An interfaith group that includes a top bishop in President Bush's own church announced Tuesday that it will run television ads in the Arab world apologizing for the U.S. government's "sinful and systemic" abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

"Our nation should be doing more to fess up about what is going on in Iraq," said Bishop Melvin Talbert, the top ecumenical official in the United Methodist Church, which counts the president and first lady among its 8 million members.

Talbert, who served as the United Methodist bishop for Northern California from 1988 to 2000, will be the chief spokesman for the new campaign by FaithfulAmerica.org, which has already produced one advertisement to be broadcast on the Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya satellite television networks.

Talbert himself does not appear in the televised message, which features an American rabbi, a Catholic nun, a Protestant seminary president and an imam of a New York mosque.

It begins with the Arabic greeting, "Salaam Aleikum" or "Peace be with you," and continues in English with separate shots of the four speakers delivering the following apology:

"As Americans of faith, we express our deep sorrow at abuses committed in Iraqi prisons. We stand in solidarity with all those in Iraq and everywhere who demand justice and human dignity. We condemn the sinful and systemic abuses committed in our name, and pledge to work to right these wrongs."

Talbert acknowledged that Bush apologized shortly after graphic photos emerged in late April of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison. Since then, however, a series of congressional investigations and media reports have shown that the abuse was widespread and have alleged that it was approved by top military and administration leaders.

"Bush made a qualified apology about a few rogue soldiers, but this was a systemic and sinful disgrace. It's more than just a few rogue soldiers," Talbert said in an interview. "Forgiveness only follows a full confession of sins."

Featured on the TV advertisement are the Rev. Don Shriver, president of Union Theological Seminary in New York; Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf of the American Sufi Muslim Association; Catholic Sister Betty Obal of the Sisters of Loretto religious order; and Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director of the Shalom Center in Philadelphia.