NEW YORK CITY--Eleven delegates from North American and European churches met with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan Monday, May 24, according to the National Council of Churches News Service.

The church leaders in the group had opposed going to war against Iraq, but now seek more international involvement for a transition to peace. They said they are convinced that lasting peace in Iraq can only come through the United Nations playing a significant role in the June 30 transfer of power in Iraq.

The Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the New York-based NCC USA, who led the delegation said that "now, people who were for the war and people who were against the war need to come together to find an alternative way out of the current situation."

The Rev. Dr. Keith Clements, General Secretary of the Conference of European Churches, based in Geneva, Switzerland, said he shared the "deep longing for a multilateral approach that has marked Europe since World War II. It has been frustrating for us that the United Nations has not been allowed to play its role in Iraq. In Europe there is tremendous support for a U.N. role."

The leaders also discussed a religious role in fostering peace in Iraq and elsewhere. The delegation had support from the World Council of Churches, Middle East Council of Churches and the All Africa Conference of Churches. They emphasized tolerance and peace as well as a focus on poverty, disease and the environment.

"We acknowledge that religion sometimes is part of the problem," said the Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, an Ecumenical Officer for the Orthodox Church in America and Vice Moderator of the World Conference of Religions for Peace. "We stress that religion must be part of the solution."

The leaders pledged to offer educational resources about the United Nations to their members, a group of nearly 45 million. They also pledged to talk with their own governments about the importance of multilateral collaboration in Iraq, according to the NCC report.

Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, NCC Associate General Secretary for International Relations and Peace, New York, acknowledged that President Bush has recently signaled a move toward such a plan. "We hope the specifics bear out this hope," he said.