June 4, 2008
By Mary Frances Schjonberg

More than 275 congregations of a wide variety of faiths in all 50 United States and the District of Columbia will display an anti-torture banner on the exterior of their buildings during June, which religious and human-rights organizations have designated as Torture Awareness Month.

In an effort organized by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), most of the banners say "Torture is a Moral Issue" or "Torture is Wrong."

The United Nations has designated June 26 as International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. It commemorates the day, 11 years ago, when the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment came into force, according to the U.N.'s website. June 26, 1945 was also the day when the United Nations charter was signed – the first international instrument to embody obligations for U.N. member states to promote and encourage respect for human rights.

NRCAT is committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, more than 190 religious organizations have joined NRCAT.

The Episcopal Church is an endorsing member of the organization. Other NRCAT members include representatives from the Roman Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Quaker, and Sikh communities.

The Episcopal Church has taken a stand against U.S.-sponsored torture. The 75th General Convention, meeting on June 21, 2006, agreed to Resolution D020 which, in part, called on the Episcopal Church to "to acknowledge and confess that our government's participation in the war in Iraq has resulted in…illegal confinement without representation or formal charges and torture."

Executive Council, meeting in Portland, Oregon, in March 2007, passed Resolution NAC019 condemning the use of torture and the practice of extraordinary rendition and calling on the U.S. government "to renounce and cease the use of these practices in order to be in compliance with the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment or Punishment," to enact "policies to prevent the use of these practices both domestically and abroad," and "to provide just compensation for the victims of torture and their families."

NAC019 also committed the members of the Episcopal Church, including military chaplains, to support "U.S. military and civilian personnel who refuse to obey orders to practice torture or engage in extraordinary rendition or who face discipline for exposing such illegal conduct."

Among the Episcopal congregations that will be displaying the anti-torture banners, according to NRCAT, are:

* Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Tucson, Arizona;

* St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C.;

* St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Blackfoot, Idaho;

* Church of the Ascension, Silver Spring, Maryland;

* St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, Baltimore, Maryland;

* Canterbury House, Ann Arbor, Michigan;

* St. Aidan's Episcopal Church, Ann Arbor, Michigan;

* Christ Episcopal Church, Portsmouth, New Hampshire;

* Church of the Nativity, Brooklyn, New York and

* St. Paul's Episcopal Church, The Dalles, Oregon.

Episcopal News Service