[Announce] Fw: "Concerning the petition drive by Catholics for an End to the War in Iraq... " Tom Cornell, Peter Maurin CW Farm response...

[Robert Waldrop]

Deacon Tom Cornell lives at the Peter Maurin Farm 
in New York State, and was one of the compatriots 
of Dorothy Day.  RMW

----- Original Message ----- > From: 
TCornell34 at aol.com <TCornell34 at aol.com>
> Date: Jul 28, 2007
> >
> I agree with Brian Terrell.  Catholic Workers 
> should maintain clarity
> on the issues:  acknowledge sin, offer 
> reparation, and get the hell
> out as fast as the troops can be transported.  I 
> wish the petitioners
> well also.
>
> Tom Cornell
> Peter Maurin Farm
> 41 Cemetery Road
> Marlboro, NY 12542
>
> 845-236-2542
>
> > (Below Brian Terrell  and Robert Waldrop's 
> > Response and The Catholics
> for an End to the War in Iraq Team petition 
> e-mail )
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Robert Waldrop <bwaldrop at cox.net>
> Date: Jul 27, 2007
>
> I have read the response of Brian Terrell of the 
> Strangers and Guests
> Catholic Worker Farm to the petition drive of 
> "Catholics for an End to
> the War in Iraq". I agree 100% with his 
> sentiments.  Words are
> powerful, and in this era, war is no longer 
> peace, war is "responsible
> transition".  For 30 years and more we have been 
> meddling in the
> affairs of the Iraqi people, causing death, 
> destruction, and suffering
> and supporting tyranny and oppression.  The more 
> we meddle there, the
> worse the situation becomes. It is time for us 
> to trust the Iraqi
> people to manage their own affairs.  An unjust 
> war does not become a
> just occupation, nor will it lead to a just 
> peace.
>
> Thank you, Brian Terrill, for your words in 
> defense of life!
>
> Bob Waldrop   <bwaldrop at cox.net>
> Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House
> Oklahoma City
> www.justpeace.org
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Brian Terrell <Terrellcpm at yahoo.com>
> Date: Jul 27,
>
> Concerning the petition drive by Catholics for 
> an End to the War in Iraq
>
> Catholic Workers have been invited by Catholics 
> United, Pax Christi
> USA and NETWORK, A National Catholic Social 
> Justice Lobby to join a
> collaborative petition drive called Catholics 
> for an End to the War in
> Iraq, to add our "voice(s) to the growing number 
> of Catholics calling
> for a responsible end to the war in Iraq" by 
> following links on the
> website http://www.catholicsforanend.org/ to 
> sign a petition that
> reads.
>
> "AS A CATHOLIC I stand in support of an 
> immediate and responsible end
> to the Iraq war. I ask our nation's leaders to 
> commit to diplomacy,
> reconstruction, and responsible withdrawal of 
> U.S. troops."
>
> As a Catholic Worker I offer my response to the 
> invitation to sign
> this petition:
>
> "Our Catholic faith is rich in tradition and 
> wisdom," Catholics for an
> End to the War in Iraq remind us. "Now, more 
> than ever, we as American
> Catholics need to act on our faith to end the 
> war in Iraq."
>
> I emphatically agree on this and so am deeply 
> concerned about the
> language of a petition from Catholics for an end 
> to the war in Iraq
> without acknowledging that the war is a sin that 
> calls for repentance,
> especially considering how deeply the American 
> Catholic Church is
> implicated by its tacit acquiescence to the 
> murder that continues
> there.
>
> I Applaud and would want to join in any effort 
> aimed at calling for an
> immediate end of the war in Iraq, but am also 
> troubled by the use of
> the word "responsible" used twice in this 
> petition, once to modify the
> word "immediate," once to modify the word 
> "withdrawal."  My
> conversation with James Salt of Catholics for an 
> End to the War in
> Iraq was cordial but did not make me any less 
> apprehensive about this
> petition drive.
>
> There is no "responsible" end to the Iraq war 
> except immediate,
> unconditional and total withdrawal of US troops. 
> At best, the word
> "responsible" is redundant- the demands made by 
> the words "immediate"
> and "withdrawal" stand very well alone with no 
> need for modification.
> The word "responsible" can be confusing and this 
> petition might be
> seen as supportive of those "antiwar" 
> politicians who call for a
> "responsible transition," which seems to have 
> come to mean that the
> U.S. might partially withdraw from Iraq when the 
> Iraqis hand over
> rights to their oil revenues to U.S. 
> corporations forever; when their
> army and police are trained and in place to 
> "keep order", a portion of
> U.S. troops might redeploy elsewhere.
>
> It is not "responsible" for an aggressor nation 
> to dictate terms, set
> benchmarks, for its withdrawal from a nation 
> that it has unjustly
> attacked and so brutally occupies, yet this is 
> how the word is
> commonly understood when applied to proposals to 
> withdraw from Iraq.
> Even the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Conference 
> strangely seems to accept
> that the "illegal, unjust and immoral" (John 
> Paul II) war in Iraq must
> be prolonged until the Iraqi people, after more 
> months or even more
> years under U.S. domination, somehow learn from 
> their pillagers and
> tormentors to govern themselves and live 
> peaceably together.
>
> Yes, "we as American Catholics need to act on 
> our faith to end the war
> in Iraq" but to do so we need to accept that 
> while we are responsible
> to a large extent for the carnage in Iraq, the 
> U.S. government has
> nothing to offer beyond paying necessary 
> reparations to the rebuilding
> of that country.
>
> "How can the U.S. which has committed genocidal 
> war crimes in Iraq,
> ever bring about a responsible transition in 
> Iraq?" Art Laffin asks in
> the recent edition of the Dorothy Day CW House 
> newsletter.
>
> These critical times, "now more than ever," call 
> American Catholics to
> speak out and to act more clearly than the 
> opportunity that this
> petition offers.
>
> My prayers and solidarity go with those who feel 
> called to sign and
> promote it, even as I find that I cannot. I 
> sincerely hope that it
> bears fruit here and in Iraq, it the hearts of 
> those who sign it and
> in the hearts of those to whom it is addressed.
>
> Brian Terrell,a Strangers and Guest Catholic 
> Worker
> Maloy Iowa
> (641) 785-2321
> <Terrellcpm at yahoo.com>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: James Salt <jsalt at catholics-united.org>
> Date: Jul 24, 200
>
> (Please pass this e-mail on to others.....)
>
>
> Catholics Speak Now to End the War in Iraq
>
> Dear Catholic Workers,
>
> Four years into the Iraq War, Catholics from 
> across our nation are
> coming together to say, "Enough!" And to get 
> this message to those
> lawmakers who need to hear it most, Catholics 
> United, Pax Christi USA
> and NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice 
> Lobby have launched a
> collaborative petition drive called Catholics 
> for an End to the War in
> Iraq.
>
> Click here  http://www.catholicsforanend.org/ 
> to add your voice to
> the growing number of Catholics calling for a 
> responsible end to the
> war in Iraq
>
> The time to act is now: Congress is currently 
> debating whether or not
> to send President Bush a definitive plan to end 
> U.S. military
> operations in Iraq. We must insist that our 
> lawmakers use this
> opportunity to legislate a solution to the Iraq 
> War that includes
> diplomacy, redevelopment, and responsible 
> withdrawal of U.S. troops
>
> Why is our voice important? Because Catholics 
> account for more than 1
> in 4 voters nationwide, and our lawmakers know 
> that Catholics will
> push for action on Iraq. By signing this 
> petition, you help remind our
> policymakers that anything short of immediate 
> action on this issue
> will come as a slap in the face to the millions 
> of U.S. Catholics who
> are fed up with the present "stay the course" 
> Iraq policy.
>
> Click here  http://www.catholicsforanend.org/ 
> to add your voice to
> the growing number of Catholics calling for a 
> responsible end to the
> war in Iraq
>
> Time is of the essence. Catholics for an End to 
> the War in Iraq needs
> to show the world that our voice is a force to 
> be reckoned with by
> gathering 20,000 names between now and September 
> 1st. Help us reach
> this goal by signing the petition and 
> encouraging your friends and
> family to do the same. Once we reach our goal of 
> 20,000, we will hand
> deliver the petition to our Congressional 
> leaders in Washington.
>
> As a Catholic, will you join the growing chorus 
> of voices  calling for
> a responsible end to the war in Iraq?
>
> Our Catholic voice matters and our faith calls 
> us to use it. Send our
> lawmakers a clear message that Catholics want a 
> new plan for Iraq.
> Sign the petition today at 
> www.catholicsforanend.org.
>
> In peace,
>
> Simone, Dave, Krista, James, and Chris
> The Catholics for an End to the War in Iraq Team
> www.catholicsforanend.org
>
>