Seldom have moral lines been so clearly drawn. The issue is whether American armed forces and intelligence personnel should be permitted or forbidden to torture detainees.
Yesterday, the president’s own United Methodist Church’s Board of Church and Society, in an almost unanimous vote, protested against the “unjust war in Iraq” and appealed for return of our troops. The Board also issued a strong statement against torture, urging Congress to create an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate detention and interrogation practices at Guantanamo, Iraq and Afghanistan. The Methodist bishops may issue a similarly strong statement next week.
Until now, the lukewarm mainstream churches have not been able to find their voice—a throwback to the unconscionably passive stance adopted by the Catholic and Lutheran churches that were co-opted by Hitler in the 1930s. Let us hope that other churches start paying attention to what is going on and follow the good example of the Methodists.
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