As followers of the nonviolent Jesus, where else could we be but here today, standing with TASSC and saying “no” to torture? For Jesus himself was a victim of torture and the death penalty. How could anyone claim to be a follower of Jesus – not a “fan” of Jesus, for he has many “fans” and admirers – but a follower of Jesus and not categorically condemn this outrageous assault on the dignity of the human person. For as Jesus tells us in Matthew’s gospel, “Whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did to me” (Mt 25:40) and “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.” (Mt 7:12)

It was perhaps once the case that we Christians who just happened to be Americans, could pretend that maybe we lived in a more enlightened, a more humane society here in the United States. Torture was, we assured ourselves, something from the medieval past; the practice of petty dictators and tin-plated despots. Certainly not the official policy of the “leader of the free world” or the “shining city on a hill” as idealized by our Puritan forbearer in faith, John Winthrop. But we can’t live in that illusory world of triumphalist ideology and propaganda anymore. The abomination of OUR American gulags at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, Bagram, and the unknown number of CIA “black sites” around the world have caused the scales to drop from our eyes. Torture is not something “they” do. It’s something WE do. Yes, US, dear friends. And by our silence we are complicit in these crimes against humanity. As followers of Jesus we know that Jesus wept for the arrogance of Jerusalem, saying “If this day you only knew what makes for peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes.” (Lk 19:42). Surely Jesus weeps for Washington, DC today.

Let us then break the silence together, dear friends. The silence of our government representatives; the silence of our churches which have chosen power and money over the Gospel of Jesus; the silence of our friends and neighbors who shrug and wallow in lives of self-indulgence and over consumption.

Let us, then, be like the prophet Jonah of old who called upon the people and king of the corrupt and prideful city of Ninevah to repent of their evil ways before God. God, who is mercy upon mercy, compassion and peace beyond all understanding.

The king of THIS Ninevah may not be here today in his grand White House. Yet we find ourselves at his doorstep. He too claims to be a follower of the nonviolent Jesus, the leader of a “Christian nation.” But if he and this nation were truly living in the Spirit of the nonviolent Jesus there would be no need for us to gather here today.

So let us, like the people and king of Ninevah, put on sackcloth and ashes and repent before our merciful and loving God. For we are like the “stiff necked” people of Exodus (Ex 32:9) who have fashioned and worshiped our own golden calves of militarism and nationalism and forsaken the God of Peace (Phil 4:10).

Forgive us loving God, for torture in our name and for not speaking out.

Forgive us merciful God, for the imperial wars of aggression waged in our name and for the untold suffering we continue to inflict on the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Forgive us just God, for our indifference, our silence and our apathy in the face of these and so many other evils carried out in our name.

May God’s peace, which is beyond all understanding be upon us all and may we continue to be blessed by the wonderful work of all at TASSC.

“This is the kind (of unclean spirit) that can be driven out only by prayer and fasting.”
MARK 9:29

PRAYER OF PETITION FOR UNITING ALL CHURCHES IN PROCLAIMING THE TRUTH OF THE NONVIOLENT JESUS AND HIS WAY OF NONVIOLENT LOVE.

Abba, in the name of Jesus we ask you to send the Holy Spirit to gather the Churches together, so that with one voice they may proclaim as God’s Way Jesus’ Way of Nonviolent Love of all people—friends and enemies—and thereby teach that
violence is not the Christian Way,
violence is not the Holy Way,
violence is not the Catholic Way,
violence is not the Apostolic Way,
violence is not the Way of Jesus,
and thus set Christians free forever from bondage to the unholy, uncatholic, unapostolic, unChrist-like ways of the false gods and philosophies of holy, good and justified homicidal violence and enmity.

We plead this grace so that the Nonviolent Lamb may be our Lord in deed, as well as, in word and sacrament.

We request this gift so that the Christian Community may be—for afflicted humanity—a faithful witness to Jesus’ Way of overcoming evil.

We implore this healing so that the Church may be an authentic extension in time and space of the Way of the Lamb of God, of the Way of the Nonviolent Jesus which is the Way to renew the face of the earth. Amen.

Our Lamb has conquered—let us follow.

(more…)

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.
Published courtesy of Your Daily Tripod, a service of Cursillo of the Arlington Diocese

It is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than holocausts. Hosea 6:6

“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” Matthew 9:12-13

Courage to Resist continues to cover some of the more gripping stories of members of the military who are resisting the war. Currently featured are the stories of Iraq War resister Sgt. Matthis Chiroux, U.S. Army conscientious objector Robert Weiss who has been sentenced to 7 months confinement, and Army PFC Ryan Jackson, an imprisoned conscientious objector currently facing court martial.

On this Sunday that our church celebrates the Holy Trinity, I had the great honor of gathering in Catonsville, Maryland with many long distance runners for peace and justice from across our region and country to reflect on our own trinity of fire, rain and repentance. We were there to celebrate and reflect upon the prophetic action of the Catonsville 9, forty years ago during the height of the Vietnam War. On May 17, 1968, nine courageous and faithful Catholics (including the priest brothers Daniel and Phil Berrigan) entered the Selective Service office in Catonsville, removed several hundred A-1 draft records, and burned them outside with homemade napalm. This act of outrageous faithfulness to the nonviolent Jesus touched millions of people of faith and solidified faith-based opposition to the slaughter in Vietnam. All nine were arrested, and after a highly publicized trial, sentenced to jail.

The Catonsville 9 statement of opposition to that war forty years ago still rings prophetic and faithful today, as our nation is mired in yet another horrible war of conquest and occupation:

“Our apologies good friends for the fracture of good order
the burning of paper instead of children;
the angering of the orderlies in the front parlor of the charnel house.
We could not so help us God do otherwise, For we are sick at heart
our hearts give us no rest for thinking of the Land of Burning Children…”

(more…)

In June 2007, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) introduced the Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation (H.R. 2634) in the House of Representatives. Senators Robert Casey (D-PA), Richard Lugar (R-IN), and Chris Dodd (D-CT) followed suit in October by introducing an identical Senate companion bill (S. 2166). This legislation calls for more transparent and responsible behavior on the part of creditors, while expanding eligibility for debt cancellation to all 67 countries that need it to meet the United Nations Millenium Development Goals, without imposing harmful economic conditions. Only 40 countries are eligible under current debt relief schemes, and of those 40, only 22 have actually had their debts cancelled. Jubilee USA Network is calling on Members of Congress in the House and Senate to support improved creditor behavior and debt cancellation in impoverished countries by co-sponsoring the Jubilee Act.

Jubliee USA’s website has a plethora of resources on the Jubilee Act, including summaries, legislative history, FAQs, talking points and information on Congressional support. Bipartisan support of the Jubilee Act in the House of Representatives was instrumental its passage. This can happen in the Senate too, with your support, so please visit Jubilee USA’s Jubliee Act resource page at for assistance in contacting your Senator about supporting S. 2166.

Trinity Washington University
125 Michigan Avenue, NE
Washington, DC

Join us for a day of reflection on “just peace” … Along with the Trinity (Washington) University’s Campus Ministry, we invite all Pax Christi members and friends to gather together to pray, study and plan for action to bring Christ’s peace to the world.

Keynote speaker will be Fr. Emmanuel Charles McCarthy, who will speak on the just war theory. A panel on the human cost of war will include Katy Scott, Andy Shallal, and Donna Grimes.

During lunch, Srs. Carol Gilbert and Ardeth Platte will show the film Conviction, which tells the story of their Plowshares action.

A second panel will be held, entitled “Breaking the Silence of the Church,” with Fr. Joe Nangle, Srs. Anne McCarthy OSB, Carol Gilbert, OP and Ardeth Platte, OP.

The day will end with celebration of the Mass with Monsignor Ray East.

Registration costs $35 before May 1 and $40 at the door. Scholarships are available for students and others for whom the cost would constitute a hardship. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Paid registrations and scholarship requests can be mailed to:

Pax Christi Metro DC (PCMDC)
415 Michigan Avenue NE
Washington, DC, 20017.

For additional information, call Jack McHale, 571-334-2654.

Pax Christi USA Special Pre-Convention Events

Pax Christi USA will be hosting two pre-convention events on Thursday evening (July 10) and Friday morning (July 11) to welcome PCUSA members and the public early for the Convention. Thursday’s program, “The War Abroad, The War at Home: Building a Movement to Reverse Course,” is a chance to gather our national community to celebrate, reflect on and challenge our movement for peace with justice prior to the Convention. Friday morning’s event will be a teach-in on the Iraq War with Iraq veterans, activists, and more. (more…)

Meanwhile, a beautiful new DVD documentary, Don’t Call Me a Saint, has been released, offering rare interviews and footage of the heroic woman whose reach has indeed embraced the world.

Today there are more than 185 Catholic Worker houses around the world. A new one just opened in Albuquerque, named Trinity House, a name meant to undo Robert Oppenheimer’s larceny. He purloined “Trinity” to name the atomic test site. “Poverty is a strange and elusive thing,” Dorothy wrote. “I have tried to write about it, its joys and its sorrows, for 30 years now. I condemn poverty and I advocate it. Poverty is simple and complex at once; it is a social phenomenon and a personal matter.” (Excerpts from John Dear, NCR, April 15th).