WASHINGTON, D.C. - Thirty-four U.S. Catholic bishops today launched a national Catholic campaign calling for reductions in the U.S. military budget and for redirecting the funds to health care, education and tax relief for the nation's poorest citizens.
The Cold War ended a decade ago, but the military continues to capture one-half of the entire federal discretionary budget, said the bishops at a morning press conference at the National Press Club, when they formally kicked off the campaign, "Bread Not Stones: A National Catholic Campaign to Redirect Military Spending."
Announcing the campaign, the bishops called for the nation's 64 million Catholics to join them by taking the campaign into Catholic schools, parishes and ministries to support Pope John Paul II's plea "for a 'moral about-face' regarding our appetite for weapons of war."
The campaign, initiated by Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement, has already gained the support of national Catholic organizations and religious communities including NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby; the National Black Sisters' Conference; the Leadership Conference of Women Religious; the Conference of Major Superiors of Men's Institutes; the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns; and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. Nancy Small, national coordinator of Pax Christi USA, says, "This campaign is not about denying men and women in uniform adequate housing and fair pay. But the trend toward astronomically expensive and questionable weapons systems is in fact denying the basic human needs of millions of people who continue to go without access to health care, affordable housing or a quality education."
The campaign comes at a time when Congress is considering appropriations for the 2001 budget. While President Clinton's proposal contains more than $300 billion - half of all available discretionary spending - for the military, that figure has risen in recent weeks to $307 billion as Congressional committees develop a Republican alternative, according to Tom Cordaro, chair of the national council of Pax Christi USA. "This is what we've seen for years," Cordaro says. "Congress continues to add billions of dollars each year beyond the Pentagon's already inflated needs. Between 1994, when the Republicans took control of Congress, and mid-1999, Congress added a total of $30 billion to the Pentagon requests. Alone, the United States accounts for about one-third of the world's military expenditures, he says, but with allies and friends, we account for about three-fourths of global military spending."
In their statement today, the bishops claim, "We are waging an arms race against ourselves." The time has come, they said, to drop our stones and get on with the work of investing in the people of this nation."
Small says, "Head Start, an unqualified success by any measure and universally hailed by both Republicans and Democrats, continues to serve only one in three eligible children. The General Accounting Office (GAO), in a 1997 report, estimated that one-third of U.S. schools, serving some 14 million students, are in need of substantial repair or replacement. The GAO estimates that the cost of bringing schools up to code would total $112 billion - ironically the same figure President Clinton announced he would add to the $1.7 trillion military spending planned from 1998 through 2004."
Cordaro sees the lack of investment in education connected to the military's own recruitment problems. "It's ironic that the military bemoans the necessity of recruiting high school drop-outs to fill its ranks, while proposing budgets that drain resources away from efforts to improve our educational system," he says.
The bishops stress their position was made clear in their 1993 Pastoral Letter, The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace, which states, "Diverting scarce resources from military to human development is not only a just and compassionate policy, but it is also a wise long-term investment in global peace and security."
The "Bread Not Stones" campaign was created as a multi-year initiative, which will initially focus on making national spending priorities an issue during the current congressional elections. The educational and advocacy work will continue beyond the election with the final objective of achieving fundamental changes in national spending priorities.
The bishops drew their inspiration for the "Bread Not Stones" title from the Scripture passage in Matthew's Gospel: "Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will hand them a stone?"
For media interviews, contact Nancy Small, national coordinator of Pax Christi USA, at 814-453-4955 Ext. 227 or nsmall@paxchristiusa.org.
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