BALTIMORE, Maryland: A top US Roman Catholic bishop said rising sectarian violence in Iraq makes a "responsible transition" urgent and criticized "shrill" and "divisive" US debate on the issue.
William Skylstad, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said at the group's meeting in Baltimore, Maryland that the search for peace in Iraq "requires moral urgency, substantive dialogue and new directions."
"We hope our nation has moved beyond the divisive rhetoric of the recent campaign and the shrill and shallow debate that distorts reality and reduces the options to 'cut and run' versus 'stay the course'," he said, referring to the partisan political battle over Iraq in the run-up to last week's legislative elections.
"Our nation needs a much more substantive, civil and non-partisan discussion of ways to plan and secure a responsible transition in Iraq," he said in a statement to the bishops' congress.
"The stability of Iraq and the whole region would be furthered by our nation's concerted leadership to resolve, in concert with the international community, other conflicts in the region, especially by attaining a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians," he added.
Skylstad, the bishop of Spokane, Washington, told the 295-member Conference of Bishops the US intervention in Iraq "has brought additional moral responsibilities to help Iraqis to secure and rebuild their country."
"Our nation's military forces should remain in Iraq just as long as their presence contributes to a responsible transition," he said.
Skylstad's remarks came on the same day that President George W. Bush met with the high-powered Iraq Study Group over its review of US options in the violence-wracked country, and as Democratic politicians increased their pressure on Bush to set a timetable for withdrawing US forces from the country.
"We hope the report of the Iraq Study Group ... will help bring about the honest dialogue that our nation needs," Skylstad said.
Skylstad expressed alarm over "the deteriorating situation of Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq" and urged both European and Arab nations to join efforts to seek peace in the region."
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