MDMD Christ & History

[Otto]

October 1, 2001

Mr. George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write to you as the Jesuit Conference Board of the Society of Jesus in
the United States. Today, there are approximately 4,000 U.S. Jesuit priests
and brothers working abroad and in our domestic projects which include: 28
Jesuit-affiliated universities and colleges; 60 Jesuit-affiliated high
schools and middle schools; nearly 100 Jesuit parishes; and various other
social programs throughout the country. We wish to extend to you our prayers
and support in wake of the unprecedented September 11th attack on our
country.

As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated, our
government has the moral right and is under grave moral obligation to defend
the common good against aggression. The unique nature of the terrorist
threat, which appears to ignore the sanctity of human life, may require a
carefully measured military response, which should be pursued only after all
diplomatic efforts have been exhausted. We hope this response will take into
consideration the following principles, drawn from the Catholic moral
tradition:

That care be extended for the protection of the innocent, including the
rights of refugees to seek protection across international borders; our
Jesuit Refugee Service stands ready to assist your administration in
providing humanitarian assistance to those displaced by this crisis;

That the response be proportional to the attack so that it is clear to the
world that we are seeking justice, not revenge;

That an indiscriminate, "blanket" military response is avoided;

That specific legislative proposals meant to identify and prosecute
suspected terrorists on U.S. soil do not undermine constitutional and civil
rights with measures such as mandatory and indefinite detention of
immigrants without charges;

That our government radically examine the roots of suffering and anger in
the Middle East;

That we respect and use the structures and standards of international law
and human rights.

Mr. President, we applaud your clear leadership in calling on the American
people to refrain from acts of ethnic and religious intolerance. We will
call upon our many educational and pastoral institutions to reinforce your
message of non-discrimination.

Finally, we pray for you and for our country in this dark moment of the
nation's history. And in the light of our instruction from Jesus Christ, we
pray also for our enemies.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
http://www.jesuit.org/Pages/usjclttr.html