Faith groups celebrate torture ban
For three years, religious leaders and organizations from across the faith and ideological spectrum have worked tirelessly to end America’s torture of detainees in its custody. Today, the faith community applauds President Obama’s executive orders banning torture, closing the prisons at Guantanamo Bay and secret locations, ensuring Red Cross access to all detainees, and ending extraordinary rendition. Together, we call for continuing diligence in the effort to ensure the US government never tortures again.
Religious organizations who have led the struggle to end our immoral treatment of detainees have issue statements respondingt to the executive orders:
Dr. David P. Gushee, President of Evangelicals for Human Rights, the leading Evangelical voice against U.S.-sponsored torture:
- The president has implicitly but clearly recognized today that the aberrant detainee and interrogation policies of the last seven years in fact damaged our national security, harmed our foreign policy interests, and violated core principles of justice… While we celebrate today, there is more to do…We need a religious and moral accounting, not just a legal one.
Linda Gustitus, President of National Religious Campaign Against Torture, which includes diverse Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders:
- The religious community has labored faithfully for three years to end U.S.-sponsored torture. We are grateful today for this important step. The dark, dark days of the past are behind us, and we all must work to make sure they never return again.
Rabbi Brian Walt, Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights North America, the leading voice of the Jewish community against U.S.-sponsored torture:
- “Torture is not a subjective term. It dishonors the image of God found in every person. Today, we can say that the United States is on the right path to restoring our moral standing. I am proud of the role that the Jewish community has played in bringing about this important day for American values.â€
Faithful America, an 80,000-member online community of people of faith:
- Just last week, Faithful America called on then President-Elect Obama to sign an executive order banning all forms of torture as one of his first acts in office. Today, we commend the president for taking this important step toward restoring morality and justice to our treatment of detainees.
UPDATE:
Via Steve Waldman, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace:
- “Based upon the teachings of the Catholic Church, our Conference of Bishops welcomes the executive order. Together with other religious leaders, we had pressed for this step to protect human dignity and help restore the moral and legal standing of the United States in the world. A ban on torture says much about us – who we are, what we believe about human life and dignity, and how we act as a nation.”
Jim Wallis, founder and President of Sojourners:
- Today, we at Sojourners stand shoulder to shoulder with our sisters and brothers at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture in celebration of the executive order issued by President Barack Obama putting an end to the use of torture. We affirm, with NRCAT, that President Obama has “… rejected the use of torture as an interrogation technique and allowed the United States to again find its moral bearing.†We will continue to walk with our other partners in assuring that this step forward is part of the continuing effort to lead the country back to an embrace of the moral high ground on issues relating to the treatment of prisoners and detainees.
Rabbi David Saperstein, Director and Counsel, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism:
- We understand that the process of closing Guantanamo may be lengthy. The profound problems with Guantanamo do not erase the fact that many detainees are dangerous and wish our nation and its people harm. Yet these same detainees have been stuck in a legal no-man’s-land without the ability to challenge their detention through a writ of habeas corpus and without the right to be charged or hear the evidence against them. Many have been subjected to tortuous treatment that defiles both the victim and the perpetrator. No matter the circumstances, every individual, including the most dangerous detainee in our prisons, is created b’tselem elohim, in the image of God, and must be treated with dignity and respect.