After United States Secretary of State Colin Powell’s speech Wednesday urging the United Nations to take action against Iraq and with the United States inching closer and closer to military involvement against the country, Boston University religious leaders expressed mixed emotions on the prospect of going to war.

Religious officials said they are ‘apprehensive’ about the prospect of war and its moral implications, though they admit Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s evil.

BU’s Greek Orthodox chaplain Angelo Pappas said he has lost sleep worrying about the conflict, what it means for the United States and its implications for BU students.

Pappas, along with his church, expressed conflicted feelings over the potential for war. He said he is ‘[understanding] that action needs to take place, but not in the form of violence.’ But the church ‘can not stand on the sidelines’ as Hussein has chemical weapons and has even used them on his own people, he said.

Joseph Polak, head of BU’s Hillel House, said he is not convinced war is the answer.

‘I am very apprehensive about war,’ he said.

But Polak said the United States would be justified in going to war if it becomes necessary. Iraq’s actions against the United States’ and United Nations’ wishes and in support of Israel’s enemies justify action.

‘Iraq is an aggressor state,’ he said. ‘To say we are starting this was is not correct. It started when Saddam Hussein gave $25,000 to the families of the suicide bombers in Israel.’

However, he reiterated, ‘it is not a light matter to bomb any city or community in the world … we still need to think a thousand times before firing a shot.’

BU Catholic minister Karen Mullholand said she thought United States officials have already decided their stance on going to war.

‘It appears to me that it is not a question to whether or not there is a war,’ Mullholand said. ‘But, rather, it is a question asking, when will it begin?’

Hussein’s evil is clear, Pappas said, but a full-fledged war in against a single man does not appear as justified.

‘Saddam Hussein is an evil man and is bringing evil into this world,’ Pappas said. If the United States does go to war, he said ‘we will be losing lives on both sides for one individual.’

Fr. Paul Helfrich, also of BU’s Catholic Center, said he hopes ‘measures short of war will be effective in bringing the regime of Saddam Hussein into compliance with applicable United Nations resolutions.’

‘I believe that war is a horrible thing and should be avoided if at all possible,’ he said.

He said only after all efforts to avoid war have been proven ineffective can the United States go to war. But, he added, Saddam Hussein is a clear threat to innocent people.

‘I must admit … that the evidence which Secretary of State Colin Powell presented to the [United Nations] as well as the report of the U.N. inspectors does not make me optimistic at the present time,’ he said.

Mullholand also said it is important to think about peaceful options before pursuing war, but war with a man like Hussein can be justified.

‘From what I have read and heard through the media, Saddam Hussein does not sound like a man that strives for peace and freedom,’ she said. ‘Both his motives and he himself remain hidden from genuine conversation toward a peaceful resolution with world leaders. Trusting those who shy away from the truth and the light is a difficult thing to do.

‘If all possible means have been exhausted to preserve peace and imminent danger is still apparent to our nation or our nation’s interest, I believe war can be warranted,’ she continued.

Hope Luckie, a BU chaplain from the United Methodist Church, said her church ‘is clearly saying that we need to hold off on going to war.’

Luckie said officials in the university chaplain’s office is ‘trying to put together a meeting to educate and engage students around issues’ for late February. She said the group will bring in speakers on both sides of the issue.