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| Faith Groups Mount Campaign Against Torture | | Christian Science Monitor | |
| As Congress and the Bush administration
skirmish over still-secret interrogation techniques, American faith communities are mounting a national campaign to prohibit
torture and cruel and inhumane treatment of US-held detainees. More than 175 religious organizations have joined the National
Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT). Their aim is to build a moral consensus among Americans on the issue and to bring
government policies in line with US law and international norms. "Religions of the world do agree on basic tenets about
how people should treat each other because of the dignity of the human person," says the Rev. Richard Killmer, executive
director. The group involves mainline and evangelical Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and other members.
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Here are some quotes from our Catholic faith tradition on which to reflect:
"Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions, in their highest ideals, hold dear.
It degrades everyone involved--policymakers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation's most cherished values.
Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable. Nothing less is at stake
in the torture abuse crisis than the soul." USCCB, June, 2007
"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." John Paul
II
"Torture which uses physical or moral violence to extract confessions, punish the guilty, frighten opponents, or satisfy
hatred is contrary to respect for the person and for human dignity." The Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2297
"In times past, cruel practices were commonly use by legitimate governments to maintain law and order.... In recent
times it has become evident that these cruel practices were neither necessary for public order, nor in conformity with the
legitimate rights of the human person. On the contrary, these practices led to ones even more degrading. It is
necessary to work for their abolition. We must pray for the victims and their tormentors." The Catechism of the
Catholic Church, #2298
In peace,
Rosemarie
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