{"id":338,"date":"2011-01-11T16:48:32","date_gmt":"2011-01-11T22:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=338"},"modified":"2026-02-27T08:16:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:16:15","slug":"faith-based-community-begins-12-day-fast-for-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2011\/01\/11\/faith-based-community-begins-12-day-fast-for-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith-based community begins 12-day Fast for Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guest blogger: Luke Hansen, SJ <\/em><\/p>\n

For many years, the international community identified a basic truth about the Guant\u00e1namo prison that the American people have been slow to recognize, or have missed completely: the prison\u2019s continued existence constitutes a flagrant violation of basic human rights and international law, and thus, it must be closed \u201cwithout further delay\u201d (U.N. Report<\/a>, February 2006).<\/p>\n

In the 2008 Presidential election, both candidates jumped on board in supporting the closure of the prison, and at that time, most Americans agreed with them.\u00a0Despite this momentum to close Guant\u00e1namo and rectify its wrongs, today (January 11) marks a somber anniversary: the beginning of Guant\u00e1namo\u2019s tenth year.\u00a0One hundred and seventy three men remain detained there. None of the men have received adequate due process in a court of law \u2013 a fundamental right guaranteed by the Geneva Conventions.\u00a0 Most of the remaining detainees have been imprisoned for nearly a decade, separated from their homeland and families, without any sense for when their detention might conclude. Some of the men have even been ordered released by U.S. federal courts, yet remain indefinitely detained.<\/p>\n

The \u201cissue\u201d of Guant\u00e1namo may have lost popularity and fallen off the narrow radar of the American people, but the continued suffering of its detainees remains very real.\u00a0This is why the Witness Against Torture<\/a> (WAT) community continues its advocacy \u2013 against all odds \u2013 to defend the dignity and rights of the detainees, and to ultimately close the prison.\u00a0For the next twelve days, more than 150 members and friends of the WAT community will engage in a juice-only Fast for Justice<\/a>.\u00a0Fasting is an act of spiritual purification, yet also much more.\u00a0 It has to be, according to the prophet Isaiah: \u201cThis is the fasting that the Lord desires: releasing those bound unjustly and setting free the oppressed\u201d (Is 58:6).\u00a0 In our prayer and fasting, we cannot neglect the poor, the hungry, and the imprisoned.\u00a0 In fact, the works of mercy are a non-negotiable part of our fasting.<\/p>\n

The WAT community, founded by Catholic Workers and friends in December 2005, is an attempt to incarnate Gospel values and Catholic social teaching as it relates to the treatment of detainees in the \u201cwar on terror.\u201d\u00a0 The Gospel challenges us to love all people, especially our so-called \u201cenemies.\u201d\u00a0 The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church<\/em> teaches that \u201cthe struggle against terrorists must be carried out with respect for human rights and for the principles of a State ruled by law\u201d (No. 514<\/a>).\u00a0 Catholic moral teaching condemns torture as an \u201cintrinsic evil.\u201d\u00a0 And Cardinal Renato Martino, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said this of the Guant\u00e1namo prison: \u201cIs not the trampling of man\u2019s dignity a violation of human rights?\u00a0 Everyone has a right to a fair trial.\u00a0 Wherever in the world inmates are being held in such conditions, without even knowing the charges they face, we will not fail to defend them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a multitude of ways, the WAT community has responded to this urgent call.\u00a0The WAT movement began with a work of mercy: visiting the imprisoned.\u00a0 After months of prayer and discernment, 25 members of WAT decided to make a pilgrimage to Cuba<\/a> in an attempt to visit the Guant\u00e1namo detainees.\u00a0When the pilgrims were stopped outside the U.S. Naval Base and prohibited from walking any further, the WAT activists held a 24-hour vigil and fast outside the barbed-wire fence.<\/p>\n

This past summer, three of us traveled to Bermuda<\/a> to meet with four Uyghur men who had been unjustly imprisoned in Guant\u00e1namo for seven years.\u00a0In visiting with the men, we encountered the human face of the imprisoned, received encouragement to engage in further advocacy on behalf of detainees, and experienced reconciliation.<\/p>\n

As Guant\u00e1namo enters its tenth year, this witness must continue.\u00a0 We must continue to reveal the injustice of indefinite detention without charges or trials.\u00a0 We must continue to reveal the humanity of the detainees through telling their stories.\u00a0 This is why more than 150 women and men are beginning this Fast for Justice.\u00a0 It is a plea to our God to restore justice in the land, and to deepen our love (agape<\/em>) for all people.<\/p>\n

[youtube=http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nWu7NvZKgQo]<\/p>\n

This week’s guest blogger, Luke Hansen, is a member of the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and a friend to Sister Julia. Both served in the Southwest region of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps from 2004-05. Luke currently teaches and coordinates the volunteer program at Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Faith-based community begins 12-day Fast for Justice<\/a><\/blockquote>