TAKE ACTION NOW!
The inauguration is around the corner. Send emails to the Transition Team http://change.gov/page/s/ofthepeople” encouraging President-elect Obama to issue an executive order ending torture soon after taking office.
WHY IS THIS ACTION IMPORTANT NOW?
On January 14, John Carr, USCCB’s Executive Director for Justice, Peace and Human Development, participated in a press conference urging the incoming administration to set a new tone and act to end torture. That same afternoon, USCCB joined with other faith groups in a meeting with members of President-elect Obama’s Transition Team. They presented a letter signed by 34 religious leaders, including Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, Chairman of USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace, and discussed the need for quick action by the president-elect to issue an executive order ending torture as a way to restore America’s moral credibility in the world.
The Transition Team was very receptive and cited President-elect Obama’s statement last week that “under my administration, the United States does not torture, we will abide by the Geneva Conventions.” Action now would affirm this position, reinforce the message sent at the January 14 press conference and meeting, and encourage Mr. Obama to act quickly.
WHAT DOES THIS ISSUE HAVE TO DO WITH MY FAITH?
The Church teaches that torture is morally wrong and can never be justified. Pope Benedict XVI said that “the prohibition against torture ‘cannot be contravened under any circumstance.’” The U.S. bishops in Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship [pdf] labeled torture as “intrinsically evil.” The attached remarks by John Carr [pdf] lay out the arguments against torture in further detail.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Write emails calling for President-elect Obama to issue an executive order banning torture as soon as possible. Go the http://change.gov/page/s/ofthepeople, fill out your contact information, and write “torture” in the “another issue” box. When the “Your ideas” box comes up, write something like “As a Catholic, I call on the President to act quickly to end torture by issuing an executive order based on the Declaration of Principles endorsed by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture.” You may also contact your members of Congress through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 or http://www.congress.org/ to have them endorse this Declaration of Principles [pdf].
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Virginia Farris, Foreign Policy Advisor, International Justice and Peace, USCCB, vfarris@usccb.org, (202) 541-3182.
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