We say NO to war

We of the Incarnate Word Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Committee are saddened and concerned about the growing violence in regard to Iran. 

We re-echo a message from the Conference of the Major Superiors of Men: 'The habits of de-humanization, violence, and war continue in U.S. policy and culture. The recent assassination of an Iranian leader is just another example of our disease and addiction to violence. Whether it is a retributive criminal justice system, the death penalty, killing, or war, we know that these strategies do not function to 'deter' but yield cycles of spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical, relational, structural, and cultural violence. That is who we become when we react to conflict with assassinations. It is a path of mutual destruction'.

Pope Francis: 'Violence is not the cure for our broken world. Countering violence with violence leads at best to forced migrations and enormous suffering, because vast amounts of resources are diverted to military ends and away from the everyday needs of young people, families experiencing hardship, the elderly, the infirm and the great majority of people in our world. At worst, it can lead to the death, physical and spiritual, of many people, if not of all' (World Day of Peace Message, 2017).

We are ONE family together.

Send a Letter: HERE

Call: HERE

Contact your Representative: HERE

Deny Funds for War: HERE

Rejecting the Mindset of the Forever War

The Incarnate Word Congregation has committed itself to exploring the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative. Let us consider and discuss this article: 

"The Forever War is not just in the Middle East. It is in Korea, where US troops still stand to post along the DMZ. It is in Vietnam, where hundreds of thousands of children have been born with spina bifida, neural tube problems, missing limbs, missing vertebrae, autoimmune disorders and more, four decades after the US finished hosing that nation down with Agent Orange. And yes, the Forever War is also in Iraq, which practically glows at night from all the depleted uranium the US has detonated there since 1991.

This is why we find ourselves today talking about torture the way other people talk about their sandwich order, and why powerful voices see fit to accuse torture survivors of treason. We have been thoroughly debased by all this war, all this violence, all this death for so many years. The most popular video games come with body counts. Neighbors with massive arsenals are the norm, and massacres flicker by like dandelion seeds.

We are a crumbling nation not just in a moral sense, but in a literal one. The trillions of dollars spent on the Forever War have turned our economy into a shaky shell game, and deprived us of the opportunity to make education, infrastructure, genuine health care and artistic achievement the cornerstones of our culture. When capitalism sits at the table with democracy, sooner or later all the plates are empty save for a golden few. The United States did not invent the concept of using war to plunder the treasury. It simply perfected the practice." 

Read more https://truthout.org/articles/rejecting-the-mindset-of-the-forever-war/

Pope Condemns Having Nuclear Weapons

Our Congregation is focusing Gospel Nonviolence following the emphasis on this in the universal church.  Sisters Neomi Hayes, Dorothy Ettling, and Martha Ann Kirk spent the last few days of 1999 and the opening of 2000 in a retreat at the Nevada Nuclear Testsite focusing on that and learning more of the evil of nuclear weapons.

“Pope Francis firmly condemned the possession of nuclear weapons for the first time at a Vatican conference on disarmament, a significant move that extends the Roman Catholic Church’s position on the immorality of nuclear weapons.

The Holy See’s Dicastery for Integral Human Development hosted the conference Nov. 10-11 to discuss the steps toward a world without nuclear weapons. Cardinal Peter Turkson, the head of the dicastery, warned of the “increasing drumbeat of a possible nuclear conflagration” and said that a candid conversation is urgently needed on how to move toward a nuclear weapons-free world. 

Pope Francis is greeted by participants at a conference on nuclear disarmament on November 10 at the Vatican. (Photo credit: L'Osservatore Romano/Vatican)

“The pope’s comments reflect a notable shift on the issue of possession of nuclear weapons. Although the Roman Catholic Church has consistently advocated for the abolition of nuclear weapons, it has accepted nuclear deterrence on a limited basis. . .

https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2017-12/news/pope-condemns-having-nuclear-weapons

Tell President Trump and Congress - We Need Talks, not War, with North Korea

The Marianist Social Justice Collaborative sent out the following action to support dialogue not war with North Korea.  Please follow the link to their website below to send a message to your representatives, senators, and the President. 

On August 9th, 72 years ago, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki - just three days after dropping one on the city of Hiroshima. It is estimated that over 150,000 people were killed over those three days.  

Now we have a U.S. president vowing to meet threats from North Korea "with fire and fury like the world has never seen."

On August 1st, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during a briefing with the press, "We are trying to convey to the North Koreans: 'We are not your enemy, we are not your threat.'" Tillerson added that the United States hopes that "at some point," North Korea will understand and sit down for a dialogue.

The time for dialogue is now.

Join with our friends at the Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns by clicking here to let President Trump and Congress know that we need talks, not war, with North Korea.

You can read more about the situation in this excellent short background article, "Korea:Moving from Crisis to Peace" by Columban missionary priest Pat Cunningham, SSC, of Seoul, South Korea. 

Here is the text of the letter:

"As a person of faith, I am alarmed by the inflammatory rhetoric by the leaders of the United States and North Korea and the increasing threats of hostile acts and nuclear war. I urgently call upon President Trump to tone down his inflammatory rhetoric.

Furthermore, the movement of U.S. military assets to the Korean peninsula and region, including aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines, bring the world closer to the possibility of hostile acts and violence. Steps must be taken immediately to avoid the possibility of a cataclysmic nuclear war and to promote peaceful coexistence.

There are 11 million people on the Korean peninsula who will immediately suffer injury or death if our leaders do not pursue dialogue and diplomacy instead of military strikes. Belligerent threats and hostile acts are not the answer to the political tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

On August 1, Secretary Tillerson said, “We are trying to convey to the North Koreans: ‘We are not your enemy, we are not your threat.’” Tillerson added that the United States hopes that “at some point,” North Korea will understand and sit down for a dialogue. The time for such dialogue is now.

It is essential that bilateral dialogue take place, that aggressive language be discarded, and that paths to peace be pursued.

Thank you."

Sincerely,

(insert name here) 

Overturning the Concept of "Just War"

(Iraq war destruction. Photo: Mike63, Getty Images/iStockphoto) 

The Vatican now suggests that “just war” has become an obsolete concept; that the massive predominance of civilian casualties in modern warfare undercuts the moral ground for conceiving of almost any war as just. He also perceives the need to eliminate the underlying causes of violence and war and to reintroduce the power of nonviolent action to the world—values that emerge out of the human community itself rather than from the preferences of ruling elites. 

Now, nobody expects that war as human phenomenon is going to come to end any time soon. Sadly, war may reside in the deeper recesses of the human condition; in many ways we humans glory in war. But the fact that Pope Francis speaks of the obsolescence of the idea of “just war” suggests that times are shifting at the elite level. When a major bulwark of moral philosophy like the Catholic Church begins to shift, the signal cannot be ignored. 

 

Read more:  Pope Francis—Overturning the Concept of “Just War”

 http://grahamefuller.com/pope-francis-overturning-the-concept-of-just-war/

Missouri Town Discovers People Don’t Like Vacationing Around People Openly Carrying Firearms

Turns out, people don’t find it particularly relaxing to be surrounded by strangers carrying guns.

The Lake Ozark, Missouri Board of Alderman voted last week to ban gun owners from openly carrying firearms, even if they have a concealed carry permit, because they were afraid that armed individuals would chase away tourists. “We’ve had a tough time over the years promoting Lake Ozark as a family area,” Alderman Larry Buschjost explained. “We want you on the Strip with families, everywhere in Lake Ozark with families. We want you to bring your kids down here and let them loose. For the life of me, I don’t understand why I would have to carry any type of gun, concealed or otherwise.”

Read more - Clic here - http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/06/17/3449335/missouri-town-bans-openly-carrying-firearms-because-it-scares-off-tourists/

 

National Asking Saves Kids.

1 in 3 homes with kids have guns, many unlocked. ALWAYS ASK if there is an unlocked gun where your child plays!

Read more information: http://www.virtualpressoffice.com/publicsiteContentFileAccess?fileContentId=1646687&fromOtherPageToDisableHistory=Y&menuName=News&sId=&sInfo=
 Sign the pledge to commit to always ASK: http://askingsaveskids.org/Pledge

LCWR Issues Global Call for Prayer to End Violence in Iraq

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in the United States calls upon people of all denominations in the world community to join the Iraqi Sisters in a moment of prayer on Thursday, June 19 at 6 PM (in your time zone) to pray for an end to the violence and the protection of minority Christians in Iraq.

“We are living in extreme times. Christianity has been present in Iraq from biblical times, but at this point Christians are in grave danger and being forced out of this land or face martyrdom. The Dominican Sisters remain committed to accompanying their people regardless of the consequences,” said LCWR president Sister Carol Zinn, SSJ.

For more information see https://lcwr.org/media/lcwr-issues-global-call-prayer-end-violence-iraq