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October 28, 2013
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WEDNESDAY: Head of interfaith anti-torture organization to speak at Wilson College
National Religious Campaign Against Torture Executive Direct to Lead Sermon, Lecture
CHAMBERSBURG, Penn. – Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director, of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, will speak at Wilson College on Wednesday, October 30. He will preach at the chapel service at 12 p.m. and give a lecture at 4 p.m.
Giving the sermon, “Created in the Image of God,” Killmer will describe the steps that led to the use of torture by the U.S. government and why torture is contrary to Biblical teachings including the principal that human beings are created in the image of God and therefore should be treated by everyone with dignity and worth.
“The governments of the world agreed to prohibit torture and to make it illegal,” Killmer said. “Yet the United States violated those laws and tortured people anyway. Fortunately, our country has a possibility this fall of taking an important step that will help ensure that our country never tortures again. The Senate Intelligence Committee may vote to release publicly a 6,000-word report on CIA torture adopted way back in December of last year. That report could provide the needed information to put critical safeguards in place going forward.”
Killmer’s 4 p.m. lecture is entitled “No Doubt, it was Torture,” referring to the recent bipartisan report of the Detainee Treatment Task Force of The Constitution Project. The report, released in the spring after two years of research and interviews, concludes that the treatment of detainees was torture and was authorized at the highest levels of government.
Rev. Rosie Magee, the Helen Carnell Eden Chaplain at Wilson College, said, “We are delighted to welcome Rev. Killmer to the Wilson College campus. In the post-9/11 era, as active citizens, we are called to be informed as to what the government has done in our name and to take steps to ensure that it never happens again.”
Details on Wednesday’s events are below. The sermon and lecture are open to the press and the public, and coverage is welcome:
WHAT: A sermon and college lecture on U.S.-sponsored torture
WHO: Rev Richard Killmer, Executive Director, National Religious Campaign Against Torture
WHEN AND WHERE:
- 12 p.m. sermon, Alumnae Chapel, Thomson Hall
Wilson College, 1015 Philadelphia Ave., Chambersburg - 4 p.m. lecture, Patterson Lounge, Laird Hall, Wilson College
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture, a membership organization of more than 325 religious and faith- based organizations across the United States committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, earlier this month released six films to highlight key findings of the Constitution Project’s task force’s review of the interrogation and treatment of detainees, particularly those taken into U.S. custody in the aftermath of 9/11. The films are available at http://www.youtube.com/nrcatvideo.
The 11-minute film, “No Doubt, It Was Torture,” is accompanied by a discussion guide and designed to provide a platform for faith communities to discuss what has become a significant social justice issue in the post-9/11 era. The public is invited to join the conversation by following #ItWasTorture on Twitter and Facebook.
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 325 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. More information is available at www.nrcat.org.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NRCATtweets
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nrcat
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