The Invisibles against US missile defense
Catholics across the U.S. to take to the streets Saturday to stop the war in Iraq
23.9.2008 - Pax Christi USA
Franciscan priest says it is time to bring the troops home now
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rev. Joseph Nangle, OFM, of Pax Christi USA (www.paxchristiusa.org), rallied U.S. Catholics Tuesday to join in what is being hailed as this year’s largest anti-war organizing event. Million Doors for Peace, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 20, will ask at least one million people throughout the country to sign petitions urging Congress to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq within one year.
“This war was immoral then, is immoral now, and no matter how long the Bush Administration continues the occupation of Iraq, history will never forget this stark, most basic fact,” stated Rev. Nangle, also pointing out Pope John Paul II’s early opposition to any invasion of Iraq.
Rev. Nangle was one of 6 speakers at Tuesday’s national press conference launching the Million Doors for Peace campaign. Rev. Nangle spoke on behalf of Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement, one of the sponsors of the campaign. The Million Doors for Peace campaign combines the best of grassroots activism and support from the netroots. The campaign will allow tens of thousands of volunteers to download a neighborhood “walk list” from the coalition website, then use this public information to talk to and identify neighbors who oppose the Iraq war, inviting them to join the efforts to end the war. The coalition launched its website, www.MillionDoorsForPeace.org, earlier this summer.
As a neighborhood-based activity, organizers said Million Doors for Peace is unique in the history of anti-war movements. Instead of bringing tens of thousands of people together for one visible protest, participants will be organizing on the ground across the U.S., with an eye toward one-on-one public education and influencing members of Congress.
“This will be the largest anti-war mobilization effort of 2008,” said Tom Swan of USAction and director of Iraq Campaign 2008. “But instead of coming together in one place, such as the National Mall, we are going to go talk to people where they live. We want one million people to remind Congress that Americans strongly oppose this war and it’s time to responsibly end it.”
“As Pax Christi USA, other peace organizations, churches, synagogues and mosques throughout this nation have warned our political leaders time and again: It is to our own and the world’s detriment that this Administration continues to use military force as an answer to the deep and complex issues of our time,” stated Rev. Nangle. “A doctrine of pre-emptive war is incompatible with a just and lasting peace.”
In addition to Pax Christi USA, the coalition organizing Million Doors for Peace includes Catholics United, Democracy for America, MoveOn.org, NETWORK, and TrueMajority.org. Combined, the coalition boasts a membership in the millions and hundreds of state and local affiliates. The goal of recruiting more than one million war opponents is to broaden the nation’s anti-war constituency so that Congress will not be able to ignore the call for immediate action to end the war in Iraq.
“It is time to bring the troops home,” stated Rev. Nangle. “Not in 3 years, but now.”
For more information or interview requests:
Johnny Zokovitch, Pax Christi USA Director of Communications
at 352-219-8419
or johnnypcusa@yahoo.com
http://www.paxchristiusa.org/news_Events_more.asp?id=1396
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rev. Joseph Nangle, OFM, of Pax Christi USA (www.paxchristiusa.org), rallied U.S. Catholics Tuesday to join in what is being hailed as this year’s largest anti-war organizing event. Million Doors for Peace, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 20, will ask at least one million people throughout the country to sign petitions urging Congress to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq within one year.
“This war was immoral then, is immoral now, and no matter how long the Bush Administration continues the occupation of Iraq, history will never forget this stark, most basic fact,” stated Rev. Nangle, also pointing out Pope John Paul II’s early opposition to any invasion of Iraq.
Rev. Nangle was one of 6 speakers at Tuesday’s national press conference launching the Million Doors for Peace campaign. Rev. Nangle spoke on behalf of Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement, one of the sponsors of the campaign. The Million Doors for Peace campaign combines the best of grassroots activism and support from the netroots. The campaign will allow tens of thousands of volunteers to download a neighborhood “walk list” from the coalition website, then use this public information to talk to and identify neighbors who oppose the Iraq war, inviting them to join the efforts to end the war. The coalition launched its website, www.MillionDoorsForPeace.org, earlier this summer.
As a neighborhood-based activity, organizers said Million Doors for Peace is unique in the history of anti-war movements. Instead of bringing tens of thousands of people together for one visible protest, participants will be organizing on the ground across the U.S., with an eye toward one-on-one public education and influencing members of Congress.
“This will be the largest anti-war mobilization effort of 2008,” said Tom Swan of USAction and director of Iraq Campaign 2008. “But instead of coming together in one place, such as the National Mall, we are going to go talk to people where they live. We want one million people to remind Congress that Americans strongly oppose this war and it’s time to responsibly end it.”
“As Pax Christi USA, other peace organizations, churches, synagogues and mosques throughout this nation have warned our political leaders time and again: It is to our own and the world’s detriment that this Administration continues to use military force as an answer to the deep and complex issues of our time,” stated Rev. Nangle. “A doctrine of pre-emptive war is incompatible with a just and lasting peace.”
In addition to Pax Christi USA, the coalition organizing Million Doors for Peace includes Catholics United, Democracy for America, MoveOn.org, NETWORK, and TrueMajority.org. Combined, the coalition boasts a membership in the millions and hundreds of state and local affiliates. The goal of recruiting more than one million war opponents is to broaden the nation’s anti-war constituency so that Congress will not be able to ignore the call for immediate action to end the war in Iraq.
“It is time to bring the troops home,” stated Rev. Nangle. “Not in 3 years, but now.”
For more information or interview requests:
Johnny Zokovitch, Pax Christi USA Director of Communications
at 352-219-8419
or johnnypcusa@yahoo.com
http://www.paxchristiusa.org/news_Events_more.asp?id=1396
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