INTERFAITH STEERING COMMITTEE

Imam Mahdi Bray
Executive Director, MAS-Freedom Foundation

Rev. Joseph Eldridge*
University Chaplain

Rev. Graylan Hagler
National President for Ministers for Racial, Social, and Economic Justice

Imam Ibrahim Kazerooni*
Director of the Abrahamic Initiative at St. John's Episcopal Cathedral

Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Marie Dennis

School of the Americas Watch
(Founded by Father Roy Bourgeois)

Jean Stokan
Policy Director, Pax Christi USA

Torture Abolition Survivors and Support Coalition (TASSC)
(Directed by Sister Dianna Ortiz)

Rabbi Brian Walt*
Director of Rabbis for Human Rights North America

Rev. Dr. William Wipfler
Human Rights Advocate

LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE

Jennifer Harbury
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

Jumana Musa
Amnesty International USA

Michael Ratner
Center for Constitutional Rights

Leonard Rubenstein *
Physicians for Human Rights

Beth Stephens *
Professor, Rutgers-Camden Law School

*This person has joined the Steering Committee in his or her individual capacity.

The following statement of conscience against torture is sponsored by the interfaith Call for Justice Coalition.  We ask that only religious leaders and clerics sign this statement as they are highly respected for their moral and spiritual views on torture. Your signed statement of conscience will be used as part of our advocacy campaign to end U.S.-sponsored torture.

We ask all civil and human rights organizations to please endorse the Call for Justice Weekend to be held in Washington, D.C. from September 24-26, 2005.  To endorse, please send a message to humanrightsendorse@uusc.org

WE CANNOT REMAIN SILENT

As men and women of faith and conscience, we write today to express our profound opposition to the torture practices being utilized by the United States government today. The ever-increasing evidence makes it all too clear that these grim abuses are not isolated incidents but rather, constitute official policy.

Although our beliefs are rooted in many different religions, and although we worship in different ways and in different languages, we stand firmly united on this crucial moral issue. We have weighed and considered the many statements offered by our government officials to excuse or justify the practices in question. We remain unswerving in our demand for an immediate cessation of the use of torture. Our condemnation of torture is not based upon any political opinion or on the laws or treaties of any nations. Rather, we are guided today by a higher law that serves as a compass for all of humanity.

An act of torture is an act of evil. There are no exceptions. Such actions dehumanize both the victim and perpetrator. In many sacred writings, it is said that men and women are created in the beauty of God's image. The wanton cruelty and horror of torture is a desecration of that image. It denies and debases the splendor of creation and the beauty of life itself.

For centuries, our most revered moral and religious leaders have given their very lives in the quest for peace, humanity, and justice. So have many of our beloved friends and colleagues. Today we honor their memories and the tenets that guide us all, by speaking out in one voice. As we witness the pain and suffering of so many human beings, we cannot remain silent. Stop the torture now.

Signed,