Pax Christi USA joined other faith leaders to express to Senator Feinstein support for her efforts to make public the facts about torture. The letter, which was initiated by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, is below.
Dear Senator Feinstein,
We write to thank you for fighting to make public the truth about the CIA’s use of torture and to urge you to continue your good work in the face of determined opposition from those who would prefer to sweep this troubling aspect of our history under the rug.
We represent different faith traditions, yet we share a common belief that torture is always immoral and that telling the truth about our past use of torture is the first step toward ensuring that we do not use it again. If those who prefer to cover up torture prevail, then our country and the U.S. Congress may not have the discussion necessary to move toward a redemptive policy that will prevent the use of torture in the future.
Public reports indicate that those who defend torture seek to redact critical portions of the executive summary of the torture report – portions that would obscure key information that the nation needs to move forward. If these redactions undermine the findings or facts in the report, or allow defenders of torture to falsely suggest that torture was necessary to obtain critical intelligence, then they are unacceptable to us as religious leaders.
Please accept our thanks for your work to produce the torture report and your continuing fight to ensure that the executive summary is made public with only reasonable redactions. We encourage you to stand fast against those who seek to censor the truth and we hope with all our hearts that you continue to exhibit your resolve to lift up the moral implications of torture.
Reblogged this on Felician JPIC.
Well done indeed. But fighting to make any truth public these days is a tough job. You and we are dealing with “collateral damage” (killing more people than was originally planned), “surgical precision” (the techniques that attempt to kill less people than planned), “bug splats” (lingo used by drone pilots to describe their victims), “kinetic activity” (shooting and bombing), “extraordinary rendition” (kidnapping and torture), “neutralizing” (killing), enhanced interrogation techniques (torture) illegal combatants (people who take up arms against us). I can only imagine that this kind of language is created in order to try to confuse us all. But neither you nor we are confused. We support you strongly.
Many thanks, diana de marco in Italy