[Announce] Letter of the Tacoma Catholic Worker to their bishop

[Robert Waldrop]

November 10, 2006

Dear Archbishop Brunett,

Jesus has called us to be peace makers even when it means being persecuted and slandered as the prophets were. In this tradition John Paul II declared the invasion and war in Iraq as "immoral and illegal." The Bishops' 1983 teaching "Challenge of Peace" states: "To all priests and pastoral ministers we stress the cultivation of the gospel vision of peace as a way of life for believers and as a leaven in society that should be a major objective. As bishops we are aware each day of our dependence upon your efforts." (303)

In our violent world Jesus calls us to lay down the sword and teaches us to return love for violence. We become vulnerable when we do this. We can only do this out of faith. We wish to walk in this tradition but need your help and your voice and your leadership. Our belief in Jesus directs us to work to stop the raging violence in Iraq and Afghanistan in which hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Afghani civilians have been killed, nearly 3,000 U.S. service personnel have been killed, close to 20,000 U.S. personnel have been severely wounded whose trauma will be with them for the rest of their lives with the psychological scars that will drastically affect family and community life. This war and occupation has also unleashed global violence and terrorism.

To this end we ask that you invite the parishes in the diocese to a day of fasting and prayer to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. This is an invitation to all members of the diocese to do everything possible to stop the violence now.


We suggest December 2nd as a possible day of the diocese wide time of fasting and prayer. This day is the anniversary day of the killing of the four church women in El Salvador in 1980 in whose deaths our government was found complicit by the U.N. Truth Commission of 1992. We further ask that on this day members of the archdiocese be invited to gather at the cathedral and walk to the federal building to bring their concerns and prayers that our government cease its complicity in the deaths of so many. We will assist you in this undertaking in any ways you suggest. 

We also ask that you publicly call for the repeal of the recently passed Military Commissions Act of 2006 which allows for the indefinite detention of enemy combatants, the ending of Habeas Corpus rights of enemy combatants, the denial of their appeals to the Geneva Convention, and allows the use of aggressive interrogation which clearly constitutes torture.

Remembering that Jesus was a victim of torture we ask that you call on our government to cease the practice of torture which continues to be used in Guantanamo and other secret prisons. We ask that you call for the closure of Guantamamo prison which stands as a monument to illegal detention and prisoner abuse and torture around the world. 

We ask that these concerns be brought to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Our community invites you to have dinner with us at your convenience. We wish to walk with you in carrying out the work of peace. 

Thank you for meeting with us,

Bill Bichsel, S.J. 

Tom Karlin 

Peter Roderick 


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