TODAY IS AUGUST 9, THE 62ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S. NUCLEAR BOMBING OF NAGASAKI .

We remember all nuclear victims and all victims of war.

TODAY IS AUGUST 9, THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARTYRDOM OF FRANZ JAGERSTATTER and SR. EDITH STEIN      

Franz Jagersttater was an Austrian and father of three who, because of his Christian beliefs, refused to fight in Hitler's army. He was beheaded on August 9, 1943.      

Sr. Edith Stein, a convert to Christianity, was a Carmelite nun who was arrested by the Nazis in the Netherlands and died in Auschwitz on August 9, 1942.      

Let us pray that we, like Jagerstatter and Stein, can be faithful witnesses to truth and love. TODAY WE LIVE IN A EMPIRE THAT THREATENS ALL LIFE        

We live in what is arguably the most violent empire in history. As the late peacemaker Phil Berrigan put it: "War is America's #1 business and we are a violent, killer people." The U.S. government, the world's #1 nuclear superpower and arms dealer and the only country to have used nuclear weapons, is committed to a "long-war" and nuclear first-strike policy in order to control and dominate the earth's resources, no matter the human cost. The U.S. government's refusal to break its corporate-oil addiction, and take radical steps to address and reverse the global climate crisis, endangers all of creation. The U.S. government's use of unrelenting military violence in Iraq and Afghanistan has resulted in the devastation of these two nations, the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians, the deaths of over 3,600 US soldiers, countless people physically and emotionally maimed for life, and untold environmental destruction.      

We commit our lives to resisting Empire and the tripple evils of racism, materialism and militarism, as we strive to create the beloved community, where all life is held sacred and the rights of all people are upheld. In the name of the victims, in the name of God who commands us not to kill, to beat swords into plowshares and to love our enemies, let us seek to  convert our lives and our world to the way of nonviolence, justice and peace.

For info contact--Dorothy Day Catholic Worker: 202-882-9649, Jonah House: 410-233-6238