Roman Catholic theologian Henri Nouwen once said it takes people who have been in the desert to lead people in the desert.
That's the idea behind a visit to Chicago this weekend by seven international dignitaries from the World Council of Churches.
The French, Indonesian, Lebanese, Pakistani, Palestinian, Russian and South African Christian leaders hope some of the wisdom they've acquired will help church leaders here lead their flocks through the spiritual and emotional challenges left after the Sept. 11 attacks. The delegation visited with church leaders in New York City before arriving in Chicago on Friday.
"We understand what pain is, what violence is, was loss is," said Jean Zaru, presiding clerk of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers, in the West Bank town of Ramallah. "Sometimes it's good to see things from a different perspective."
Zaru, who was born into a Quaker family that had formerly been Orthodox Christians, said she was concerned that dissenting voices about U.S. military strikes in Afghanistan were being stifled.
"It's so either, or. You're either for the war, or it's as if you're not patriotic. There should be a third way," she said. "What are you doing about the nonviolent struggle to bring about peace?"
Many of the foreign church leaders said they hoped America would find a peaceful alternative to continued military strikes as a means to combat terrorism.
Bishop Mvumelwano Dandala, presiding bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, said American clergy should caution elected officials about the global effects of their actions.
"The way the United States responds to this tragedy informs the world on how to deal with problems like this," Dandala said. "I pray that the American people will handle this tragedy being very conscious of their responsibility as leaders in the world.
"I come from a country that could have been destroyed by violence," he said. In South Africa, for years clergy who focused on what should not be done without offering concrete alternatives were ignored. When leaders such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu recommended sanctions--economic and cultural--apartheid became a part of history.
"The leadership of the [American] religious community has got to think carefully about what response specifically they would like to see America and the world take against terrorism, and then they must speak very strongly," he said.