July
2008
PCU Active in Stopping U.S. Sponsored Torture
From PCU Organizer, San Fernando Valley
“The voice of the faith community cannot be silent in the face of torture, which is widespread, cruel, life threatening, and approved at the highest level of our government. Of all the current scandals, history will judge this most harshly. The soul of the country is at stake”. Dr. George Hunsinger
US sponsored torture is not something new to this administration; our history in Central America, and with the School of the Americas, certainly tells us that. But what has happened in recent years in the current administration, with documentation of atrocities clearly available, calls us as Christians with a new urgency to rise up in resistance against the policies and practices of this country in relation to torture.
We should all rise up as committed, involved citizens. Torture is illegal, violating international treaties and our own country’s laws. As Jane Mayer writes in her recent book, The Dark Side, the US “became the first nation ever to authorize violations of the Geneva Conventions”. By its use of torture, the US has forfeited any capacity to provide international moral leadership. As the late Arthur Schlesinger said, “No position taken has done more damage to the American reputation in the world - ever.”
Torture does not provide reliable information. Torture potentially puts US citizens at great risk. All of these are compelling reasons to rise up in resistance.
But the most compelling reason to resist and abolish torture has to do with the impact of these atrocities on the human beings that are the victims of torture. Broken Laws, Broken Lies: Medical Evidence of Torture by US Personnel and Its Impact, released in June 2008 by Physicians for Human Rights, makes for painful but important reading, as does Jane Mayer’s recent (and chilling) book, The Dark Side. PCU asks us to: See, Pray, Act. Part of that “seeing” is to see the horror of what human beings have endured at the hands of US personnel. If we don’t first “see,” it may become possible for us to be like the “good Germans,” putting this in some far corner or our minds while continuing to live our lives as usual. How will history judge us?
As Christians, we are citizens of a larger realm, and our primary allegiance is not the US, but to the reign of God, and to the example set for us by God’s child, Jesus. At the center of our lives as people of faith, we believe that every person is created in the image of God. This belief is violated to the core by the intentional, deliberate brutality by US personnel and by those who put these policies into place.
In the Episcopal rite of baptism, the candidates are asked several questions, including: Will you persevere in resisting evil? Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being? These are profound words that represent the foundation of what we have committed to as Christians. As the candidates make their covenant, and the people renew their baptismal covenant, they respond to the questions with, Yes, with God’s help. PCU asks us to pray.
PCU as an organization has been involved in working to abolish US sponsored torture. In June, PCU co-sponsored a visit to Los Angeles by Dr. George Hunsinger, Presbyterian minister, professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and founder of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. Dr. Hunsinger was so stunned by the lack of religious outcry after the release of the Abu Ghraib photographs that he began to work relentlessly to engage the faith community in working against torture. The result of this work has been the founding of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, with an office in Washington, DC and a staff of five people. In his four days here Dr. Hunsinger spoke at a number of PCU co-sponsored events.
PCU has expanded its commitment to working on this issue by contributing to the National Religious Campaign Against Torture as a Participating Member. PCU has partnered with ICUJP (Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace) on a local anti-torture campaign. A PCU board member will attend the National Summit on Torture in Atlanta in September in order to bring back information about how we can collaborate with the religious community on a national level toward the goal of abolishing US sponsored torture. PCU will continue its participation in anti-torture work by our co-sponsoring an ecumenical program and Evensong at St. John’s Episcopal Church on November 23rd.
PCU asks us to see, pray and act. Here’s how:
1. Mark your calendars now for Sunday, November 23rd, 3:00-6:00 PM, when PCU will be co-sponsoring a program focused on torture at St. John’s Episcopal Church downtown. There will be presentations by three theologians, followed by Evensong. This is Christ the King Sunday, a fitting time for all of us to lift up the reign of God by committing time to equipping ourselves for the resistance against torture. Invite members of your congregation to come with you.
2. Hear the presentation by Dr. George Hunsinger at the Rector’s Forum at All Saints-Pasadena on June 8, 2008. www.nrcat.org (Go to: Educate Your Congregation, and then to Video and Audio).
3. Read An Evangelical Declaration Against Torture: Protecting Human Rights in an Age of Terror. www.evangelicalsforhumanrights.org
4. Visit the NRCAT website. www.nrcat.org Find your way through the rich variety of resources. You can download materials to use to collect signatures for the current campaign. This major national campaign was recently launched with the signatures of more than 220 national faith leaders, and calls on the President to issue an Executive Order banning torture. The goal is to get 30,000 signatures. You can help! You can find your Congressmember’s voting record on torture-related legislation and contact her/him about this voting record. There are resources for sermons and adult discussion guides.
5. Consider displaying a banner at your congregation. Although the “banner project” was initially focused on Torture Awareness Month in the month of June, 2008, many congregations continue to display their banners. Visit the photo gallery on the NRCAT website and be inspired to display a banner at your church.
Other resources to be kept up to date on actions:
www.campaigntobantorture.org Look at the toolkits for clergy and congregations
www.tassc.org (Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition)
Dr. Hunsinger has said, If the church does not speak up now about torture, we might as well not have tongues.
See. Pray. Act.