Overture on torture issue proposed by San Francisco
church
[1-4-06]Calvary Presbyterian
Church of San Francisco has produced a new overture on the torture issue
which will be voted on by Presbytery at its January 10th meeting. The issue
does not end with the legislation recently sponsored by Senator McCain. The
proposed overture calls for investigation and creation of a public record of
what we have done and accountability wherever the law has been broken. The
evasions and hiding behind legalisms will continue until the whole horrible
apparatus is exposed to daylight and the consequences of law breaking are
made to fall on the guilty.
The overture:
The Presbyterian Initiative Against
Torture.
An Overture to the 217th General Assembly
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
2006
I
The Presbytery of San Francisco moves the 217th General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church ( U.S.A.) in 2006, to adopt the
following Overture, a petition to the Attorney General and to the Congress
of the United States and instruction to the Stated Clerk:
(1) The Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) petitions the Congress of the United States to convene an
investigative body with the independence, stature, and broad investigative
powers of the September 11th Commission to inquire into whether any official
or officer of the United States Government bears direct or command
responsibility for having ordered or participated in violations of law in
the mistreatment of persons detained by the Government of the United States
at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib Prison, or elsewhere or in transporting
persons into detention in nations with known records of brutality and
torture; to publish its findings and, if appropriate, to recommend the
appointment of a special prosecutor if one has not been previously
appointed.
(2) The Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) petitions the Attorney General of the United States to obtain
the appointment of a special counsel with full authority to investigate and
prosecute any official or officer of the United States Government who bears
direct or command responsibility for having ordered or participated in
violations of law in the mistreatment of persons detained by the Government
of the United States at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib Prison, or elsewhere or,
in transporting persons into detention in nations which have known records
of brutality and torture
(3) The 217th General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church ( U.S.A.) directs the Stated Clerk
to petition the Congress and the Attorney General of the United States to
undertake the remedial actions described in this overture; to inform the
congregations of this church of the adoption of this overture, and to
coordinate the efforts of our congregations in furtherance of the overture;
to cooperate with other denominations and groups as appropriate to realize
the goals advanced by this overture; to make its contents public, and to
persist in urging the Congress and Attorney General of the United States to
respond to its call for action.
II
As members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we declare
that the following acts shock the Christian conscience and are a cause for
Christian repentance:
(1) torture and related
violations of law by military and civilian agents of the Government of the
United States in the maltreatment of persons detained at Guantanamo Bay, Abu
Ghraib Prison, and elsewhere;
(2) forcible transportation of
persons into the custody of nations with known records of brutality and
torture.
(See Minutes, 2004 Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly, Part I, pages
902, 903.)
As citizens of the United States, members of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we openly admit our shame at allegations and
disclosures of these acts and condemn such acts as a repudiation of the high
standards of decency and morality to which our nation has historically held
itself, its officials, officers, and armed forces.
Justice, fidelity to the rule of law, affirmation of the
moral authority and honor of the United States and of its armed forces, and
the preservation of an open democratic society demand:
(1) that an independent inquiry
be conducted into whether any official or officer of the United States
Government bears direct or command responsibility for having ordered or
participated in violations of law in the mistreatment of persons detained by
the Government of the United States at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib Prison, or
elsewhere, or in transporting persons into detention in nations with known
records of brutality and torture, and that the findings of such inquiry be
entered into the public record.
(2) that violations of law in
the mistreatment of persons detained by the Government of the United States
or transported by it for detention in nations with known records of
brutality and torture cease, and be prosecuted and punished regardless of
the rank or station of the offender.
A special team drafted the overture for the Session of
Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, which has in turn proposed
it to the Presbytery. That team has also provided an introduction to the
overture, along with a memo which contains a great deal of useful
information, along with links to many other resources, on the Calvary
website.
Go there >>
