NRCAT Press Releases

For Immediate Release - January 18, 2009

NATIONAL RELIGIOUS CAMPAIGN AGAINST TORTURE OPPOSES ANY CLASSIFIED ANNEX ON PRESIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE ORDER ENDING TORTURE

Contact:     Steve Fox, Fenton Communications, 202-822-5200 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  
      Rev. Richard Killmer, NRCAT, at 202-547-1920 (cell 207-450-7242) or
       This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it                  

For Immediate Release – January 14, 2009

Religious Delegation Meets with Obama Transition Team to Push for Executive Order Ending Torture On the Day Obama Takes Office

Delegation delivers letter (included below) signed by 34 prominent religious leaders representing America’s diverse faith traditions

Contact: Steve Fox, Fenton Communications, 202-822-5200 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Rev. Richard Killmer, NRCAT, at 202-547-1920 (cell 207-450-7242) or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

SUBJECT:  Teleconference (1/14):  Religious Leaders Urge Action on Torture

NATIONAL RELIGIOUS CAMPAIGN AGAINST TORTURE
MEDIA ADVISORY

Broad Coalition of Prominent Religious Leaders Urge President-Elect Obama to Sign Executive Order Ending Torture On the Day He Takes Office

NRCAT to Start “Countdown to End Torture: 10 Days of Prayer."
Countdown starts 9:00 am (EST) January 11;
Clock starts “count up” at 9:00 am (EST) on January 21.

National Telephone Press Conference - Wednesday, January 14 at 10:00 am EST

Contact: Steve Fox, Fenton Communications, 202-822-5200 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Rev. Richard Killmer, NRCAT, at 202-547-1920 (cell 207-450-7242) or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Contact: Rev. Richard Killmer, 202-547-1920 or 207-450-7242, or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Vice-President Cheney Admits to Role in CIA Waterboarding Scandal;
Religious Community Expresses Dismay at the State of the Nation's Soul

(Washington)  In an ABC News interview earlier this week, Vice President Dick Cheney not only defended the use of waterboarding as an interrogation technique, but also for the first time admitted to having helped obtain official approval for the use of waterboarding.  Members of the nation's religious communities reacted with dismay to these revelations – sharing the sentiment that the use of torture poses a direct threat to our nation's soul, and that Vice President Cheney's comments illustrate a callous disregard for the dignity of human life.

Religious Community Holds “National Day of Witness;” Leaders Urge President-Elect Obama to Make Executive Order Banning Torture One of His First Official Acts

Hundreds conduct public witness in front of White House while religious leaders descend on congressional offices around the country.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For Further Information Contact:  Rev. Richard Killmer, 202-547-1920 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

September 24, 2008

Faith Leaders Call for Red Cross Access to All Detainees

(Washington)  Twenty five senior faith leaders from a multitude of faiths sent a letter to the U.S. Congress today calling on Congress to provide the International Committee of the Red Cross with access to all U.S.-held detainees.  The letter was signed by the heads of many of America's largest faith groups, including Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Reverend Mark S. Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Rabbi Steve Gutow of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Rev. Gradye Parsons of the Presbyterian Church, (USA), and Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori of The Episcopal Church.

The text of the letter is below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

PRESS RELEASE

Contact Rev. Richard Killmer 202-547-1920 or 207-450-7242

"BANNERS ACROSS AMERICA"

330 CONGREGATIONS DISPLAY ANTI-TORTURE BANNERS DURING JUNE -TORTURE AWARENESS MONTH

A Project of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture

Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster, the Director of Education and Outreach for Rabbis for Human Rights-North America has been inspired by the way that she has encountered anti-torture banners displayed on the exteriors of congregations during her daily journeys in Manhattan. "Whether it is walking by Riverside Church or Rutgers Presbyterian Church and seeing an anti-torture banner displayed at both of them, or seeing one in the sanctuary at B'nai Jeshurun Synagogue when I go to a brit milah, or looking up at the one at Shaare Zedek Synagogue when I enter Shabbat services, I am constantly reminded about the millions of people we are reaching with the interfaith message that torture is a moral issue."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

June 28, 2008

Contact:  Carol Wickersham, (608) 676-4583

Presbyterians Join Prominent Group to Call for a Ban on Torture

On Friday night, June 27 by action of the General Assembly, the Presbyterian Church (USA) became the first denomination or faith group to endorse a recently released declaration calling on the President to issue an executive order banning torture.

June 12, 2008
 
For further information contact: Rev. Richard Killmer, 207-450-7242 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

NRCAT President Lauds Supreme Court Decision on Habeas Corpus

(Washington)  The President of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Linda Gustitus, issued the following statement in response to today's pivotal U.S. Supreme Court decision in Boumediene v. Bush:

   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 5, 2008

Contact: Rev. Richard Killmer (202) 547-1920; (207) 450-7242 cell
             John Humphries (860) 216-7972 cell; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it                                           

Nearly 300 Congregations Across the United States - Representing All 50 States and the District of Columbia - Display Anti-Torture Banners in June

National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) introduces and describes "Banners Across America" initiative in June 5 telephone press conference
Click here to hear the telephone conference
Note: This is a large file; allow extra time for downloading

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) launched its Banners Across America initiative in a telephone press conference describing the nationwide anti-torture banner campaign taking place during the month of June.  Hundreds of congregations across the United States have joined this campaign in an effort to mobilize the American faith community in opposition to U.S.-sponsored torture. The "Banners Across America" initiative, organized by NRCAT, is timed to allow local congregations to participate in a nationwide, interfaith public witness during Torture Awareness Month.