Message from Art Laffin–Report of April 7, 2023 Good Friday Commemoration Witness at the Pentagon

Dear Friends,

Early this Good Friday morning, from 7-8 AM, about 30 people 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 organized by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, included members from the DDCW, Little Flower Catholic Worker, Pax Christi, Assisi Community, Franciscan Action Network, students from Loras College and UCLA, and other faith communities. Our witness was yet another prayer of intercession at this 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, a steady stream of 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.” (see attached photos with Pentagon in background.) Other banners were hung on the fence, including several with quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr. and another banner that read: “Nuclear Weapons are Illegal–The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.” We all held crosses with the names of different victims that we were remembering in our prayer service. 

The prayer service began with a Good Friday Plea reflection that was offered by myself, Bill Frankel-Streit and Frank Panopoulos (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.” 

We then proceeded to read the accounts and prayers for crucified victims today. (see below: “Remembering Crucified Victims Today”). The readers were Bill, Kirstin and Merwyn DeMello, Paul Magno, Mike Walli, Jack McHale, Ken Cooper, Ken Cooper and Gabriel Mitchell. After each account/prayer, we sang “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord.” Rozella Apel-Hernandez 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 Stacia McDermott reading an excerpt from Leonardo Boff’s book “The Way of the Cross, Way of Justice,” and singing the “Stabat Mater” (At the Cross Her Station Keeping), which includes six new verses composed by Joe Byrne.

Bill and I, each carrying small crosses representing victims of militarism and nuclearism, and the U.S. war against Iraq, then walked outside the designated protest area onto the sidewalk to pray. Joined by the community in the designated protest area, we recited the prayer: “We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!” and sang “Were You There.” We stood and knelt in silence. Pentagon workers walked by us and Pentagon police keenly observed us from their nearby posts. In the past, to go outside the designated area and witness would almost always result in arrests. Bill and I were prepared to risk arrest. After about ten minutes, the police remained at their posts and it was clear they were not making any move to arrest us. So, Bill and I rejoined the rest of the gathered community and had a closing circle. Everyone introduced themselves and offered a brief comment about how the witness impacted them and we concluded by praying the Lord’s Prayer and singing “Vine and Fig Tree.”

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

Remembering Crucified Victims Today

Crucified Victim #1–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, rooted in 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!  

Muslims in the U.S. are demonized and targeted. Hate crimes are being committed against Asians. 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 When They Crucified My Lord

Crucified Victim #2–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 20th 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 call for an end to weapons and aid to Israel which are used to support the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine; for an end to U.S. arms sales and military support to Saudi Arabia in its 8-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.                                                                                                                                                    Sing:  Were You There When They Crucified My Lord

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 $858 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 When They Crucified My Lord

Crucified Victim #3–Drone Bombing Victim                                              

We pray in repentance for all victims of U.S. drone strikes that have been carried out in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere. We call for an immediate end to the use of these immoral and illegal killer-drones and call for the U.S. to 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 When They Crucified My Lord

Crucified Victim #4– 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, Chelsea Manning, 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 When They Crucified My Lord

Crucified Victim #5–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, especially now in this pandemic. 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 356 million children live in extreme poverty. 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 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. Over half a million people are experiencing homelessness in the U.S. In 2022, 77 people in D.C. died without the dignity of a home. On Feb. 15 over 55 people were forcibly displaced from their encampment at McPherson Sq. 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 When They Crucified My Lord

Crucified Victim #6–Immigrant and Refugee 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 When They Crucified My Lord

Crucified Victim #7–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…” This year must be a year of game-changing climate action.” 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 When They Crucified My Lord