A LONG-standing preacher has resigned from his post over the "passive appeasement" by church leaders over the war in Iraq.

John Richmond, a Methodist lay preacher on the Ripon circuit for 45 years and a former mayor of Ripon, said his decision to leave the pulpit had been an agonising one.

"I knew it was always going to be difficult for me to remain neutral in the pulpit," he said.

"I have no problem about praying for peace in Iraq, but I would have been hypocritical to have included leaders of France, Germany and Russia, especially France whose president said he would veto any further United Nation resolutions involving armed conflict against Iraq."

The 67-year-old said church leaders had shown lack of support for the war and was particularly critical of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.

Mr Richmond, a retired hotelier who has lasting memories of four uncles returning war-scarred from Dunkirk, said world leadership of the Church had been extremely weak on terrorism since the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11. That, he claimed, had provided an opportunity for differing religions to create a resolution to oppose evil and nurture good.

He believed the Church had been putting off taking a stance on the Iraq conflict and said that at a recent meeting of preachers it took more than an hour for the war to be raised and then the issue was put off for three months to be discussed later.

In his attack on the worldwide church, Mr Richmond said leaders had served up what he described as creeping liberalism, appeasement and concentration on reconciliation, which could only encourage evil regimes.

However, he plans to continue to attend his local church and said it would be totally different from continuing to take his place in the pulpit.

09/04/2003