In Support of Protest by Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen

from For Swords into Plowshares, the Hammer Has to Fall edited by Daniel Berrigan, S.J. Although this Pentecost reflection was written around 1984, it is still relevant today.

I have decided to be a witness in the trials of several persons arrested while they were engaged in non-violent protest of the deployment of the Trident weapons system.  I have made this decision for two reasons. First, I wish to voice both my admiration and support for those who, at great personal cost, continue to remind us of our moral responsibility for the presence of these horrifying weapons in our midst. Secondly, I believe this is an important opportunity for me to reflect with the Church in this community on principles important to our common vocation to be peacemakers.

Disarm Now Plowshares activist arrested at Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex

Fr. Bill Bichsel at Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Fr. Bill Bichsel, along with 12 others,  went through the fence at Y-12 National Security Complex, where essential components of nuclear warheads are made, including warheads used on Trident submarines.

Fr. Bill Bichsel walked for several minutes onto the grass at the National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. For this, he, and the other 12,  were held overnight, brought to court for a detention hearing, charged with federal trespass, and released under strict conditions.

The US Attorney announced at the detention hearing that they faced a fine of not more than $100,000, one year in federal prison, one year of supervised release, and a special assessment of $100.

Compare that to last November, when Fr. Bix and four others brought hammers and walked onto the US Naval Base in Bangor, Washington. The Naval Base Kitsap/Bangor is home to the largest stockpile of nuclear warheads in the US. Fr. Bix, one of the Disarm Now Plowshares activists, walked for four hours through the night, and at dawn cut through two high security fences to enter the Strategic Weapons Facility, Pacific where the nuclear warheads are stored. The plowshares activists were right next to the nuclear bunkers when they were arrested.

Fr. Bix was held for several hours, and released. There were no conditions on his release, and the misdemeanor charges  were dropped. Captain Mark Olson, Commander of the Naval Base Kitsap/Bangor, must have been very embarrassed that Bix and the others were able to get into the high security area, and indeed was so embarrassed that no charges have been brought (this eight months later)!

Thank you, Bix, for your faithfulness.  Thank you for upholding the command to love one another. Thank you for continuing to uphold international law.  We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves – thank you for being a good neighbor to all of us.

Susan Crane

Utsumi Shoenin, Bill Bichsel, Sr. Denise, Shelley and Jim Douglass