Worcester Lenten Prayer and Fast for an End to the Iraq

This morning at the federal courthouse in Worcester, after attending mass and with about a dozen supporters outside, Mike Benedetti, Ken Hannaford-Ricardi, Sandra McSweeney, Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, and Roger Stanley entered the pre-lobby, knelt, prayed for an end to the war in Iraq, and said a rosary. People came and went from the courthouse, though additional participants weren’t allowed to enter.

Officers allowed them to complete the prayers, then arrested them.

They were charged in federal court with the “petty offenses” of not obeying a federal officer and blocking an entrance. They all plead “not guilty” and said they would represent themselves.

The 2 charges each carry a possible $5,000 fine. A 30-day jail sentence is also possible for each charge, but both the US attorneys and the judge said there was no risk of that.

The defendants will be representing themselves in court. Trial is set for June.

Photo: Worcester Indymedia. Pictured: Tom Lewis and law officers outside the entrance.

The prayers and arrest come as the culmination of a 43-day Lenten prayer, fast, and vigil carried out in conjunction with people in 11 other US cities, including Des Moines, Iowa, Buffalo and Rochester, New York. This campaign was inspired by the example of Franz Jagerstatter, the recently beatified Austrian Catholic who was executed for refusing to participate in an unjust war.

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Bishops McManus and Reilly chat outside St. Paul’s Cathedral before the Chrism Mass.

Rocco Palmo:

In the majority of Stateside dioceses, whether in their cathedrals or even larger parish churches, the Chrism Mass — the lone “family reunion” mandated by the rubrics — is happening today.

There was no noon mass at the cathedral today, so my friends and I went to the Chrism Mass before our Lenten prayer vigil for an end to the Iraq War.

The Chrism Mass takes its name from the last of the three oils blessed during the rite, which are then used throughout the diocese for the next year.

Tom Lewis does a little anti-war “pre-vigiling” at the cathedral before mass. More of us assembled across the street afterwards. I was happy that several priests came over to share words or hugs of support.

I’d never been to one of these before. The bishop blessed the year’s holy oil and priests renewed their “commitment to priestly service.” A very long standing ovation for Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger, who celebrated his 50th year as a priest and gave a great homily directed at the many Catholic school kids in attendance.

Editor’s note: This will be part of a Holy Week prayer service at the Federal Building in Worcester.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, under the inspiratrion of Blessed Franz Jagerstatter, who gave his life to denounce an unjust war, on the fifth anniversary of the latest US escalation of its 17-year-long war on Iraq, we gather to beg Your forgiveness for the sin of this war and to ask for Your grace to end it now. We make these prayers in the name of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. Amen.

For the over 88,000 Iraqi citizens killed since 2003, we pray:
Lord, have mercy.

For the 4,100 US soldiers killed in Iraq since 1991, we pray:
Christ, have mercy.

For the 200,000 Iraqis killed in the first Gulf War, we pray:
Lord, have mercy.

For the 1.5 million Iraqis, including 800,000 children, killed by US-sponsored sanctions between 1991 and 2002, we pray:
Kyrie, eleison.

For the thousands of Iraqis killed by “no-fly zone” bombings between 1991 and 2002, we pray:
Christe, eleison.

For our failure to speak out more forcefully against the sin of this long war on Iraq, we pray:
Kyrie, eleison.

Recalling that Pope John Paul II called war on Iraq “useless slaughter” and “unjust, immoral, and illegal,” we pray the rosary to Mary, Queen of Peace, that the ears of all those in the federal government might finally be opened to attend to the plea of millions of Americans who want the war to end now.

Pray a rosary:

The First Sorrowful Mystery: Christ’s agony in the garden.
Help us to end the agony of the Iraqi people and to return all American soldiers safely home.

The Second Sorrowful Mystery: Jesus is scourged.
Help us to end the torture our nation continues to inflict on prisoners in Iraq and elsewhere.

The Third Sorrowful Mystery: Jesus is crowned with thorns.
Help us to never again drop cluster bombs, depleted uranium, and other weapons onto the heads of the Iraqi people.

The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery: Jesus carries the Cross.
Help us to take up Christ’s cross of nonviolent love (even at the risk of criticism and jail) to end the Iraq War.

The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery: Jesus dies on the Cross.
Help us to love our enemies as profoundly as Christ did from his Cross and to reject this and all wars.

Close with the Salve Regina.

On Wednesday, March 19, 2008, the fifth anniversary of the most recent escalation of the 17-year long American war on Iraq, local residents will enter the US Federal Building on Main Street in Worcester to offer Catholic prayers for an immediate end to the war. Their prayer comes as the culmination of a 43-day Lenten prayer, fast, and vigil carried out in conjunction with people in 11 other US cities, including Des Moines, Iowa, Buffalo and Rochester, New York.
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The daily Lenten prayer and fasting for an end to the Iraq War continued today in Worcester, with 4 people participating. (I think a few dozen have been involved at some point.) We found a nice ring outside the cathedral; you can pick it up at the rectory if it’s yours.

When we went down to the federal building to continue the vigil, a friend and I went inside to talk to whoever was there. (From my limited experience, this seems to be standard operating procedure for continuing vigils. Sometimes this can bear unexpected fruit.)

My friend mentioned the recent report that upwards of 5% of Iraq and Afganistan War vets are collecting disability for hearing loss due to roadside bombs and the like.

One guy said, “And that’s a problem for us?” (Which seemed an odd thing to say.)

Another guy responded, “Yeah–we gotta pay for it!”

My friend pointed out that hearing loss also probably messes up a lot of these vets’ lives.

Other than that, things passed without incident.

Today we had six people praying and fasting for an end to the Iraq War. At the cathedral, we had more positive comments than ever.

Outside the federal building, an old guy was stopped at a red light with a dog in his lap. The way the dog was leaning out the window, he looked like he was driving. “He can’t read your sign!” the old man pointed out with a smile.

Another man stopped by and said, “We can pray all we want and fast all we want, people are making so much money from it it’s never gonna end.”

We had 5 people with us this rainy day, fasting and praying for an end to the Iraq War.

Outside the Federal Building, a guy asked, “You’re doing this outside the federal court?” Ken said, “Yes.”

“They can’t move Jesus,” the guy said, gesturing to our sign and the building. “They can’t move Jesus!”

At today’s 12:10 Cathedral mass, there were maybe twice as many people as normal. Pretty cool.

We had 6 people praying and fasting after mass and at the Federal Building. No incidents. (Don’t worry, I’m not going to blog every day of this.)

If I recall correctly, last Ash Wednesday the noon Cathedral mass was packed. This year, the church was maybe 3/4 full.

Bishop Robert McManus, after mass

After mass we began our Lenten fast and vigil for an end to the Iraq War. We started out by holding a banner near the Cathedral door, but were asked to move across the street. This was unfortunate, in that it probably left some passersby with the impression that we were protesting the church or something.

Holding a banner across the street. In the spirit of “Let no one see you fasting,” I tried to take photos of people’s backs.

All of the response I saw from churchgoers or people driving by was positive. Meanwhile, people handed out Jagerstatter holy cards to those leaving mass.

Then we went over to the Federal Building, where they didn’t care where we stood, so long as we weren’t blocking a door. I don’t have any good face-free pix of this part, so here you see Scott and Ken posing with the banner.

Nice omnibus Ash Wednesday post from Rocco Palmo. This bit sums up the point of the vigil, for me:

The crux of Ash Wednesday is one that fascinates, and rightfully so: in a world — and, indeed, in a church — too often obsessed with appearances, with shirking blame and maintaining an image of perfection (sometimes at any cost), all that gets turned inside out: I’m far from perfect. I don’t have all the answers. I can’t go it alone. What I do matters beyond myself.

As Roman Catholics who love the Church, we listened closely to Pope John Paul II who called the 2003 Iraq War “a defeat for humanity” and to Pope Benedict XVI who said, “There were not sufficient reasons to unleash a war against Iraq,” and went on to say, “We should be asking ourselves if it is still licit to admit the very existence of a just war.”

We remember that, despite the Vatican’s clear opposition to the Iraq War, only one American Bishop, Most Rev. John Michael Botean, condemned it. In a 2003 Lenten Pastoral Letter, Bishop Botean called the Iraq War “objectively grave evil, a matter of mortal sin.”

On March 19, the Iraq War will enter its fifth year. More than 150,000 Iraqi civilians and nearly 4,000 American soldiers have perished. Hundreds of thousands of our sisters and brothers have been injured, orphaned, or left homeless.

We cannot help but wonder if this war could have been prevented with a stronger voice of opposition from all of us in the American Catholic Church. We admit our own complicity by our failure to raise our own voices more forcefully. But, even now, we believe that the voice of our Church can help end the bloodshed.

Therefore, inspired by the witness of Blessed Franz Jagerstatter, we join concerned Catholics in twelve other dioceses around the United States to call for a Lenten prayer and fast for peace. Like Jagerstatter, the only known Roman Catholic to refuse service in Hitler’s military during World War II, we believe that the Church must not stay “silent in the face of what is happening.” Starting on Ash Wednesday, we invite all people of conscience to join us at Saint Paul’s Cathedral for midday Mass each weekday, followed by a peace vigil outside the church and, shortly thereafter, at the nearby United States Federal Building. We will conclude our prayer and fasting during Holy Week on March 19th with a special Catholic peace witness at the Federal Building.

We hope and pray that this witness in Worcester and other dioceses around the country will draw the Church closer to the nonviolent Christ and help our nation to end the Iraq War and Occupation.