From Episcopal News Service:
More than 275 congregations of a wide variety of faiths in all 50 United States and the District of Columbia will display an anti-torture banner on the exterior of their buildings during June, which religious and human-rights organizations have designated as Torture Awareness Month.
In an effort organized by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), most of the banners say “Torture is a Moral Issue” or “Torture is Wrong.” ….
The Episcopal Church is an endorsing member of the organization. Other NRCAT members include representatives from the Roman Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Quaker, and Sikh communities.
The Episcopal Church has taken a stand against U.S.-sponsored torture. The 75th General Convention, meeting on June 21, 2006, agreed to Resolution D020 which, in part, called on the Episcopal Church to “to acknowledge and confess that our government’s participation in the war in Iraq has resulted in…illegal confinement without representation or formal charges and torture.”
The Church of England today is also questioning bending and breaking civil rights in the name of fighting terror. It announced it will oppose legislation that would extend detention of persons without charge from 28 days to 42 days. See its news release here.