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Statement of Conscience by the Congregation of Southside Presbyterian Church
During George W. Bush’s first term as president, Alberto Gonzalez (now Attorney General) was his special counsel. Gonzalez sent to the President memos asserting that the Geneva Conventions governing treatment of persons captured in wartime are “quaint,” and that the president, in time of war, is not subject to oversight by Congress or the Courts. These memos are directly implicated in the abuses that led to the scandal of Abu Graib (among others), and resulted in policies that culminated when the President signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 on October 17th. The most important provision of the Act says that the president has the authority to interpret ‘the meaning and application’ of the Geneva Conventions. This provision is intended to authorize methods that might otherwise be seen as illegal by international courts, including suspension of habeas corpus, the establishment of military tribunals (of questionable legality, according to the American Bar Association), the use of torture (under various euphemisms), and the use of testimony coerced by torture. The Act also provides retroactive immunity for those who authorize or use torture under the provisions of the Act. In protest, the congregation of Southside Presbyterian Church issues the following Statement of Conscience:
We, the members of Southside Presbyterian Church, are repelled by the Military Commissions Act of 2006. It allows the torture of prisoners taken in the so-called “war on terror.” It permits the use of testimony obtained under torture, and permits the use of conditions of arrest and jailing characteristic of brutal police states, but it is hardly fitting for the democracy we want our country to be. We believe that torture is wrong at all times and places, no matter the victims. Our conscience demands that we reject this law as contrary to our faith manifested in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We vow to speak against this law and to take action against it until it is repealed. We invite people of all faiths to join with us in resisting this Act, and in encouraging all people to work together to bring about the repeal of this Act and the rejection of torture by our government.
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