Report of Good Friday Commemoration Nonviolent Witness at the Pentagon Attended by 40 Peacemakers— 4 Arrested

Dear Friends,

Early this Good Friday morning, beginning at 7:00AM as a beautiful sunrise unfolded, about 40 peacemakers from the DMV held a nonviolent witness at the Pentagon to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus and to call for an end to the crucifixion of people today. The witness, which was coordinated by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, included members from the Little Flower Catholic Worker, Norfolk Catholic Worker, Pax Christi, Franciscan Action Network, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Eighth Day Community, Holy Redeemer Church, Our Lady Queen of Peace (Arlington), and other faith communities. Our witness was yet another prayer of intercession at the center of warmaking on our planet. We carried in our hearts many from our extended communities who could not be with us physically but joined us in spirit for this witness.    

As Pentagon police kept a watchful eye on us from a distance, Pentagon workers and soldiers walked by us in the designated protest area, located behind bicycle fences on the southeast side of the building. We hung on the fence a large banner with a quote from the late renowned peacemaker, Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen: “Nuclear Arms Are The Global Crucifixion Of Jesus.” Standing behind this huge banner, some people held signs while others held crosses remembering different victims and wore photos of Gaza victims.

The prayer service began with a Good Friday Plea reflection (see below). Preceding each part of the reflection was the prayer recited by all gathered: “We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!” Each section ended with everyone singing:

“O God, let me be an instrument of peace, let me be an instrument of peace.”

Readers for this section included: Kim Williams, Bob Cooke, Dan Moriarty and myself. 

We then read accounts and prayers for crucified victims today. (see below: “Remembering Crucified Victims Today”). The readers included: Mary Grace, Kirstin and Merwyn DeMello, Paul Magno, MJ Park, Jack McHale, Scott Wright and Bill Frankel-Streit. After each account/prayer, we sang “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord.” Frank Panopoulos and Michele Dunne read a powerful reflection on the Lord’s Prayer written by Jonathan Kuttab, executive director of Friends of Sabeel, North America–A Christian Voice for Palestine (see: https://www.fosna.org/the-fosna-blog/give-us-this-day-our-daily-bread ) Sr. Carol Gilbert then offered a prayer “Jesus Our Tortured Brother Today,” that was written by the late Sr. Dianna Ortiz, who herself was a torture victim. This was followed by Ken Cooper reading an excerpt from Leonardo Boff’s book “The Way of the Cross, Way of Justice.” 

Everyone then processed down to the nearby police checkpoint where workers enter the Pentagon. Holding signs that said: “War is a Sacrilege—Pope Francis,” “Stop Starving Gaza Children,” “Put Up the Sword” and “Stop Bombing Gaza’s Children,” Steve Baggarly, Bill Frankel-Streit, Kathy Boylan and Ollie blocked this entrance. The rest of the gathered community stood nearby in support singing, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord” and “Seek Peace and Pursue It,” with special new verses about the U.S.-backed Israeli genocidal war in Gaza. As the four were placed under arrest we sang the song “Vine and Fig Tree.” The witness concluded with a closing circle and praying the Lord’s Prayer.

Those arrested were processed and released by Pentagon police. They were charged with “interfering with government agency functions and disobeying a lawful order,” and given a June 6^th court date. 

Please see this link for photos and video clips of the witness:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Z9WhWD3SHTSLHnPu7. Special thanks to Dan Moriarty.

I extend a word of deep thanks for all who participated in this witness and for those offering support and solidarity from afar. Let us pray for each other during this Holy Season, and for all those in our world who are experiencing at this very moment the passion and death of Jesus. And let us be transformed by the cross and resurrection of Jesus as we seek to practice resurrection and be living signs of hope for our world.

In Resurrection Hope, 

Art Laffin

_________________________________________________________

A Good Friday Plea 2024: Stop Crucifixion Today!

(Prepared by Art Laffin)

“We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!”  (Everyone Repeat)

Good Morning and may God’s peace be with all who work here at the Pentagon. Today is Good Friday, the day Christians commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Today, vast numbers of God’s global family experience a modern form of crucifixion as they are crucified to a cross of war, militarism, racial hatred, discrimination and economic exploitation. In the crucified people of our world, we see the crucified face of Jesus.

We, members of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, the Southern Life Community, Pax Christi and other faith communities, come to the Pentagon, the center of warmaking on our planet, as we seek to follow Jesus in nonviolent revolution as he made his way to Jerusalem. We remember the victims who have been and continue to be crucified and deemed expendable, and call for an immediate end to their crucifixion. We also pray for an end to the desecration of our sacred earth. We come here as people of faith who believe in God’s reign of justice, love, peace and nonviolence and reject empire, white supremacy and all systems of domination and structures of power that oppress and kill. Living under the brutal occupation of the Roman empire, Jesus declared: “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the Gospel.” Living in the U.S. empire, which is responsible for so much death and suffering in our world, we need to heed Jesus’ proclamation of repentance and conversion now more than ever. 

Sing: Let me be an instrument of peace, let me be an instrument of peace. 

“We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!”  (Everyone Repeat)

In our prayer this morning we beckon Jesus, our crucified and Risen Savior, and summon the holy cloud of witnesses–past and present. We call out to the consciences of all who work at the Pentagon and people everywhere, especially those who lead the nations, including our own, to practice nonviolence and eradicate what Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called the “triple evils of poverty (economic exploitation), racism and militarism.” End all racial violence, torture and injustice! Welcome immigrants! Stop all torture and killing! Abolish war! Abolish all weapons, from guns and assault weapons to killer drones and nuclear weapons. 

Sing: Let me be an instrument of peace, let me be an instrument of peace. 

“We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!”  (Everyone Repeat)

Jesus commands us “to take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.” We appeal to the U.S. government, which Dr. King called the greatest purveyor of violence in the world, to take the log out of its own eye and repent for the sins of violence it has committed against numerous nations, most recently in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for sending weapons and military aid to Israel that is being used to wage a genocidal war in Gaza. The U.S. cannot legitimately call into account the wrongdoing of others until it first repents for its own wrongdoing.

Sing: Let me be an instrument of peace, let me be an instrument of peace. 

“We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!”  (Everyone Repeat)

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist has set the Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds before midnight, the closest to global catastrophe it has ever been, due to the increasing dangers of nuclear war, the climate crisis, Artificial Intelligence and worsening world tensions, especially between the U.S. and Russia and China. At this perilous moment, tensions between the U.S. and Russia have been exacerbated by NATO expansion in eastern Europe, the deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in 5 European countries, and the tragic Russian invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. refuses to renounce its first-strike policy. Russia has asserted it would use nuclear weapons if it feels endangered by increased U.S. and NATO intervention in the Ukraine war. We say loudly and clearly with Jesus: “Love one another,” “Love your enemies,” “Be merciful as God is merciful,” Proclaim Liberty to captives,” Put away the sword,” Thou shalt not kill!” We call on all soldiers everywhere: Lay down your arms! Refuse to Fight–Refuse to Kill! 

Sing: Let me be an instrument of peace, let me be an instrument of peace. 

“We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!”  (Everyone Repeat)

Since the horrific October 7 Hamas attack in Israel that claimed 1,200 lives and the taking of hostages, the Israeli government has waged a genocidal war in Gaza. The U.S.-government-supported Israeli bombardment and siege of Gaza has claimed over 32,000, including over 13,000 children, over 74,000 injured, and 2 million people (85% of the population) are without homes and facing mass starvation and epidemics of disease. Gaza is virtually uninhabitable. Secretary of Defense/War Austin met with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday of this week in WDC. Austin said the civilian death toll in Gaza has been “far too high,” but he vowed the U.S. would keep arming Israel. 69% of all arms imported by Israel come from the U.S. See:

https://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2024/european-arms-imports-nearly-double-us-and-french-exports-rise-and-russian-exports-fall-sharply

With the imminent Israeli military invasion of Rafah looming, as Gazans are being denied essential humanitarian aid by Israel, and face famine and continued Israeli bombardment, and as settler and Israeli military violence against Palestinians increases in the West Bank, we must nonviolently act to avert further death and destruction in Gaza and Palestine and demand that the U.S. government call for an immediate permanent ceasefire.

Sing: Let me be an instrument of peace, let me be an instrument of peace. 

“We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!”  (Everyone Repeat)

No matter who the perpetrator is, whether if it’s the U.S., Russia, Israel or any other nation or group, the sin and crime of war, military intervention, occupation, abduction, indiscriminate killing, the use of weapons of mass murder, displacement, ethnic cleansing and genocide, violates God’s command: “Thou Shalt not kill” and must be condemned unreservedly. Those who are denied the status of persons, who are tortured, bombed and crushed under the rubble, cry out for peace, accountability and just reparations. Let us heed the words of the late peacemaking prophet, Daniel Berrigan: “There is no cause however noble that justifies the taking of a single life, much less millions of them! Let us heed the words of Pope Francis: “Abolish war now, before war erases humanity from history.” And let us heed the words of Dr. King who declared on the night before he was martyred: “It is no longer the choice between violence and nonviolence in this world…it’s nonviolence or nonexistence.”

Sing: Let me be an instrument of peace, let me be an instrument of peace. 

“We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!” (Everyone Repeat)

As our banner on display here says: “Nuclear Arms Are The Global Crucifixion of Jesus.” This quote is taken from the late Archbishop Hunthausen of Seattle. To build, possess and threaten to use nuclear weapons by any nation is a sin which must be unequivocally condemned. Pope Francis has declared that the very possession of nuclear weapons is immoral. The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons now makes nuclear weapons illegal under international law. We call on the U.S., the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons, and which has threatened on numerous occasions to use nuclear weapons against adversaries as nuclear blackmail, to repent for using and threatening to use these weapons of indiscriminate mass murder. We call on the U.S. and 8 other nuclear nations to ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which has already been ratified by 70 countries.

Sing: Let me be an instrument of peace, let me be an instrument of peace. 

“We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!” (Everyone Repeat)

We call on all people of faith, conscience and goodwill to create a political and economic order that rejects empire, upholds the dignity and human rights of every person, protects the earth and meets the human needs of all, especially the poor. Please join with us as we strive with people worldwide to work for nonviolent social transformation and create the Beloved Community and a disarmed world!

Sing: Let me be an instrument of peace, let me be an instrument of peace.

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Remembering Crucified Victims Today

Victim of Racial Violence                                                              

We pray for all those–past and present–who have been and continue to be crucified to a cross of racial hatred. We repent for and denounce the sin of white supremacy. We remember and pray for all those American Indians and African Americans who were slaughtered, enslaved, lynched and murdered simply because of their skin color. Today racial hatred and violence is pervasive throughout the land. A disproportionate number of African Americans are imprisoned and executed. African Americans are constantly profiled and are being killed in record numbers by white police officers. Too many have suffered and died because of White Supremacy and State violence! The knee of White Supremacy has been on the necks of Blacks for far too long! Black Lives Matter!  

Islamophobia is pervasive. Muslims in the U.S. are demonized and targeted. Systemic violence and racism, inherent in oppressive economic and political structures and policies, crush the poor and people of color, denying so many of their dignity and human rights. We call into our presence all victims of racism.

Loving God, you have instructed us that every person is created in your image and that all life is sacred. We repent for the sin of racism. Deepen our commitment to work for justice and equality for all people of color as we strive to make the Beloved Community a reality here and now.            

Sing: Were You There 

Victim of Militarism and Nuclearism                                                   We pray for all people–past and present–who have been, and continue to be, crucified to the cross of militarism, nuclearism and warmaking. We remember and pray for all victims of U.S. warmaking and intervention, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has resulted in the death, displacement and trauma for millions of people. March 19th marked the 21st anniversary of the U.S. criminal invasion/occupation of Iraq. The U.S. must repent for the war crimes it has committed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all nations it has intervened in, and make reparations to its victims. 

As the U.S. is the #1 global arms dealer, we appeal for an end to all U.S. arms sales. We demand an end to weapons and aid to Israel which are used to support the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and a genocidal war in Gaza; for an end to U.S. arms sales and military support to Saudi Arabia in its 9-year war against Yemen which has claimed untold lives and where there is now severe famine. We plead for an end to AFRICOM and U.S. arms sales to African countries, including Morocco, which are used to support the illegal occupation of Western Sahara. We call for the closing of the estimated 800 U.S. military bases worldwide.  

We pray and are committed to working for the abolition of war; for the elimination of nuclear weapons, nuclear technology and all weapons; for an end to the militarization of space and all U.S. arms sales and military intervention worldwide; for the conversion of our war-based economy to one centered on serving the common good. This includes ending the nuclear modernization program now underway at an estimated cost of $1.7 trillion over the next two decades and redirecting the current $886 billion U.S. military budget to meet urgent human needs. We support the Pax Christi Bread Not Stones Campaign in this effort. We call for the Pentagon to be converted and transformed from a center of warmaking to a center that serves life! We pray in gratitude for all who have resisted and who have been imprisoned for decrying the sin of militarism and nuclearism. 

Sing: Were You There

Drone Bombing Victim                                              

We pray in repentance for all victims of U.S. drone strikes and call for an immediate end to the use of these immoral and illegal killer-drones that have been used in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere. We call for the U.S. to repent, apologize and make reparations to all victims’ families of drone strikes. We pray in gratitude for all who have resisted and who have been imprisoned for decrying this diabolical robotic warfare. We commit ourselves to abolishing these murderous drones, the American death squads of the skies.

Sing: Were You There 

Imprisoned Victim                                                                                 We remember and pray for:                                                                        –All whistle-blowers, truth-tellers and political prisoners who have been, and continue to be persecuted, including Mordechai Vanunu, Julian Assange, Daniel Hale and Edward Snowden;                                                            

–Leonard Peltier, Native American political prisoner serving a life sentence;                                      

–the estimated 2 million prisoners in the U.S., for all who are condemned and awaiting execution, and for all prisoners worldwide;

We pray and work for a dismantling of the mass incarceration complex, and an end to torture and the death penalty. In the words of Jesus, let us “proclaim liberty to all captives.”  

Sing: Were You There

Victim of Poverty and Economic Exploitation                                         We remember all people who have been, and continue to be, sacrificed at the altar of greed, oppression and economic exploitation. Never before have so few rich people been allowed to hoard so much. Income inequality is a grave injustice. According to UNICEF, over 700 million people live in poverty worldwide and 333 million children live in extreme poverty.  Globally, 1.4 billion children aged 0-15 lack any form of social protection, leaving them vulnerable to disease, poor nutrition and poverty, according to new data released last month by the International Labour Organization (ILO), Save the Children and UNICEF. 

According to the Poor People’s Campaign, there are 140 million poor and low-income people in the U.S. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, over 11.6 million children in the U.S. live below the federal poverty line and nearly 1 in 5 children of color are poor. According to the Census Bureau, 27 million people are uninsured in the U.S. It is estimated that nearly half a million people are experiencing homelessness in the U.S. On any given night in the District of Columbia there are 3,705 single persons and 1,172 adults and children in 389 family households who are experiencing homelessness. In 2023, 90 people in D.C. died without the dignity of a home. 

We remember all people who have died early deaths in the U.S. and worldwide from dire poverty, malnutrition, homelessness and inadequate health care. We pray and work for an end to structures and policies that dominate, exploit and crucify people to a cross of dehumanizing poverty, debt and neglect.  

Sing: Were You There

Immigrant Victim

Mindful that Jesus was born as a migrant and exiled as a refugee, we remember today those immigrants and refugees who have been crucified to a cross of exploitation, racism, oppression and war. We remember all those who have fled their homelands in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine due to war. We remember, too, those who have been driven from their homes and the hundreds who have died in the Mediterranean Sea and crossing the Mexico-U.S. border. Loving God, help us to learn to love and welcome the immigrants in this land. Give us the courage to stand for justice for all immigrants instead of imprisoning them in dehumanizing detention facilities. Give us the courage to speak out and expose how our country’s policies of globalization and free trade are driving people to leave their countries and tearing families apart. Help us to take down the walls of division and fear that create physical walls of separation on our border. Teach us the words of love you would have us speak as we call for comprehensive immigration reform in this land.                                                                          

Sing: Were You There 

Desecrated Earth

Creator God, we confess that the way we live today is desecrating the earth, changing the climate, the seas and the balance of life, and dispossessing the poor and future generations. Almost the entire global population (99%) breathes air that exceeds World Health Organization air quality limits, and threatens their health. We repent for the way our environment and earth continue to be endangered by industrial pollution, toxic deadly chemicals, wasteful oil consumption, pipelines, nuclear radiation and the effects of preparing for and waging war. With some 800 military bases worldwide and a vast global war machine, the U.S. military is the world’s single biggest consumer of fossil fuels and has greatly contributed to destabilizing the earth’s climate. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated: “ We must act decisively. We must end the merciless, relentless and senseless war on nature. It is putting our world at immediate risk…” Creator God, help us to stop destroying your creation. Empower and sustain all those who are nonviolently resisting threats to land, water, air and sky throughout our world. Help us to divest in fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy. Empower us to safeguard the earth, our common home, and all of creation and choose life for all that is at risk.

Sing: Were You There 

Ash Wednesday Liturgy in Lafayette Park and Ecumenical Prayer Service and Public Witness Outside the White House

Dear Friends,

On Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2024, Pax Christi USA, along with the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Franciscan Action Network and Maryknoll, sponsored an 11 AM Mass in Lafayette Park. This was followed by a Noon-time Ecumenical Prayer Service and Public Witness in front of the White House. During this prayer/witness, organized by Christians 4 Ceasefire (C4C), faith-leaders called on the Biden Administration and Congress to support an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. This witness marked the launch of a Lenten Ceasefire Campaign being organized by C4C.

Over 100 people participated in the Mass and Ecumenical Prayer Service, and a smaller group of 13 people risked arrest following the service. Those risking arrests prayed and witnessed in the “picture post-card” zone directly in front of the White House (normally an arrestable offense) and at two other nearby entrances to the White House. However, for unknown reasons, the Secret Service declined to make arrests. 

Please see below the following:

• Press Release for Ash Wednesday Witness
• Order of Ash Wednesday Ecumenical Prayer Service Outside the White House
• Franciscan Action Network You Tube Link for Mass, Ecumenical Prayer Service and Risk Arrest Witness
• Religious News Service Article 
• Photos of Mass, Ecumenical Prayer Service and Public Witness

I am deeply grateful for everyone who helped organize and participated in this Ash Wednesday Mass, Ecumenical Prayer and public witness. Grateful, too, for those who could not physically be present but were in prayerful solidarity. 

In peace and hope,
Art

Press Release-February 14, 2024

Christian leaders take public action on Ash Wednesday to call for a ceasefire, a political process, and humanitarian assistance to Gaza

Contacts: Janine Walsh, 203-685-1856, walsh@franciscanaction.org or Judy Coode, 202-425-0576, jcoode@paxchristiusa.org

Washington, DC – On Wednesday, February 14 at 11:00 AM in Lafayette Park by the White House, national Christian organizations and peacemakers will launch a weekly Lenten Ceasefire Campaign, starting with a Catholic Mass to be followed by an ecumenical public witness, to call attention to and in mourning for the tens of thousands of lives that have been destroyed in Gaza and Israel since October 7, 2023.

The Lenten season (held this year from Ash Wednesday, February 14, until Good Friday, March 29) is an annual time of reflection, repentance, and renewal, in commemoration of the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert before his crucifixion and resurrection (celebrated on Easter).

This year, weekly strategic nonviolent actions will take place during Lent to call on President Biden, a Catholic, and members of Congress, particularly those who are Christian, to abide by Jesus’ way of courageous love and urge them to:

a) Publicly call for bilateral ceasefire to prevent the further loss of life

b) Support demilitarization rather than supplying additional military aid or arms to Israel

c) Focus on a release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners held without due process

d) Support robust humanitarian assistance and restarting U.S. government funding to UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees e) Work diplomatically to end the siege on Gaza and end the occupation of the Palestinian Territory in order to address the root causes of the violence, accountability for harm, and move all parties toward a lasting, just peace that protects all human life and ensures long-term security and sustainability in the Middle East.

The organizations involved with this Lenten campaign believe that the focus must shift to diplomacy, accountability mechanisms, and strategic peacebuilding, and that neither war nor retribution is sustainable. We believe urgent action is needed to stop the mass slaughter, destruction, and generational trauma.

The Catholic Mass will start at 11 AM; the ecumenical prayer witness will begin about 12 PM.

Co-sponsors of the Lenten Ceasefire Campaign include Churches for Middle East Peace; Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces; Dorothy Day Catholic Worker; Festival Center; Franciscan Action Network; Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA); Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns; National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd; National Council of Churches, USA; Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace; Pax Christi USA; Quixote Center; Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team; Sojourners; United Church of Christ; Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER)

Order of Ash Wednesday Ecumenical Prayer Service-Witness Outside the White House

Welcome and Opening Reflection/Statement:  Art Laffin, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker 

Distribution of Ashes (Song: “Ashes”)

Call and Response Lamentation/Litany: Michele Dunne–Franciscan Action Network, and

 Emily Parker—UCC 

Testimony/Prayer: Philip Farah–Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace

Testimony/Prayer: Susan Gunn–Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns 

Russ Testa–CMEP

Reflection/Prayer: Rev. Adam Taylor, Sojourners  

Reflection-Explanation of ritual marking our hands with red-dye to symbolize that “Blood is on our Hands:” Rev. Graylan Hagler – Pastor Emeritus, Plymouth Congregation Church WDC, Fellowship of Reconciliation

Song: O Healing River

​Song: Seek Peace and Pursue It

Franciscan Action Network You Tube Link

Courtesy of Janine Walsh walsh@franciscanaction.org 

YouTube Link

FAN website post

Janine Walsh

Communications Coordinator
Franciscan Action Network

Mobile: (203) 685-1856

Religion News Service Article

Lenten cease-fire campaign includes Ash Wednesday Mass outside White House

Photos of Mass, Ecumenical Prayer Service and Public Witness

Photos

Report of Dec. 28, 2023 Feast of the Massacre of the Holy Innocents Pentagon Witness–Two Catholic Workers Arrested

Dear Friends,

Early this morning, from 7-8 AM, ten peacemakers witnessed at the Pentagon to commemorate the Feast of the Massacre of the Holy Innocents. The witnessed was organized by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in conjunction with the Little Flower Catholic Worker and Norfolk Catholic Worker.

We act in prayerful solidarity with many sisters and brothers today in the U.S. and elsewhere who are commemorating this special feast day by engaging in acts of public witness in resistance to a warmaking empire. 

The witness began with Bill Frankel-Streit (Little Flower Catholic Worker) and Kim Williams (Norfolk Catholic Worker) leading a procession from the designated Pentagon police designated protest area to the main checkpoint gate of the Pentagon located next to the Metro entrance. Bill and Kim proceeded to block this gate holding a banner: “Wounded Knee to GAZA-Stop the Massacre of Innocents!” (see attached Photo) Bill and Kim offered statements explaining their action as they were given three warnings to leave or be arrested. Also, during this time, the other eight peacemakers stood nearby holding signs. An Intro statement to our witness and an excerpt of Pope Francis’s Christmas Day Message was read (see below), and the songs Cry of Ramah and Coventry Carol were offered. When Kim and Bill refused to comply with police orders, they were placed under arrest. We then all sang the Vine and Fig Tree and recited the Lord’s Prayer. 

The remaining eight returned to the designated protest area to continue our witness and prayer. (see attached photos) This included holding banners and signs (see attachments), and reading the following: a Gospel account of the massacre of the Holy Innocents (Mt. 2:13-18), excerpted reflections of the ongoing Gaza Massacre by a Jewish doctor and two Palestinians ministers in Bethlehem (see below—please also see link “Christ in the Rubble”), a poem by Sr. Anne Montgomery (Feast of the Innocents:1991-In Memoriam: Mass Graves), a Litany (see below) and a Redeem the Times Declaration (see below). 

I want to express appreciation to all the readers: Steve Baggarly, Paul Magno, Michele Dunne and Jack McHale, and to all who participated in this witness. Grateful, too, for the photos from Michele and Jack. And we are mindful of and grateful to everyone who expressed their prayerful support and solidarity with this witness, (including those of you who receive this) but who could not be physically present. 

After processing by Pentagon police, Bill and Kim were released and charged with “disobeying a lawful order.” They were given a March 7, 2024 court date to appear in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, VA. We are deeply thankful for the courageous witness offered by Bill and Kim!

Another prayer of intercession was offered this morning at the Pentagon! God have mercy on U.S.! In these perilous times we need now, more than ever, to live and proclaim the Gospel of Nonviolence and resist the ongoing massacre of the Holy Innocents today.

In Christ’s peace,

Art

Introduction to Holy Innocents Witness 2023

(Prepared by Art Laffin)

Good Morning. We greet everyone going into the Pentagon and the Pentagon police in a spirit of peace and nonviolence. Today, Christian churches commemorate the feast of the massacre of the Holy Innocents, recalling how Herod, fearful of being removed from power, sought to destroy the child Jesus by ordering the slaughter of boys under two years old in and around Bethlehem. We, members of the DDCW, Pax Christi, the Atlantic Life and Southern Life Community, FAN, and other peace groups, come to the Pentagon, the center of warmaking on our planet, to remember the innocents who have been killed–past and present–due to greed, oppression, racism and war. Today, in this time of perpetual war, nuclear peril and climate chaos, the lives of countless innocents are endangered.  

As followers of Jesus, who commands us to love and never to kill, we unequivocally oppose and condemn all killing, no matter who the perpetrator is. We remember and pray for all victims of violence, war and occupation– from Ukraine to Israel and Palestine. We remember the Israeli victims of the horrific October 7th Hamas attack. We remember all Palestinian victims of the Israeli indiscriminate mass slaughter and destruction of Gaza over the last several months, including three Christian women, 84-year-old Ilham Farah who was killed by a sniper on Nov. 13th outside of Holy Family Church in Gaza, and Nahida Khalil Anton and her adult daughter Samar Kamal Anton, who, on Dec. 14th, were killed and others wounded by snipers outside the same church. Speaking on Dec. 17th about these women and the house of Mother Teresa’s nuns that was damaged on the church compound, Pope Francis said: “Some say it’s terrorism. It’s war. Yes, it’s war. It’s terrorism.” (For interview with Philip Farah about his relative Ilham Farah killed outside Holy Family Parish in Gaza see:  https://www.democracynow.org/2023/12/20/part_2_palestinian_christian_community_in

We remember all children living under systems of violence, oppression and white supremacy.  

Our faith in the nonviolent Jesus compels us to nonviolently resist the massacre of Holy Innocents today. We are ever so mindful that children are always the first victims of war. We call into our presence this morning all the Holy Cloud of Witnesses, including those who have witnessed here at the Pentagon proclaiming Jesus’ Gospel of Nonviolence in resistance to a warmaking empire. 

GAZA MASSACRE REFLECTIONS

Excerpt from Oct. 28th Remarks by Dr. Gabor Mate Regarding the Israeli Assault of Gaza (Gabor Mate is a Canadian physician and author, whose maternal grandparents were killed in Auschwitz when he was five. Taken from the Dec./Jan. 2023-2024 issue of The Catholic Radical).

“Words fail me at this point. It’s difficult to explain how I perceive the situation, but in a certain deep sense, I feel that it’s the worst thing I’ve seen in my whole life. It’s impossible to compare atrocities. Nothing compares with the mechanized murder of 5.6 million Jews by the Nazis. But what is different about the situation [in Gaza] is that I’ve never seen anything so publicly committed, such atrocities perpetrated on television, with the victims presented as the perpetrators. And this spectacle, this obscene, vicious spectacle, that we’re subjected to is either supported or condoned by the major media and all the politicians.”

Excerpts Two Palestinian Ministers from Bethlehem                                                                             

The following are excerpts from two Palestinian ministers in the Holy Land regarding the Israeli onslaught of Gaza.                                                                                                                                         

REV. MUNTHER ISAAC, a Palestinian pastor of a Lutheran church in Bethlehem, addressed his congregation earlier this month in front of a nativity scene with the figure of Jesus Christ in a keffiyeh, surrounded by rubble. He stated:  “Christmas is a ray of light and hope from the heart of pain and suffering. Christmas is the radiance of life from the heart of destruction and death. In Gaza, God is under the rubble. He is in the operating room. If Christ were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble. I invite you to see the image of Jesus in every child killed and pulled from under the rubble, in every child struggling for life in destroyed hospitals, in every child in incubators. Christmas celebrations are canceled this year, but Christmas itself is not and will not be canceled, for our hope cannot be canceled.” In A Liturgy of Lament held in Bethlehem on Dec. 23, Rev. Isaac declared: “We are broken… This should have been a time of joy; instead, we are mourning. We are fearful. 20,000 killed. Thousands under the rubble still. Close to 9,000 children killed in the most brutal ways. Day after day after day. 1.9 million displaced! Hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed. Gaza as we know it no longer exists. This is an annihilation. A genocide. The world is watching; Churches are watching. Gazans are sending live images of their own execution…      We are tormented by the silence of the world. Leaders of the so-called “free” lined up one after the other to give the green light for this genocide against a captive population. They gave the cover….Here we confront the theology of the Empire…The theology of the Empire becomes a powerful tool to mask oppression under the cloak of divine sanction. It divides people into “us” and “them.” It dehumanizes and demonizes…It calls for emptying Gaza, just like it called the ethnic cleansing in 1948 “a divine miracle.” “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” they said of us. This is the theology of Empire…This war has confirmed to us that the world does not see us as equal…As they said, if it takes killing 100 Palestinians to get a single “Hamas militant” then so be it! We are not humans in their eyes. (But in God’s eyes… no one can tell us we are not!)  The hypocrisy and racism of the Western world is transparent and appalling!…In this war, the many Christians in the Western world made sure the Empire has the theology needed. It is self-defense, we were told! (And I ask How?) In the shadow of the Empire, they turned the colonizer into the victim, and the colonized into the aggressor. Have we forgotten that the state was built on the ruins of the towns and villages of those very same Gazans? We are outraged by the complicity of the church. Let it be clear: Silence is complicity, and empty calls for peace without a ceasefire and end to occupation, and the shallow words of empathy without direct action — are all under the banner of complicity. So here is my message: Gaza today has become the moral compass of the world. Gaza was hell on earth before October 7th…If you are not appalled by what is happening; if you are not shaken to your core – there is something wrong with your humanity. If we, as Christians, are not outraged by this genocide…there is something wrong with our Christian witness, and compromising the credibility of the Gospel!…In our pain, anguish, and lament, we have searched for God, and found him under the rubble in Gaza. Jesus became the victim of the very same violence of the Empire…This Christmas season, as we search for Jesus, he is to be found not on the side of Rome, but our side of the wall. In a cave, with a simple family. Vulnerable. Barely, and miraculously surviving a massacre. Among a refugee family. This is where Jesus is found. https://www.redletterchristians.org/christ-in-the-rubble-a-liturgy-of-lament/
                                                                                                                       

REV. MITRI RAHEB, pastor, teacher and writer in Bethlehem, stated in an Dec. 22, 2023 interview: “The Christmas story actually is a Palestinian story, par excellence. It talks about a family in Nazareth, in the north of Palestine, that is ordered by an imperial decree of the Romans to evacuate to Bethlehem, to go there and register. And this is exactly what our people in Gaza have been experiencing these 75 days. It talks about Mary, the pregnant woman, on the run, exactly like 50,000 women in Gaza who are actually displaced. Jesus was actually born as a refugee. There was no place at the inn for him to be born, so he was put in a manger. And this is exactly what also the kids that are coming to life these days in Gaza are experiencing. You know, most of the hospitals are damaged, out of service, and so there are no delivery places for all of these pregnant women in Gaza. And then you have the bloodthirsty Herod that ordered to kill the kids in Bethlehem to stay in power. And in Gaza, over 8,000 kids have been murdered for Netanyahu to stay in power. And you have this message that the angels declared, “Glory to God in the highest, peace on Earth,” which was actually a critique of the empire, because glory belongs to the Almighty and not to the mighty. And the peace that Jesus came to proclaim is not the peace, the Pax Romana, the peace that is based on subjugation and military operation, but on human dignity, equality and justice. And this is actually what we call for. And I have to say I find it really a shame that in this season, where every church hears these words, “peace on Earth,” that the United States is vetoing even a ceasefire. It’s a shame. https://www.democracynow.org/2023/12/22/christmas_cancelled_in_palestine_mitri_raheb
Excerpt from Pope Francis Christmas Day Message:                                                                                  

In the Scriptures, the Prince of Peace is opposed by the “Prince of this world” (Jn 12:31), who, by sowing the seeds of death, plots against the Lord, “the lover of life” (cf. Wis 11:26). We see this played out in Bethlehem, where the birth of the Saviour is followed by the slaughter of the innocents. How many innocents are being slaughtered in our world!  They are the little Jesuses of today, these little ones whose childhood has been devastated by war.To say “yes” to the Prince of Peace, then, means saying “no” to war, to every war and to do so with courage, to the very mindset of war, an aimless voyage, a defeat without victors, an inexcusable folly. This is what war is: an aimless voyage, a defeat without victors, an inexcusable folly. To say “no” to war means saying “no” to weaponry… And how can we even speak of peace, when arms production, sales and trade are on the rise? Today, as at the time of Herod, the evil that opposes God’s light hatches its plots in the shadows of hypocrisy and concealment. How much violence and killing takes place amid deafening silence, unbeknownst to many!  Isaiah, who prophesied the Prince of Peace, looked forward to a day when “nation shall not lift up sword against nation”, a day when men “will not learn war any more”, but instead “beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks” (2:4). With God’s help, let us make every effort to work for the coming of that day!May it come in Israel and Palestine, where war is devastating the lives of those peoples. I embrace them all, particularly the Christian communities of Gaza, the parish of Gaza, and the entire Holy Land. My heart grieves for the victims of the abominable attack of 7 October last, and I reiterate my urgent appeal for the liberation of those still being held hostage. I plead for an end to the military operations with their appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims, and call for a solution to the desperate humanitarian situation by an opening to the provision of humanitarian aid. May there be an end to the fueling of violence and hatred.   https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/urbi/documents/20231225-urbi-et-orbi-natale.html

LITANY 

(prepared by Art Laffin)

Refrain: War Hurts and Kills Children, Help Us Abolish War! 

During the last three decades, the United States has engaged in immoral and illegal military intervention and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq, U.S. intervention resulted in over several million Iraqi deaths and countless injuries from bombings, sanctions, torture and occupation; over four million refugees; immeasurable trauma for an entire society; political and social instability; and an endless cycle of violence. 

During its criminal military intervention in Afghanistan, tens of thousands of Afghan civilians were killed and wounded and there has been political and social instability. Like Iraq, an entire population has been traumatized by U.S. warmaking. We demand that all those responsible for committing these war crimes be held accountable. 

Refrain: War Hurts and Kills Children, Help Us Abolish War! 

In Yemen, the U.S. continues to provide direct military support and weapons to Saudi Arabia in its brutal war against the Houthi rebels. The war in Yemen has killed over 150,000 people. According to UNICEF, more than 11,000 boys and girls have been killed and injured during the war.  More than 540,000 children under the age of five suffer life-threatening severe acute malnutrition, with one child continuing to die every 10 minutes from preventable causes. A Lockheed Martin made bomb was used in the Saudi bombing of a school bus in Yemen on Aug. 9, 2018 killing over 40 children. We demand that all those responsible for committing these war crimes be held accountable. 

Refrain: War Hurts and Kills Children, Help Us Abolish War! 

We also remember the thousands of innocent civilians who have died as a result of U.S. drone attacks and air strikes over the last twenty years. Two years ago,  the New York Times published a series exposing a vast cover-up by the Pentagon of hiding the numbers of civilians killed by these U.S. bombings. According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ), U.S. strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen from January 2004 to February 2020 killed between 10,888 and 20,000 people. On August 29, 2021, 7 children were among the 10 family members of the Ahmadi family that were killed in Kabul Afghanistan by a Lockheed Hellfire missile fired from a General Atomics Reaper Drone. We demand that all those responsible for committing these war crimes be held accountable. 

Refrain: War Hurts and Kills Children, Help Us Abolish War!

In retaliation for the October 7th Hamas attack that claimed the lives of over 1,200 Israelis and the taking of 240 hostages which we denounce, the Israeli government and military has engaged in a genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, despite pleas for an immediate ceasefire from the UN, Pope Francis, Jewish Voices for Peace, numerous human rights, religious and humanitarian aid organizations, and countless citizens worldwide. As we remember the over 21,000 Palestinian victims and countless wounded in Gaza, and the over 1 million displaced who are in urgent need of food and humanitarian assistance, we decry U.S. complicity in these atrocities by providing weapons and intelligence to Israel, and for refusing to support UN resolutions calling for a ceasefire. We remember all Palestinian victims in the West Bank who have been killed by the Israeli military and Jewish settlers, and all who continue to suffer under the ruthless U.S.-backed Israeli occupation of the West Bank. We demand a permanent ceasefire, that all humanitarian aid be made available to the starving refugees of Gaza, release of all Palestinian prisoners and those held hostage by Hamas, an end to the occupation, self-determination for Palestinians and a just peace in the Holy Land. We demand that all those responsible for committing war crimes be held accountable. 

Refrain: War Hurts and Kills Children, Help Us Abolish War! 

The 2024 NDAA military spending bill of $886 billion was recently passed by the House and Senate, and signed by President Biden. The U.S. proceeds with an estimated $1.7 trillion nuclear modernization program over the next several decades, which includes 12 new Columbia-Class nuclear submarines to replace existing Ohio-Class Trident subs at an estimated cost of over $114 billion. The Pentagon’s new B-21 Raider is a dual-capable strike stealth bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear weapons. Each B-21 will cost over $700 million. Estimated costs for 100 B21’s over the next 30 years will exceed $200 billion. Pope Francis has declared that the mere possession of nuclear weapons is immoral. These exorbitant expenditures for weapons and war are an abomination–an affront to God and a crime against the poor!

Refrain: War Hurts and Kills Children, Help Us Abolish War! 

According to Save the Children, 1.7 billion children are living in poverty. According to the Poor People’s Campaign, there are 140 million poor and low-income people in the U.S. According to the Children Defense Fund,   11 million children live in poverty, including 1 in 7 children and in 6 children under 5. Over 25 million people are uninsured in the U.S. Over 650,000 people are experiencing homelessness in the U.S. In 2023, 90 people in D.C. died without the dignity of a home. Dr. King declared: “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”

Refrain: War Hurts and Kills Children, Help Us Abolish War! 

On January 24th of this year, the Doomsday Clock was set to 90 seconds before midnight due to the existential dangers of nuclear war and climate change — threats compounded by cyber-enabled information warfare, upgrades to existing nuclear systems, the Ukraine war, and worsening world tensions. The Ukraine war has further exacerbated the nuclear peril between the two foremost nuclear powers. While the U.S. has always maintained a “first-use” nuclear weapons policy, Russia has stated it would consider using nuclear weapons if it feels endangered by increased U.S. and NATO intervention in the Ukraine war. With respect to waging war, Dr. King, who condemned nuclear weapons in 1959, declared: “War is not the answer…I consider war an evil…The choice before us is either nonviolence or nonexistence.” It is imperative that the U.S. and the eight other nuclear-armed states ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  

Refrain: War Hurts and Kills Children, Help Us Abolish War! 

According to the Federation of American Scientists, nine countries possess roughly 12,700 warheads. Approximately 90 percent of all nuclear warheads are owned by the U.S. and Russia (Russia has 5,977; the U.S. has 5,428). U.S. nuclear weapons are also stored at six military bases in the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Turkey. Furthermore, U.S. and NATO missile defense systems ring Russia and China, increasing already heightened tensions. The U.S. and Russia, whose nuclear forces are on high alert, as well as China, are developing hypersonic weapons that could become nuclear capable.                            

Refrain: War Hurts and Kills Children, Help Us Abolish War! 

Every day, the world’s addiction to oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear power is the cause of environmental contamination that is threatening global devastation. With nearly 800 military bases worldwide establishing its vast war machine, the Pentagon is the world’s single biggest consumer of fossil fuels, making it a major contributor to destabilizing the climate. Climate chaos acutely impacts the poor countries of the world. According to the WHO, climate change threatens the essential ingredients of good health – clean air, safe drinking water, nutritious food supply and safe shelter – and has the potential to undermine decades of progress in global health. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress alone.

Refrain: War Hurts and Kills Children, Help Us Abolish War!

Redeem the Times Declaration (We are indebted to Dan Berrigan and Ardeth Platte–Presente!–for their contributions to this Declaration). “Redeem the times,” proclaims the late peacemaking prophet, Jesuit Priest, Daniel Berrigan, along with countless others. “The times are inexpressibly evil.  And yet, the times are inexhaustibly good, solaced by the courage and hope of many. The truth rules, Christ is not forsaken.” The violence, massacres and disregard for the truth and human life and creation stops here today at the Pentagon. Now is the time for national repentance and personal and societal transformation. In solidarity with sisters and brothers around the world, we resolve to:–commit ourselves to follow the nonviolent example of Jesus and call on all soldiers to refuse to fight and kill, and lay down their weapons; –denounce and resist all forms of State-sanctioned killing, systemic violence, racial injustice, discrimination and sexism;–end environmental destruction, poverty and economic inequality;–respect the human rights of all people, especially immigrants and refugees;  –call on those who political leadership and all diplomats to adopt nonviolent and just peace initiatives to replace military solutions to resolve conflicts;–commit in policy that our country makes reparations to all victims of its military interventions worldwide and war crimes; abolish torture, war, and weapons forever, hammer all swords into plowshares; and convert the war economy so our planet and people may live;–build homes for all, assure healthy food for all, develop health care and education for all, plan an economy for full meaningful employment, develop renewable energy implementation, mass transit lines, practice restorative justice;–implore the U.S. and all nuclear nations to sign and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which, to date, has been ratified by 69 nations; –celebrate God’s creation with joy. During this Holy Season we are reminded once again of the promise of Emmanuel, God is with us. And we are invited by Jesus to make the Word flesh and to nonviolently resist the Herod’s of this world and all forces of death. We are ever mindful of the hope-filled message of the angel Gabriel to Mary of Nazareth, that “nothing will be impossible for God!” As we approach the end of 2023 and move into a New Year, let us keep our eyes on the prize and do all we can to make God’s reign of justice, love and peace a reality as we strive to create the beloved community and a nonviolent world.

Report of Sept. 12, 2023 Air Force Association Arms Bazaar Resistance Witness

Dear Friends,

Today from Noon-1:00 PM, members of the DDCW, Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, and other peacemakers, held a prayer service and nonviolent witness outside the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD which once again is hosting the annual Air Force Association (AFA) “Air-Space-Cyber Conference and Technology Exposition,” what we call an “Arms Bazaar.” The theme of this year’s conference is 

“Defeating Multipolar Threats: A Strategic Imperative for Airmen & Guardians.” There are some 180 exhibitor booths at this year’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference, which began on September 11th and ends on September 13th. This witness was organized by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.

Exhibitors taking part in this year’s Arms Bazaar play a prominent role in U.S. warmaking and global military intervention. Weapons contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and BAE, are profiting from war and literally are making a killing! But that’s not all. The Pentagon, in concert with numerous arms dealers, are committed to U.S. nuclear/military/cyber superiority and militarizing and controlling space. During its three-day Arms Bazaar, the AFA is holding forums addressing how the U.S. can refine its war making apparatus and cyber capability so it can dominate earth and space. There are also several gala banquets. See Agenda: https://www.afa.org/2023-air-space-cyber-conference-agenda

During our witness we were present to many weapons contractors and military attending the Arms Bazaar who were on their lunch break. (see attached photo)  We also spoke with a N.Y. Times reporter. Holding banners and signs, we began our prayer service by remembering that God and Jesus command us to renounce all killing and be nonviolent peacemakers, and calling into our presence the Holy Cloud of Witnesses. We remembered South African martyr Steve Biko on the 46^th anniversary of his murder, Franciscan peacemaker Fr. Louie Vitale who went home to God last week, and all the peacemakers who have died this past year as well as all victims of war.  As a way to be in solidarity with those who are resisting the DSEI Arms Fair in England, Verleah and Bob led us in Daily Prayer that British Christian peacemakers are using during their nonviolent witness this week.  See attachment. There were readings from the Beatitudes in Luke’s Gospel (read by Jake) and an excerpt from Dr. King’s Beyond Vietnam Speech April 4, 1967 (read by Kathy and Merwyn). Also offered was a “Prayer of Exorcism and Conversion,” a Reflection and Response (see below—read by Coop and Frank), a litany remembering the victims of the Nuclear Age and war (read by Dan), and a recitation of the Pax Christi Litany of Repentance and Conversion (read by Bob). We concluded this part of the prayer service by praying the Lord’s Prayer and singing “Vine and Fig Tree.”   

Some of us then processed to the main entrance of the Gaylord where many soldiers and arms contractors were. (see attached photo) For several minutes we sang “Down by the Riverside” before having a very good exchange with security who ordered us to leave as we were on “private property.” I was able to remind them that we were all on stolen Piscataway land and one security officer said he was aware of that. 

In these perilous times, let us live in the hope that Jesus offers: “All things are possible for the one who has faith.” (Mk. 9:23) We beckon the holy cloud of witnesses and all peace and justice makers who have gone home to God and who are now advocating for us. Hope abounds in the actions of countless people worldwide who are seeking to make God’s reign of justice, love and peace a reality. Let us redouble our efforts to do all we can to nonviolently resist the forces and systems of violence, racism, oppression and death and witness to the God of Life and Love as we strive to create the Beloved Community.

In peace and hope,

Art

Reflection and Response

“Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.”                                                                                                                                               –Pope Francis, September 24, 2015 Speech to the U.S. Congress

From September 11-13, the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center is once again playing host to the Air Force Association (AFA) “Air-Space-Cyber Conference and Technology Exposition,” what we call an “Arms Bazaar.” The AFA, according to its web site, is “the voice for aerospace power and the Air Force family.” This year’s theme is: “Defeating Multipolar Threats: A Strategic Imperative for Airmen & Guardians.” 

Response: God Commands Us Not to Kill and To Beat Swords into Plowshares! Stop the AFA Arms Bazaar! Disarm Now!

Over 180 exhibitors taking part in this year’s Arms Bazaar have played a prominent role in U.S. warmaking. Weapons contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and BAE, are profiting from war and literally are making a killing! But that’s not all. The Pentagon and numerous arms dealers are committed to U.S. nuclear/military/cyber superiority and militarizing and controlling space. 

Response: God Commands Us Not to Kill and To Beat Swords into Plowshares! Stop the AFA Arms Bazaar! Disarm Now!

During its three-day Arms Bazaar, the AFA will hold forums addressing how the U.S. can refine its warmaking apparatus and cyber capability so it can dominate earth and space. Here are titles for some of the forums: “Building the Warfighting Mindset,” “Partnering to Win in the Space Fight,” “Winning the Kill Chain Competition,” “Air and Space Superiority Today and Tomorrow,” “Global Strike.” Additionally, two gala banquets are being held. We decry the AFA Arms Bazaar for what it is: a scandalous affront to God, a theft from the poor, and a threat to people and the environment worldwide! 

Response: God Commands Us Not to Kill and To Beat Swords into Plowshares! Stop the AFA Arms Bazaar! Disarm Now!

The victims cry out for justice, and the earth, under daily assault, groans in travail! Who will speak for the poor and the victims, as arms dealers reap huge profits from their lethal weapons and death technology? Who will protect our sacred earth and environment and work to avert global catastrophe?                                                

Response: God Commands Us Not to Kill and To Beat Swords into Plowshares! Stop the AFA Arms Bazaar! Disarm Now!

The Doomsday Clock is now set at 90 seconds before midnight. The Ukraine war has exacerbated the nuclear peril between the U.S. and Russia. In light of the proposed $842 billion U.S. military budget for 2024, who will help to convert the U.S. war economy to meet critical human needs? We need, more than ever, to nonviolently resist and work to eradicate what Dr. King called the interrelated triple evils of racism, poverty/economic exploitation, and militarism/war.                                                                                            Response: God Commands Us Not to Kill and To Beat Swords into Plowshares! Stop the AFA Arms Bazaar! Disarm Now!

Together, in solidarity with Campaign Nonviolence, Catholic Days of Action and sisters and brothers in the U.S. and worldwide who are acting for peace, justice and nonviolent social transformation, we of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Pax Christi and other peace groups call on all people of faith and goodwill to demand that the U.S. government:            –repent for it sinful use of nuclear weapons against Japan and war crimes it has committed in numerous acts of warmaking and military intervention–including in Vietnam, El Salvador, Iraq, and Afghanistan;

–renounce all systems of domination and oppression, rooted in white supremacy, which are reinforced by the murderous weapons displayed at the AFA Arms Bazaar;

–end military aid and weapons sales to all nations of the world, including to Israel used to support its illegal occupation of West Bank and Gaza, to Saudi Arabia used to support its 8-year illegal war in Yemen, to Morocco used to support the illegal occupation of Western Sahara, and to Ukraine, including cluster bombs and depleted uranium weapons;

–Close its over 800 military bases worldwide, end NATO and AFRICOM, and stop all forms of military intervention throughout the world;

–Stop the deployment of U.S. and NATO missile defense systems ringing Russia and China which is increasing already heightened tensions; 

–heed Pope Francis’ plea that the possession of nuclear weapons is immoral and abolish all nuclear weapons now;  

– ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) which now makes nuclear weapons illegal under international law. 68 nations have ratified the TPNW but the U.S. and other 8 nuclear nations refuse to do so; 

–redirect exorbitant military expenditures, including the estimated $1.7 trillion over the next several decades to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal, to meet urgent human needs and safeguard the environment;

–create an economic and political order committed to placing people before profit, serving the common good, dismantling racism, promoting equality and restorative justice, and upholding the human rights and dignity of every person. 

Let us continue to do all we can to establish the Beloved Community, end the climate crisis and create a world free of nuclear and conventional weapons, killer drones and war. In the name of God, who commands us to love and not to kill and to beat all the swords of our time into plowshares, in the name of Jesus, who calls us to be peacemakers and people of total nonviolence, it’s time to end the AFA Arms Bazaar and establish a disarmed world!  

August 9, 2023 Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Witness Outside the White House–Breaking News From Nagasaki About New Bishops Partnership to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and Peacemakers Arrested At Air Base In Holland

Dear Friends,

On this 78^th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear bombing of Nagasaki, 35 peacemakers from the DMV held a Noon-time nonviolent witness and prayer service outside the White House to commemorate this unspeakable atrocity, and that which occurred in Hiroshima on Aug. 6, to call on the powers that be and the nation to repent for the nuclear sin, abolish nuclear weapons, and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear weapons, and to recommit ourselves to the way of Gospel nonviolence and to working for a disarmed world where all the swords of our time are turned into plowshares and war is forever outlawed. (see attached photo) The prayer service, organized by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, took place on Pennsylvania Ave. in front of the White House, where a makeshift shrine, comprised of photos of the bombing’s victims and survivors, was created. Following a collective reading of the Apology Petition to the Japanese people, Scott Wright and Jean Stokan led a moving ritual involving people placing roses on the photos. See below a copy of the Prayer Service. I want to express gratitude for all who participated in this witness, including those who had reading and singing roles.

Here’s a piece that was published in the NCR regarding the witness. 
https://www.ncronline.org/news/catholics-mark-78th-anniversary-us-atomic-bombings-vigil-outside-white-house

I also want to take this opportunity to share some important breaking news. Today in Nagasaki,  where Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, NM and Archbishop Etienne of Seattle, WA are concluding their “Pilgimage of Peace” Delegation in Japan, an important announcement was made. https://www.ncronline.org/news/japan-anniversary-atomic-bombings-us-archbishops-urge-nuclear-disarmament“A Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons From the Archbishops of Santa Fe, Seattle, Nagasaki, and Bishop of Hiroshima, has been formed. The opening sentence of the statement released by the four bishops reads: “On the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we, the bishops of four Catholic arch/dioceses in areas impacted by nuclear weapons, declare that we will begin working together to achieve a “world without nuclear weapons.” For the entire statement see:  https://files.ecatholic.com/17613/documents/2023/8/230809_Statement_PartnershipDioceses.pdf?t=1691588478000

Lastly, I want to share news that on Aug. 8, 10 peacemakers (6 from the U.S.) were arrested during a nonviolent action at Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands. Their message: NO (NEW) NUKES & STOP MILITARY C02 EMISSIONS. See:

http://www.nukeresister.org/2023/08/08/ten-activists-arrested-on-runway-of-volkel-air-base/

Also today, 16 activists (4 from the U.S.) were arrested in another action at Volkel AB. The theme of this witness: Digging For Life: For an End to Military C02 Emissions & the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons. See: http://www.nukeresister.org/2023/08/09/sixteen-activists-with-pink-shovels-arrested-at-volkel-air-base/#more-10353.

Deo Gratias for these and all actions occurring in our world to abolish nuclear weapons and war, 

end the climate crisis,and establish God’s reign of love, justice, peace and the Beloved Community.

In peace and hope,

Art

Prayer Service for Aug. 7 @ Pentagon–Aug. 9, 2023 @ White House

OPENING 

APOLOGY PETITION 

During our Prayer Service of Repentance in front of the White House on August 6, 2016, an Apology Petition was read and presented to Mr. Mimaki, a Hiroshima A-bomb survivor. Over 700 people signed the petition. In September 2016, Mr. Mimaki delivered the petition to the Mayor of Hiroshima and is now at the Hiroshima Peace Museum. Three years ago, to mark the 75th anniversary of the US atomic bombings of Japan, an updated Apology Petition was signed by over 240 people and sent to the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to the Hibakusha organization in Japan. This petition was prepared by Scott Wright and Art Laffin and endorsed by a number of religious and peace groups.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: An Apology–Envision the World Without Nuclear Weapons—August 6 and 9, 2020—75th Anniversary of the U.S. Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki  

        The 75th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a time of remembering the horror, repenting the sin and reclaiming a future without nuclear weapons. It is a time to recommit ourselves to the work of disarming and dismantling the machinery of mass destruction and abolishing war.

        We unite in prayerful witness with people of faith and conscience across the globe to mark this historic anniversary. As citizens of the United States, we invite people to publicly ask God for forgiveness for the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which caused the immediate death of more than 200,000 people, and hundreds of thousands more who died in the aftermath as a result of radiation poisoning. We apologize to the people of Japan – and to the survivors of the bombing, the hibakusha – for our country’s bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and we ask forgiveness for these atrocities.

        Pope Paul VI, in his 1976 World Day of Peace Message, described the bombings as “a butchery of untold magnitude.” Pope Francis, who in 2017 condemned the possession of nuclear weapons as immoral, reminded us once more, during his 2019 visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, of “the unspeakable horror suffered in the flesh by the victims of the bombing and their families,” and reaffirmed his conviction that “a world without nuclear weapons is [both] possible and necessary.”

        Nuclear weapons are sinful and idolatrous. The mining, testing and deployment of these weapons have desecrated native lands and the Marshall and South Pacific Islands and have caused incalculable ecological devastation and early deaths of countless people exposed to nuclear radiation. Their research, production and deployment are a theft from the poor, and a crime against God’s creation, humanity and future generations. We repent for these sins and for the continued proliferation of nuclear weapons at the expense of unmet human needs. Further, we offer repentance for our nation’s possession and threatened use of nuclear weapons to enforce a world order based on systemic racism and the destruction of the cultural and biological diversity of our planet.

         We decry the fact that the U.S. government is committed to a 30-year upgrade of its nuclear arsenal at an estimated cost of $1.7 trillion. We denounce the Pentagon Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations stating that a limited nuclear war could be waged and won. We implore the U.S. to end its nuclear modernization program, renounce its first-use nuclear policy, and to sign and ratify the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We call on all Christians and people of good faith everywhere to refuse to participate in the production, maintenance, threatened use and use of these murderous weapons.

        We firmly resolve, with God’s grace and mercy, to reject the false idols of nuclear weapons, and to embrace the life-affirming work of abolishing these weapons of terror.

         As the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist has reset the Doomsday Clock to 100 seconds to midnight (now 90 seconds), let us heed the plea of the Hibakusha to the world: “Humanity and nuclear weapons cannot co-exist.” Now is the time to pursue non-violent alternatives to war and to lay the foundations for just peace; now is the time to restore justice for the poor and integrity to creation, and to seek a nuclear-free future for our children.

         On that day, the prophet reminds us, “God will rule over all nations and settle disputes for all peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not raise sword against nation; nor will they train for war anymore” (Is 2:4).

         In that spirit, we solemnly renew our commitment to that biblical vision and promise of peace and justice, when the world will finally be free from the scourge of war and the terror of nuclear weapons.

Read Excerpt of Testimony from Hiroshima Survivor, Setsuko Thurlow 

Read September 1945 Excerpt from Dorothy Day Condemning the U.S. Atomic Bombings  

Song: Genbaku O Yurusumagi– Never Again the A-Bomb by Ishiji Asada and Koki Kinoshita, 1955.

Reflection–Refrain–We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now! 

SONG: I COME AND STAND – Dead Little Girl of Hiroshima

I come and stand at every door, But no one hears my silent prayer, I knock and yet remain unseen, For I am dead, for I am dead.

I’m only seven although I died, In Hiroshima long ago. I’m seven now as I was then, When children die they do not grow.

My hair was scorched by a swirling flame, My eyes grew dim, my eyes grew blind, Death came and turned my bones to dust, And that was scattered by the wind.

I need no fruit, I need no rice, I need no sweets nor even bread, I ask for nothing for myself, For I am dead, for I am dead.

All that I ask is that for peace, You work today, you work today, So that the children of this world, May live and grow and laugh and play.

LITANY OF REPENTANCE 

For the U.S. development, use, and threatened use of nuclear weapons, Forgive us O God 

For the over 200,000 people who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a direct result of the U.S. nuclear bombings, Forgive us O God 

For the countless Japanese A-Bomb survivors who have suffered and died from the effects of nuclear radiation, Forgive us O God 

For all Native Americans who have died as a result from the mining of uranium on their sacred lands, 

Forgive us o God

For the unknown numbers of people who have suffered and died from nuclear testing in the South Pacific, Forgive us O God 

For workers in nuclear facilities who were exposed to radiation and who have suffered and died, 

Forgive us O God

For those living downwind from nuclear facilities who have contracted cancer and other illnesses and who have died, Forgive us O God 

For those prisoners and people with mental disabilities who were subjects of nuclear radiation experiments, Forgive us O God    

For the U.S. use of highly toxic radioactive depleted uranium weapons in Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and elsewhere which have claimed untold lives and have caused dramatic increases of cancer, leukemia and birth defects in each of the countries where these weapons have been used, Forgive us O God 

For the millions who needlessly suffered and died–past and present–because of the money and resources squandered on weapons and war instead of on programs to help eradicate poverty and preventable diseases, Forgive us O God 

For desecrating the earth and the environmental damage caused by the mining, testing and use of nuclear technology, Forgive us O God 

For the U.S. militarizing space and the dangerous use of nuclear technology in space,

Forgive us O God 

For the U.S. military being the world’s single biggest consumer of fossil fuels, and the single entity most responsible for destabilizing the Earth’s climate, Forgive us O God 

For placing our trust in weapons and mammon rather than in God, Forgive us O God

“SHADOW ON THE ROCK” by Daniel Berrigan, SJ

At Hiroshima there’s a museum 

and outside that museum there’s a rock, 

and on that rock there’s a shadow. 

That shadow is all that remains 

of the human being who stood there on August 6, 1945 

when the nuclear age began. 

In the most real sense of the word, 

that is the choice before us. 

We shall either end war and the nuclear arms race now in this generation,

or we will become Shadows On the Rock.

Today marks the anniversary of two Catholic martyrs killed by the Nazis. Read Quotes from 

St. Edith Stein and Blessed Franz Jagerstatter.

Closing Song: Vine and Fig Tree