Published in National Catholic Reporter and Roll Call, Congress's daily newspaper!
"The thought of Jesus being stripped, beaten and derided until his final agony on the cross should always prompt a Christian to protest against similar treatment of their fellow beings. Of their own accord, disciples of Christ will reject torture, which nothing can justify, which causes humiliation and suffering to the victim and degrades the tormentor." - Pope John Paul II
As followers of Jesus, we must state clearly and unequivocally that torture violates the basic human dignity afforded all of God's children, and is never morally acceptable. On this two-year anniversary of the revelations of the cruel, inhumane and humiliating treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison - the first of numerous revelations regarding institutionalized torture practices in the U.S. War on Terrorism - we reiterate our Church's profound respect for the dignity of all persons and reject as antithetical to Christianity any and all justifications for the use of torture.
There is no debate on where the social teachings of the Catholic Church lie on the issue of torture: "International judicial instruments concerning human rights correctly indicate a prohibition against torture as a principle which cannot be contravened under any circumstances," states the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Pope John Paul II echoed this call when he decisively stated that there is never any justification for torture. "Christ's disciple refuses every recourse to such methods, which nothing could justify and in which the dignity of humanity is as much debased in the torturer as in the torturer's victim."
Despite U.S. laws banning torture, the Bush Administration has employed interrogation techniques in the War on Terrorism which clearly constitute torture. Despite prohibiting cruel and degrading treatment of prisoners, the recently passed McCain bill also provides legal defenses that greatly shield those who command or commit torture.
As people of faith, we are ashamed of efforts by the Bush Administration to circumvent national and international laws that prohibit the use of torture, under the auspices of national security. Evidence that the Bush Administration implemented a system of "rendition outsourcing" - which involves other countries implementing policies of torture under the direction of the U.S. government - as a component of its War on Terrorism is exceptionally egregious. Such evidence - two years after the reports from Abu Ghraib of water-boarding, beatings, pouring chemicals on inmates, and unleashing attack dogs on prisoners - shows that this Administration aims to institutionalize torture practices.
We call on the Bush Administration:
to cease its justifications of torture in the name of national security;
to publicly reaffirm U.S. support for the U.N. Convention on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
to institute as a national policy that no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture;
to follow the recommendations from the United Nations that the United States close the Guantanamo Prison in Cuba.
We call for the U.S. Congress:
to establish an independent commission to publicly investigate the reports of abuse in U.S. detention centers around the world;
to pass legislation to uphold U.S. and international law against "extraordinary rendition," requiring a ban on transferring a detainee to a country that has a history of torture;
to investigate ongoing reports of torture by Iraqi officials, particularly in the Interior Ministry, and hold accountable any U.S. citizens, either military or civilian, associated with conceiving, directing, supporting or acquiescing to this use of torture.
We join with the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference, the National Council of Churches and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture in saying that torture debases the torturer and tortured alike, and denies the preciousness of life "and the dignity of every human being." As citizens of the U.S. and followers of the nonviolent Christ who suffered torture at the hands of imperial power, we offer sincere and heartfelt apologies to our sisters and brothers in the Middle East, Iraq, Latin America, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, and throughout the world who have been victims of torture. We pledge that we will do everything necessary in our country to abolish torture and to hold all offending parties accountable for this affront to God and human dignity.
ACTION ITEMS
Help support this statement! Click here to lend your support to this statement and help us publish it in National Catholic Reporter and Roll Call, Congress's daily newspaper. We will also send this statement to every member of Congress, with special follow-up to all Catholic members of Congress, urging them to support the social teachings of their Church in condemning torture. (Note: If you would prefer to mail in your support, please send your information, and a donation if possible, to "Torture Sign-On, c/o Pax Christi USA, 532 West 8th Street, Erie PA 16502")
Help circulate this statement in your own parish and community! You can request copies of this sign-on statement by e-mailing our office, or you can print out copies of this statement (in PDF format) by clicking here. Places to circulate this statement can include your local newspapers, church bulletins, and diocesan newspapers.
Order "Jesus, Our Tortured Brother Today," a prayer card written by Sr. Dianna Ortiz, OSU, the director of The Torture Abolition and Survivor Support Coalition. Use this prayer card throughout Lent in public vigils, witnesses and actions to cry out against torture as a tool in the U.S. War on Terrorism. Also, ask your priest to include torture as a theme in his homilies, or include torture victims in your Prayers of the Faithful.
Support the work of TASSC, and help support their efforts to make June "Torture Awareness Month." Schedule a speaker or a public event annually in June to speak out for justice on the issue of torture.
Support both the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (www.nrcat.org) and the National Council of Churches letter addressing torture (www.ncccusa.org).
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