 Fr. Joseph Mulligsn, SJ, Prisoner of Conscience |
School of the Americas |
April 15: Examination of Conscience
By declaring ar on Iraq in the absence of a workable plan for peace, the Bush administration sowed seeds of utter chaos whose death and destruction has engulfed hundreds of Americans and other "coalition" forces, thousands of Iraqui fighters and civilians, and 200 Madrid subway commuters. President Bush and his cabinet should be tried for thier responsibility for these deaths and for recklessly imperiling the lives of hundreds of thousand of others in Iraq and in our own homeland.
Every death, every wound in Iraq, Palestine, Madrid and other theaters where the deadly results of U.S. arrogance can be viewed sharpens my personal sense of sinfulness and guilt as an American citizen.
As April 15 approaches, the deadline for filing income-tax returns presents a crisis of conscience for many Americans. What responsibility does a citizen have for the government's use of tax money in relation to the war in Iraq, the development of nuclear weapons, and other issues of civic concern? Paying for the bombs is only one step removed from dropping them.
Some of my friends have concluded that they cannot support many of the destructive acts and policies by our own government. Some choose to live below the taxable income level, thus also avoiding the possession of wealth which police and military force protects. Others withhold a percentage of their taxes corresponding to the portion of the federal budget allocated to the Pentagon or specifically to the war in Iraq, perhaps donating this amount instead to charity or to efforts for peace. They recognize that their property or wages may be attached or that they may even be prosectued for following their conscience in this way. Some refuse to pay any taxes to Washington.
Some of these conscientious citizens make their refusal public, hopling to influence others and contribute to changing U.S. policy. For others, quietly maintaining their personal integrity is enough.
In addition to the question of taxes, every new day of war brings a crisis of conscience to many American soldiers--both those in Iraq and those who may be ordered to go there. One soldier who served in Iraq was morally repulsed by the killing of civilians and by the blood-for-oil purpose of the U.S. intervention; having refused to return and having applied for conscientious objector status, he is now confined to a U.S. military base in Georgia and awaits court-martial.
Oscar Romero, the martyred archbishop of San Salvador, told the soldiers of his country that they had no obligation to follow unjust orders--a principle recognized at least in theory by American and other military forces.
Soldiers and civilians today, especially in a democracy, have the civic duty to analyze government policies and to decide whether in conscience they can help to implement such policies. Members of the military may wish to consider the option (perfectly legitimate) of applying for conscientious objector status. Civilian taxpayers who are morally opposed to their government's use of public revenue may chooe to consider various forms of non-cooperation. At the very least the advent of April 15 should put the violence in Iraq, nuclear weapons, and other U. S. Policies on the moral agenda for serious discernment by all conscientious citizens. Those who pay taxes which finance policies they do not support could redouble their political efforts to change those policies.
The fact that obedience to conscience may have serious consequences should come as no surprise to those millions who have seen "The Passion of the Christ" and to those who may be considering the ethical dimension of taxes during the week before April 15--this year, Holy Week.
Finally, tonight's NBC-TV news included a statement by Secretary of Defense Donal Rumsfeld which must have driven his public-relations handler to desperation, if they consdider the average viewer to possess at least average ability in simple logic. After annoucing that Iranians are entering Iraq, Rumsfeld actually said: "It is unhelpful to have neighboring countries meddling in Iraq."
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P.S. I wish to thank all the wonderful people who have written to me in jail expressing their prayers and support. I am especially grateful to my friend, Joe Folzenlogen, S.J., for his support and his help with communications. I understand that my release date is April 23. After that, I should be able to access email at MULLIGAN@UDMERCY.EDU. Thanks and love to all.
Joe Mulligan, S.J.
[Fr. Joseph Mulligan, SJ, is a Catholic priest from Detroit who works in Nicaragua. He participated in the protest against the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation at Ft. Benning, Georgia, last November and is currently serving a 90day sentence in the Harris County Jail in Hamilton, Georgia.]
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