latest press release

UNITARIAN CHURCH, DAVENPORT
3707 Eastern Avenue
Davenport, Iowa
563-359-0816
www.qcuu.org

PRESS RELEASE


June 15, 2008 Contact: Rev. Roger Butts 563-359-0816
Linda Gustitus 563-289-3462; 202-557-8867



Davenport Unitarian Church Joins Over 300 Hundred Congregations Nationwide in Displaying Banners Opposing the Use of Torture
Local participation linked to national effort to mobilize American faith
community response to U.S.-sponsored torture
[Davenport, IA] - Unitarian Church of Davenport , today, joined congregations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in displaying an anti-torture banner during the month of June, Torture Awareness Month. The "Banners Across America" initiative, organized by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), allows local congregations to participate in a nationwide, interfaith public witness against the torture practices and policies of the United States as graphically depicted in the pictures of Abu Ghraib prison released in April 2004.
"Torture is immoral; it is wrong; and it is illegal. There are no exceptions to the prohibition against the use of torture," said Linda Gustitus, President of NRCAT and a Unitarian, currently visiting the Davenport Unitarian Church. "We know the United States has committed numerous acts of torture as part of the 'war on terror', and it must stop. The banners across America are intended to show our leaders that people of faith feel strongly and believe deeply that we must not use torture regardless of our fears and threats. It corrodes the soul of our nation," she added.
NRCAT was organized in January 2006 by interfaith leaders in response to accounts of torture used by U.S. personnel on detainees held in Guantanamo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. NRCAT's stated goal is to stop U.S.-sponsored torture by establishing a common standard for interrogations by both the military and the CIA that prohibits torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; closing secret prisons; stopping transportation of suspects to other countries where torture is likely; and holding U.S. personnel who were involved in committing torture accountable.
Rev. Roger Butts, minister of Davenport Unitarian Church, said: "Never in my life did I think I would live long enough to see the United States as an agent of torture against our enemies. It is beneath our enduring, strong ideals as a nation. As a person of faith--who believes in the inherent worth and dignity of every single person--I am so proud that the Unitarian Church and other faith communities across the Quad Cities are displaying banners that say simply: Torture is wrong."
More than 300 congregations across the country, including five in Davenport (Unitarian Church, St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, St. Ambrose University Campus Ministry, Sisters of Humility and Faith United Church of Christ) will display large black-and-white banners with messages “Torture Is Wrong” or “Torture Is a Moral Issue” during the month of June, seeking to raise awareness of the use of torture and to lift a religious voice of prophetic witness.

For more information about the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and Banners Across America, go to www.tortureisamoralissue.org. or contact the Unitarian Church, Davenport.