FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 10, 2017
CONTACT: Chris Pumpelly, (316) 519-3266

Christians in Kansas Tell Mike Pompeo: Torture is Always Wrong

Wichita, KS - In advance of Rep. Mike Pompeo's confirmation hearing to be the next CIA Director, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) has run an ad in The Wichita Eagle reminding the nominee that “Our children are watching” and has circulated a petition reminding Rep. Pompeo that Christians believe that torture is always wrong.

In a statement, Sr. Bernadine Wessel, ASC, a resident of Wichita, said:

“As a Roman Catholic sister, I know the use of torture is an affront to the dignity of the human person. Our Lord commands us to forgive our enemies and turn the other cheek, to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. And Catholic teaching is clear and consistent in its prohibition against torture and in affirmation of the dignity of each person, formed in God's image.

I continue to pray for our President-Elect, and his choice for CIA Director, Rep. Pompeo. I pray they will listen to the thousands of Christians who call on them to reject torture.”

Rev. Thad Holcombe, retired Presbyterian (U.S.A.) minister and Lawrence resident, added:

“It has been said that ‘An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind’ - a fitting description of the consequences of approving the use of torture. I join with my brothers and sisters in Christ, along with those in other faith traditions, opposing such coercion. Let us, as a nation, not be known for inflicting the agony of torture, rather as one that seeks justice through respect for the law.”

Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, a Washington, DC-based coalition of over 325 organizations across the country, said:

“Thousands of people of faith are now reaching out to their Senators to express their hope and prayers that Trump Administration nominees will be strong moral leaders who follow the law and reject anti-American practices like torture. More than any other nominee, Rep. Pompeo will be responsible for following the laws that ban waterboarding, sexual humiliation, and other abusive acts of torture. Rep. Pompeo surely knows that Jesus was a victim of state-sponsored torture, as were many who professed the Christian faith over history.

In 2015, the U.S. Congress permanently banned the ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ including waterboarding, extreme stress positions, and sexual humiliation, that were briefly part of the CIA's torture program after 9/11.”

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a membership organization committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, more than 300 religious organizations have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Buddhist, and Sikh communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups, regional organizations and local congregations.
NRCAT.org    @NRCATtweets   facebook.com/nrcat

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