Open Letter to the Pope from the Original Christians

In a letter on February 13, 2003, the Original Christians in Universal Life asked several critical questions concerning your appeal for peace, about which we would have liked to have spoken with you.

How well-founded our doubts on the sincerity of your appeal for peace are has now become apparent. As you surely know, on March 26, 2003 the US Military Archbishop, Edwin O’Brien of Washington, conveyed a message to all American military chaplains, in which he expressly approved of his country’s war of aggression. Among other things, he wrote: “The admiration which the members of our military enjoy today has rarely been higher, and rightly so. It is regrettable that it takes a situation such as this to make so manifest the pride in and esteem for our armed forces on the part of our countrymen. The professional values which guide our military are of the highest quality.”

We respectfully ask you to tell us whether the military archbishop has taken the rudder out of your hands. You have not forbidden your representative in Washington from glorifying a bloody war. We must conclude from this that you share his opinion. But then your appeal for peace is a deception to the people of this world. Honorable brother, when will your church finally become honest?

What would Jesus of Nazareth say to you and your military Archbishop Edwin O’Brien? Would He start with an exorcism – a method that has been practiced repeatedly by you – or would He point out the Sermon on the Mount and His statement “The one who takes the sword will perish by the sword”?

What would He say at all to the existence of military chaplains? Would Jesus also make the esteem for the armed forces become manifest? Would He also call for the admiration of the military that bears arms? What would Jesus have to say about the values of the military, whose instruments of killing and murder are of the highest quality? You are the one who wants to be the church of Jesus. Why don’t you ask these questions?

You should call your archbishop in Washington to order for another reason, as well: He instructs his priests to give the relatives of the soldiers the opportunity: “…to complete what is lacking in His (Christ’s) sufferings.” According to the military archbishop, Jesus, the Christ, did not suffer enough. The military must complete His suffering by slaughtering thousands of innocent men, women and children. Since you do not silence your bishop, it appears that you are of the opinion that the Deed of Redemption of Jesus of Nazareth was lacking.

Do you approve the further statements of your archbishop, who speaks of the “military family,” which “join their sufferings to Christ’s … for their present day comrades in arms”? What then is the “military family”? Jesus, the Christ, or Satan, who under the centuries-long guidance of the caste of priests has made this world into a madhouse? Since you have not relieved the archbishop of his post, we must assume that you approve this mockery of Jesus of Nazareth.

Now we can understand why you do not comply with our request for a conversation. We consider your position on the world situation to be insincere and a denigration of Jesus of Nazareth.