Speak out about government’s
actions at Guantanamo

Speaking of Religion
The Rev. Dr. Tim Griffin

Although we often believe that the focus of religious traditions is God or the transcendent, that is not entirely accurate. Religious traditions exist because we have a relationship to this "higher" reality. Were there no such relationship, then religion and religious sentiments would be superfluous.
In other words, religious traditions teach us about our relationship with the transcendent, and they provide us way of celebrating that relationship through corporate worship and private devotion. In addition, religious traditions agree that the way we treat one another is an indication of the depth of our religious conviction.
In the language of theistic traditions, we know that the God we worship has created all humanity and desires a relationship with each human person. It is therefore imperative that we treat all humanity accordingly, i.e., as possessing an inherent dignity because they are created by God for relationships with God. In short, we must do more than simply use religious language. We must live in a way consistent with the language we use. When we fail to do that, we are regarded as hypocrites.
For these reasons, the religious among us should be scandalized by the manner in which our government is conducting the so-called "war on terror."
And we should be more than scandalized, we should be making our voices heard over the violations of human rights that are currently occurring at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere in the world at the hands of the United States. As people of faith, we should demand that our elected officials act to end these abuses of human rights that are being carried out in our name.
Consider what has happened in this connection in the past two weeks. A little over a week ago a military tribunal determined that it did not have jurisdiction to try two prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. And yet these two prisoners — one of whom has been in American custody since he was 15 years old — have been held by the United States without charges for five years. In just societies — that is in societies governed by the rule of law — when this happens the prisoners are freed.
However, we have handled such cases so far by establishing new rules. Thus when the Supreme Court held that inmates at Guantanamo Bay were entitled to be charged and given trials, our government passed legislation to create pseudo-courts where standard evidentiary rules, such as the right for one’s attorney to know all of the evidence against the accused, were not applicable.
Why does the administration wish to avoid criminal trials? Because in most of the cases it is not able to meet the burden of proof required to convict. And meanwhile, we have all of these people imprisoned without charges against them and without the basic rights afforded by societies that value human rights. Some have been released after years—YEARS!—of imprisonment without being charged.
Imagine being imprisoned for even a few days without being charged. Imagine the impact on your life.
Last week, five human rights organizations — Amnesty International; the International Human Rights Clinic of New York University School of Law; the Center for Constitutional Rights; Human Rights Watch; and Cageprisoners — have demanded that the United States account for 39 "ghost detainees" that are thought to be held in secret prisons. Incomplete information is available for 18 of these prisoners, but the identities of the other 21 have been confirmed by more than one source, according to the human rights agencies.
Think back a few years. These are the sorts of agencies that our country used to cite as we condemned the actions of "evil" nations such as the USSR. Now the administration seeks to discredit these same agencies.
In the parable of the Last Judgment, Jesus speaks of the rewards the righteous will receive for, among other things, visiting him while in prison.
When the righteous say, "When did we see you in prison, Lord?" He responds, "Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." (Matthew 25: 31-46)
As I noted at the beginning, the way we treat others indicates the depth of our faith. We cannot visit Guantanamo Bay or the secret prisons established by our government, but we can raise our voices on behalf of those imprisoned in these places. ••
Father Tim Griffin is priest-in-charge at the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, at 1946 Welsh Road in Bustleton.