Opinion is divided on whether the case for war has been made

The statement from the leaders of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches has been welcomed by the Bishop of Oxford the Right Reverend Richard Harries, who said the moral argument for war had not been made.

But the Bishop of Rochester, the Right Rev Michael Nazir-Ali believes an attack would be justified if there was evidence Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has argued "the moral case" for confronting President Saddam Hussein with force.

The Iraqi regime may have to be disarmed by force to make that peace possible Bishop of Rochester Click here for archbishops' views

The Bishop of Oxford told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "No country should go to war unless the government believes it is moral to do so.

"The problem is that the case at the moment is not finally morally persuasive.

"They [the archbishops] believe we have not yet reached the stage where war is a last resort and is truly necessary".

He agreed with the call to give UN weapons inspections more time.

But he recognised church leaders would have to reconsider their position if a fresh UN resolution authorised military action.

'Just war'

The Bishop of Rochester said there might be circumstances where a "just war" against Iraq might be necessary while he still prays for peace.

In a letter published in the Church of England newspaper last week, he said information suggested Iraq still had stocks of weapons of mass destruction until UN inspectors left in 1998.

"There is little reason to think that it has got rid of them in the meantime," he said.

The British Government meanwhile had a duty to share "convincing intelligence" about how the Iraqi regime posed a threat, he said.

"If the Security Council produces irrefutable evidence of a material breach of its own resolutions but fails to act, national governments may judge that such a breach constituted a threat to their security and that of the region.

"They could then be justified in taking action," he wrote.

But the possession of dangerous weapons alone did not justify going to war against them.

While we pray and work for peace, however, we need to recognise that the Iraqi regime may have to be disarmed by force to make that peace possible Bishop of Rochester

They might be a case for action in certain circumstances including where international sanctions forbade a country from possessing weapons but there was reliable intelligence it intended to use them.

"While we pray and work for peace, however, we need to recognise that the Iraqi regime may have to be disarmed by force to make that peace possible", he said.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, archbishop of Westminster and leader of the Catholic church in England and Wales, and by his Anglican counterpart, Dr Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury urged the Iraqi Government to show its total compliance with UN resolutions on weapons of mass destruction.