conflicts between states was rejected, even before the Charter of the United Nations, by the conscience of the majority of humanity, except in the case of defense against an aggressor. The vast contemporary movement in favor of peace - which, according to Vatican Council II, is not reduced to a ‘simple absence of war’ - demonstrates this conviction of men of every continent and culture.”

The Holy Father highlighted “the strength of different religions in sustaining the search for peace is a reason for comfort and hope. In our view of faith, peace, even if it is the result of political accords and understanding among individuals and peoples, is a gift from God that we must constantly invoke with prayer and penance. Without a conversion of the heart there is no peace! Peace is only achieved through love! Right now we are all asked to work and pray so that war disappears from the
horizon of humanity.”

Religious community opposes Iraq war
The National Council of Churches, representing 36 Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox Christian denominations is the U.S., also took a strong position against the war. In their April 2, 2003, newsletter, the Council called on their 50 million members in the United States to continue their work as “peacemakers.”

“The start of the U.S.-led war against Iraq has not changed our vocation as Christians to be peacemakers. Throughout the past
months churches have risen to this high calling. We have witnessed for peace and shared our understanding of the biblical basis for peacemaking. In this arduous task, we have taken comfort and strength in the words of Jesus who said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.’

“In this same passage, Jesus tells his followers, ‘You are the light of the world,’ and teaches us to let our light shine before others. In the gloom of war, let us be guided by the light of faith and let it shine forth through our words and actions.

“We who have worked so hard to avert a pre-emptive war against Iraq mourn for all the lives now threatened — indeed, already lost — by the failure of their leaders to find alternatives to war. May God bless all our efforts to bring light into a world under the shadow of war.” from http://www.ncccusa.org/

In January, a group of 46 leaders of the National Council of Churches had requested a face-to-face meeting with President George Bush to express their opposition to the war. Bush refused.