It was with much joy that I participated in the Midwest Catholic Worker Resistance Retreat in Chicago, April 23-26: "The Cost of War: At Home and Abroad." Since my ministry is focused more on the streets and direct action, nonviolence and resisting war, it was great to meet up again with folks with whom I’ve traveled the journey and from whom I’m learning.
I stayed with other Workers at the Su Casa CWH. When I arrived, I remembered Franciscan Jerry Zawada and his connection to the Su Casa community years ago during the sanctuary movement when Su Casa began as a refuge for Central American refugees.
During our School of the Americas Watch court hearing in July, 2002, he told of how he heard Sr. Diana Ortiz screaming at night in terror there, recalling the nightmare of her torture in Guatemala at the hands of the military whose officers were trained at the U.S. Army SOA at Ft. Benning, GA.
At our CW gathering of about 200 folks, we held a variety of roundtable discussions, including one on sexism and another on immigration. Frida Berrigan spoke on "Bread Not Bombs: The Costs of Militarism." Until recently, she was the Senior Program Association of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation. She is now at the Maryhouse CW in New York City. Frida is the author of reports on arms trade and human rights, U.S. nuclear weapons policy, and the domestic politics of U.S. missile defense and space weapons policies. She is also active in the War Resisters League.
We learned that since 2001, the U.S. military budget has increased by 10% each year, while the bottom has fallen out of other budgets, especially those that promote social programs. Now our annual U.S. military budget is around $800 billion. Are you aware that the U.S. has about 800 military installations across the planet?
Many corporations profit from the Pentagon’s budget – at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer and programs that would benefit the common person and the Common Good. The collusion between the military budget, corporations and their lobbying in Congress makes one question the meaning of "democracy."
At present the U.S. and Russia have decreased long range nuclear weapons, in a treaty which must be approved by two-thirds of the Senate. However, according to a report in the "Nuclear Posture Review," the U.S. "reserves the right of first strike." Even as we cut the number of nuclear weapons, an article in "The Quadrennial Defense Review" says that we will need more conventional weapons for a "prompt global strike" equal to nuclear weapons in speed and context. "This information has not been given much attention by U.S. citizens!" Frida said.
At the end of the year her book will be published. It is called: Dreams of a Nation: Cutting the Military Budget in Half – Doubling National Security.
Other speakers included Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, one of my favorite theologians, who has written on foreign policies, war and the nonviolent Jesus. Jack teaches at the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota. New York Times Pulitzer Prize winning writer Chris Hedges (War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning and American Facists ) spoke about his latest book, The Empire of Illusion. I recommend it. We also learned more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from CW Claire Schaeffer-Duffy and Joshua Broiler from Voices for Creative NonViolence. He and Kathy Kelly of Voices will spend three weeks with the grassroots in Pakistan in May.
I had been invited to co-preside at Sunday morning’s Eucharistic liturgy with activist priest Carl Kabat, 76, who has spent a total of 20 years in prison for his numerous faith witnesses on nuclear missile sites. I felt humbled being next to such a holy man. He cried during the liturgy – with me seated next to him as a woman priest. He is a man so easy to love. We talked and when he heard I was from Milwaukee and pronounced my last name, he told me both his parents were Polish. We talked about his actions for peace and he told me he dresses like a clown when he challenges U.S. nuclear weapons policy. "I’m a fool for Christ," he said. "It’s okay to tell others that we presided together," Carl said. "I’m looking forward to seeing you at Oakridge in July."
Later that Sunday afternoon we were led in Nonviolence Training and Scenario Development of our Direct Action for Monday by Brian Terrell and Beth Praheim. It took a while before we fleshed out our plan.
On Monday morning, April 26, we were up early to take the bus and subway into the city. Our action contrasted the Works of Mercy and the Works of War. Sstood on the corner and handed out leaflets and fruit and sang peace songs. As part of the Works of War, 11 people with "blood" on their hands went inside the Federal Building and placed their bloodied hands close to the windows as six of us did a "Die-in" outside. The dead were covered in black and I wailed over them. We were arrested and fined $175. See
Inside the Federal Building, both of the policemen who processed us were foreign-born. Our "Die-in" group talked with them. I saw "Wisniewski" on the shirt of one of the policemen – who I already had suspected had a Slavic accent. I pronounced his name in good Polish. I told him in Polish that "I cannot not speak or understand Polish well – only a little." He asked me how I learned to say what I did. I told him. "From my Busia, my Babcia (grandmother) who came from Waclowek. His face lit up. "That’s where I’m from," he said. I told him that I had been there when I was 28 in1978, and saw the house where my Busia grew up. "The same town where Lech Walesa of the Solidarity Movement was born, he said. The Movement that began in Poland brought down Communism," he beamed. I nodded. "I remember during those tense days that the Polish soldiers would not shoot their own people, despite orders that might come from President Jaruzelski," I told him. He nodded and a tragic look came upon his face. "My father was with Solidarity," he told me. "The military took him away and he never returned." I took his hand... Later, when we were released, I spoke again to him in Polish as he listened intently and smiled: "Do Widzenia. Zostanchez y Bogiem." (Until we meet again, walk with God). He nodded.
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, RCWP
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