|
Join our list
|  |
|
|
Greetings!
This week is important for Afghanistan and for the peace movement in the U.S.
Why? President Karzai of Afghanistan is in D.C. this week to speak to President Obama to learn about whether he will support Afghan peace talks. Representative McGovern and Senator Feingold introduced bills asking for an Afghanistan exit framework that might be debated around the same time as the $33 billion supplemental to pay for the escalation in Afghanistan. Speaker Pelosi and a delegation arrived in Afghanistan a few days ago to be briefed on the security and political situation in the country. All of this means that top leaders in our country will once again be considering and formulating their latest strategy in Afghanistan in the days and weeks ahead. So, they need to hear from us! We invite you to pray for peace and reconciliation, study the significance of Obama's meeting with Karzai this week, and act to keep this war in your heart and mind as you invite others--Congressional leaders and other Catholics--to do the same. Thank you for your continued witness and call for steps toward peace.
In hope,
Amy Watts
Program Associate, Pax Christi USA
|
| PRAYER: God of Infinite Patience and Wisdom | | |
We invite you to pray this prayer to once again commit yourself to stand for truth, reconciliation, and peace that is rooted in the gospel way. This prayer appears in "Vigils in Case of Outbreak of War" that can be found in the book, Our Prayers Rise Like Incense: Liturgies for Peace, published by Pax Christi USA.
God of infinite patience and wisdom, You call us to be Your people, inviting us to the fullness of life and joy in Your presence. Let us never forget Your mercy to us throughout the ages. Make us ever mindful of Your call to discipleship, ever attentive to the working of Your Spirit, a Spirit of forgiveness, of reconciliation, of peace. We ask that You grant us strength and courage that we might always stand for truth, even when all that surrounds us urges compromise and abandonment of the path You have shown us.
Be with us as we work to bring about the coming of Your Reign, to share the gospel promise of compassion and reconciliation with a world truly in need of hearing the Good News. All this we ask in the name of our brother Jesus, who shares our lives and Yours, in the unity of the Spirit. Amen. |
| STUDY: Will Obama Say Yes to Afghan Peace Talks? | | |
By Robert Naiman of Just Foreign Policy
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is coming to Washington next week to meet with President Obama. Afghan government officials have said that their top priority for these talks is to get President Obama to agree that the U.S. will fully back efforts of the Afghan government to reconcile with senior leaders of the Afghan Taliban insurgency in order to end the war. On the merits, saying yes to the Afghan government's request for U.S. support for peace talks would seem like a no-brainer.
|
ACTION: Call-In for Exit Strategy Bills & Plan a Memorial Day Weekend Action in Solidarity with Other Pax Christi Groups!
|
| 1. Call Your Congressional Members About the $33 Billion War Supplemental AND Ask Them to Cosponsor H.R.5015 and S.3197.
Pax Christi USA joins 20 other organizations to make this week, May 10-14, the second National Call-in Week on Afghanistan. A few weeks ago, Representative McGovern and Senator Feingold each introduced legislation that would require the President to submit an exit strategy from Afghanistan to Congress along with regular updates on progress toward that strategy. H.R. 5015 is really picking up steam! There are currently 83 co-sponsors and the coalition of groups making calls this week has a goal of getting 100 co-sponsors in the House so that the White House really feels the pressure! This debate is expected to occur alongside the $33 Billion Supplemental for war debate.
A) Please ask your member of Congress to oppose the $33 billion Supplemental that funds war in Afghanistan. Amendments can be made to the Supplemental, so encourage your Congressional member to speak out against this funding and to ask Speaker Pelosi to ensure that one vote happens on the $33 billion and a separate vote happens for Haiti aid or any other aid money. B) Ask your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 5015 and your Senator to co-sponsor S. 3197 that both require the President to present a timetable for troops to leave Afghanistan.
Please call your Senators and your Representative THIS WEEK. Use this toll-free number at 1-888-543-5234. Now is an important time to let your voice be heard because Congress is expected to vote on these issues before the end of the month.
2. Plan an Action for Memorial Day Weekend in Solidarity with Other Pax Christi Groups!
Pax Christi Metro D.C./Baltimore is planning an action outside of  the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, May 30th and invites other regional or local Pax Christi groups to hold similar vigils at their diocesan cathedrals, or elsewhere, on Memorial Day weekend. The theme of the vigil is to remind Catholics that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue and we need to work to end them so that future Memorial Days will not have new war dead to memorialize - whether they be U. S. soldiers, Iraqi Catholics or Muslims, or Afghans. We would like to make this a nationwide weekend of action for Pax Christi!
Plans are being solidified for the D.C. vigil but there will be resources on the Pax Christi Metro D.C./Baltimore website soon, including a leaflet that will be handed out to people going in or out of the Mass. There will also be ideas for posters, with quotes from various Popes regarding war and peace, and a sample prayer service that can be used to quietly pray near the cathedral while Mass is going on. Possible themes include "Honor the Dead, Work for Peace" and/or "Honor the Past, Transform the Future". In general, the desire is to be a very Catholic presence for peace outside of diocesan cathedrals and other churches on Memorial Day weekend. After the action, the Pax Christi Metro D.C. group has decided to hold a mini-educational assembly on the Afghanistan war. Please look for updates at
http://www.paxchristimetrodc.org/ in the next week for additional resources and plan an action in solidarity!
|
|
|
