War of Words and Actions

THE WAR OF WORDS AND ACTIONS

(Preached Remembrance Sunday 1997 and 2000)

I did not realise until I read Humphrey Carpenter's "Wickedly Indiscreet" biography of Robert Runcie - A Reluctant Archbishop, that the papal visit to the UK in 1982 almost did not take place.

The reason for this was that Britain was in military conflict with the Catholic country of Argentina at the time over the future of the Falkland Islands. The Vatican had stated that the visit would have to be cancelled unless there was a ceasefire.

Eventually, after much negotiation between Lambeth Palace and the British Government, the Government decided to withdraw from official participation in the visit and, on that basis, the Vatican agreed that the visit could go ahead.

So much for the war of words between the Vatican, Lambeth Palace and the Government.

However, that war of words was nothing compared with the one that was to develop between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the British Prime Minister and her Government.

Argentina, you may recall, invaded the Falkland Islands on 2nd April, 1982. Within a few days, the British Task Force set sail to reclaim British sovereignty of these islands in the South Atlantic. On 14th April, Archbishop Runcie made a speech in the House of Lords supporting the military intervention.

He subsequently repeated his support in a statement published in The Times newspaper on 3rd May, when he said, "There are those who believe that the task force should not have been sent to defend the Falkland Islanders from the armed aggression by the Argentinian Government. I do not hold with that opinion as I said in the House of Lords debate two weeks ago, and believe that within the complexities of an imperfect world, self-defence and the use of armed force in defence of clear principles can sometimes be justified".

Runcie went on to call for prayers for all concerned, including the Argentinians and emphasised the need to search for a peaceful solution as a result of new British efforts at the United Nations.

A few days later, referring to the recent casualties on both sides and the sinking of the Belgano, he again said that Britain would have been "gravely in breach of our moral duty" if no military action had been taken.

Two weeks later, with the Falkland conflict now over, Runcie issued a statement which included an expression of "admiration for the courage and dedication of the Task Force".

Such support for the Government policy earned him the approval of Margaret Thatcher who wrote to thank him and others for their support, and concluded in her own fair hand, "I had to reply".

Given such approval of the then Prime Minister, why did the war in the Falkland Islands develop into a war of words between the Government and the Church?

First of all, as the Dean of St. Pauls, Alan Webster, began to plan the service of thanksgiving, he was reputedly "keen that the Lord's Prayer should be said in Spanish to commemorate the Argentine casualties. The Observer newspaper alleged that, "Mrs. Thatcher is firmly opposed to any mention of, let alone remembering, the Argentine dead".

This, alas, was only the first skirmish in the developing war of words.

The service was eventually held on 26th July, 1982. Runcie began his sermon by giving thanks for "the courage and endurance" of "those who fought in the South Atlantic". He did not mention the British troops specifically . He did however praise their lack of triumphalism when he said, "At the hard fought battle of Goose Green the reaction was not the conqueror's triumph, but 'thank God it's stopped'. It is right to be proud of such men".

After mentioning "grievous losses" in the conflict, the sermon continued, "It is impossible to be a Christian and not long for peace.........This was one of the themes to which the Pope repeatedly returned during his visit to the country. His speech in Coventry was particularly memorable when he said, ‘War should belong to the tragic past, to history. It should find no place in humanity's agenda for the future’."

Runcie went on to say, "I do not believe that there would be many people, if any, in this cathedral who would not say Amen to that. War is a sign of human failure and everything we say and do in this service must be in that context.....Yet.... the great nations continue to channel their energies into perfecting weapons of destruction and very little is done to halt the international trade in arms.....War springs from the love and loyalty, which should be offered to God, being applied to some God substitute one of the most dangerous being nationalism. . . . . "

Runcie concluded, "In our prayers we shall quite rightly remember those who are bereaved in our own country and the relations of the young Argentinian soldiers who were killed. Common sorrow could do something to reunite those who were engaged in the struggle......

Ironically, it has sometimes been those spectators who remain at home ......who continue to be the most violent in their attitude ....."

These were hardly the words the Prime Minister and her Government were expecting to hear from an Archbishop who had earlier given his support to the armed intervention, and who himself, had been decorated with the Military Cross for his courage and bravery during the Second World War.

The Sun newspaper the following day, under the headline "Maggie Fury at Runcie's Sermon: insult to heroes" alleged:

"The Prime Minister last night was 'spitting blood' over yesterday’s Falklands Service at St. Paul's. Mrs. Thatcher was said to be furious at the 'wet' sermon delivered by the Archbishop". It continued that the service "led some Tory MPs to lash out bitterly at 'pacifist and cringing clergy'. They wanted the service to proclaim Britain's pride in a glorious victory".

The article went on to say that Right wing MP Julian Amery said angrily: “The Archbishop would be better giving his service in Buenos Aires than in St. Paul's". It also claimed that Dennis Thatcher had told MPs in a chat over drinks “The boss was angry enough this morning. Now she is spitting blood”.

In the following weeks Lambeth palace received 244 letters criticising the service and the sermon, and 1,763 praising it, including one from the Queen's Private Secretary who wrote, “The Queen has asked me to thank you mostly warmly for preaching the sermon at St. Paul's yesterday for the Falkland Island Service. It must have been a daunting task for you and Her Majesty was full of admiration for the way in which you met this formidable challenge".

I have recalled in some detail this war of words which occurred at the time of the Falklands Service of Thanksgiving because today is Remembrance Sunday and I think that that war of words can help us as Christians in our observance of it.

Firstly, today is a day of thanksgiving when we recall the courage, bravery and self-sacrifice of men and women who have given of themselves, particularly in two World Wars, so that we might live today in peace.

Secondly, today should be a day of sorrow when we reflect that it is sometimes necessary to resort to armed conflict when peaceful negotiations fail.

Thirdly, today is a day when we recall those who continue to suffer as a result of armed conflict, not just those in two world wars, but also of subsequent international and national conflicts.

Fourthly, today should also be a day when we dedicate ourselves afresh to the pursuit of peace so that men and women may live together in harmony.

Above all, today should be a day when we as Christians say 'Amen' to those papal words, which were eventually uttered upon our shores after careful diplomatic negotiations, that "War should belong to the tragic past, to history. It should find no place on humanity's agenda for the future".