5 arrested for praying the rosary in Worcester
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.
Worcester Lenten Prayer and Fast for an End to the Iraq



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.







Therefore, inspired by the witness of Blessed 
