The bishops meeting in Baltimore wasted no time getting down to work. Catholic News Service reports on one significant document already in the mix: a draft statement on the war in Iraq:

Citing an alarming political and partisan stalemate in Washington, a draft statement discussed by the U.S. bishops Nov. 12 again laid out a moral framework for a transition in Iraq.

Noting that the bishops have called for bipartisan action for almost two years, the draft, which would be issued in the name of Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., the bishops’ conference president, said the current situation in Iraq “remains unacceptable and unsustainable.”

“Our country needs a new direction to reduce the war’s deadly toll and to bring our people together to deal with the conflict’s moral and human dimensions,” said the draft. “Our nation needs a new bipartisan approach to Iraq policy based on honest and civil dialogue.”

A final version of the statement was to be reworked to incorporate suggestions from the floor of the bishops’ fall general meeting in Baltimore and released Nov. 13.

The statement focuses on minimizing the loss of human life, immunity for noncombatants, the need to consider what elements of responsible transition are attainable, the consequences of rapid withdrawal from Iraq and the financial and global consequences of continued war and occupation.

The statement also calls for more sustained efforts to collaborate with other nations, including Syria and Iran as “critically important for bringing some measure of stability to Iraq.”

“Iraq’s future stability is related to the stability of the region,” it says. “This is why U.S. leadership to advance a just peace for Israelis and Palestinians is critical.”

The “dire situation of refugees, internally displaced persons, Christians an other vulnerable minorities” has been neglected, the statement says.

“A staggering 2 million refugees have fled Iraq; another 2 million Iraqis are internally displaced,” it continues. “The U.S. should immediately make more substantial commitments to Iraqi refugees by expanding admissions, eliminating roadblocks to resettlement and supporting countries in the region burdened with war-related refugee populations.”

In a brief discussion of the statement on the floor of the bishops’ meeting, Bishop Michael D. Pfeifer of San Angelo, Texas, suggested adding a reference to the ongoing war in Afghanistan and including a call for bishops to be more proactive both as a conference and individually in pressing the government about how to handle Iraq.

The bishops may also propose a day of prayer on the war, probably during Advent.

Photo: U.S. Bishops join in prayer at the start of the second day of their fall general meeting in Washington November 15. By Nancy Wiechec, CNS