Volume 25, Number 2 September 2003
Nuns go to prison for Plowshares action at missile site
Dominican Srs. Ardeth Platte and Carol Gilbert of Jonah House, Baltimore, and Jackie Hudson of Poulsbo, Wash., were sentenced to prison July 25 for a Plowshares peace action last October. CTAers Jennifer McClory and Sarah Klein of Chicago were there and submitted this meditation.
The glass facade of Denver's Federal Courthouse reflected gunmetal gray at 7 a.m. on July 25, 2003. Press members staked out their positions, and the police, a couple of them, laughed among themselves and shot sideways glances around the area. The first group to arrive held signs that read "Peace," "They are Saints not Convicts," and "Stop War Now." Some 30 people in haunting white masks, many members of the Plowshares movement, joined and circled the area holding handmade nuclear missiles. The Statue of Liberty, gagged with duct tape, took her silent place in the crowd.
When the three Roman Catholic nuns crossed the street dressed in black, the setting erupted. Jackie Hudson, Carol Gilbert and Ardeth Platte had arrived to face over 100 of their loving supporters and what could possibly be 10 years in prison.
Nine months before, on Oct. 6, 2002, the three sisters cut through a fence at the N-8 missile silo in northeastern Colorado. They painted crosses in their own blood over the cement lid of the silo, hit at it with small hammers, and chanted, "Oh God, teach us to be peacemakers in a violent world." Forty minutes later more than 10 heavily armed soldiers had 66-year-old Platte, 55-year-old Gilbert, and 68-year-old Hudson face to the ground in handcuffs. From this position the U.S. soldiers could clearly read the letters written across the three sisters' backs: "CWIT" Citizen Weapons Inspection Team.
The women were taken to jail and refused bond, claiming that they could not honestly sign a statement that promised they would not break the law before their trial. They sat in jail for six months charged with sabotage against national defense a charge that can carry a stiffer penalty than attempted murder. They were convicted on April 7. U.S. Attorney John Suther commented, "The nuns have demonstrated blatant disregard for the laws of the United States."
The three carried an air of determination and strength to their press conference the day of the sentencing. They were teachers in the way they hugged and kissed people, the way Sister Ardeth leaned in and said, "I will be alright." This was their life's work and nothing less. And still nobody could hold back their tears. Jackie Hudson was the first to the podium. She lifted her arms and challenged the crowd, "The hope of the world rests on each of our shoulders. We are doing our part. What about you?"
The sentencing lasted three hours. The crowd mumbled as Judge Blackburn borrowed passages from Saint Paul to justify the sister's felony conviction. He called the three sisters "dangerously irresponsible," but cited their community work and support and brought the sentences down to between one and three years. The crowd was relieved but not satisfied. Three sisters are now sitting in jail for attempting to expose and question this country's nuclear arsenal. Three sisters have been locked away as terrorists.
Klein and McClory worked with a documentary film crew during the weeks surrounding the sentencing. For information on the documentary, "US v. Gilbert, Hudson, Platte," go to www.littlevoice.org/n8missile
What our speakers are saying: Liz McAlister
Veteran peace leader Elizabeth McAlister, who with late husband Phil Berrigan had to cancel an appearance at the CTA conference last November just weeks before Phil's death, has been added to the roster of speakers this November in Milwaukee. (Click here for more information.) She replaces Bishop Tom Gumbleton, who had to withdraw. Liz and Phil founded Jonah House as a nonviolent resistance community in Baltimore in the 1970s. Regarding the recent 41-month and 33-month prison sentences of her housemates, Srs. Ardeth Platte and Carol Gilbert, Liz said the terms were way too severe for "a totally symbolic action. They did no damage to property." Her brother-in-law, Jesuit Fr. Dan Berrigan, agreed that the sentences are harsh because "the Iraqi war is on. The people in charge are utterly out of control in the world and utterly in control in our country."
CTA Nebraska protests nukes
CTA Nebraska joined hundreds Aug. 1-3 at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, home of the STRATCOM nuclear targeting command, to protest U.S. development of new "mini" nuclear weapons, like the anti-terrorist "bunker busters." Vice President Cheney and 100 nuclear experts met at STRATCOM the same week, the 58th anniversary of Hiroshima, to discuss the new weapons and their unilateral use in a conventional war.
NETWORK reports that the radioactive yield of these "mini-nukes" may be 70 times that of the Hiroshima bomb. To lobby Congress against their development, visit NETWORK Legislative Action Center and use their sample letter. www.networklobby.org
SOA Watch events planned
Efforts of SOA Watch to close the School of the Americas continue unabated. A lobby day for women and men religious is planned for Sept. 23 on Capitol Hill. The bill to close SOA is HR 1258, with over 80 co-sponsors in the House .
The annual Vigil and Nonviolent Civil Resistance Action at SOA at Fort Benning, Ga., is Nov. 21-23.
Get information and download flyers at www.soaw.org 202 234-3440
What our speakers are saying: Ruether on Israelis/Palestinians
Rosemary Ruether says Palestinian Christian theologians are developing a positive theology founded on "a vision of God that loves and commands justice for all peoples equally. It creates the framework for just co-existence of the two people, and the three religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, calling them to be equal partners in sharing the land in justice and peace. This is authentic ecumenism." Ruether speaks about a way out of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Nov. 8 at the CTA conference. (Click here for more information.)