As the month of June, Torture Awareness Month, comes to a close, Sr.Diana Ortiz, Washington, DC, Officer Director of Pax Christi USA and torture survivor herself, offers us this message:
In so many of the countries that make up our world, torture is an everyday occurrence. In response to this cruel fact, in 1998, the United Nations declared June 26 as the International Day in Support of Torture Victims and Survivors. Since that time, torture survivors have worked collectively and tirelessly to bring to the forefront of the world’s conscience, the indescribable crime of torture, its long-term effects on its victims, and the necessity to hold accountable all those who ordered and/or carried it out. For the 13th consecutive year, survivor-members of TASSC International, the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition, have called on world leaders and people in all walks of life to unite in concerted action to abolish the practice of torture once and for all.
Pax Christi invites you to pray for the tortured of our world, their families and communities; and to reflect on how we can bring into being a world without torture. Together, let us embrace the words of Holocaust historian, Yahuda Bauer: “Thou shalt not be a victim; thou shalt not be a perpetrator, and above all thou shalt not be a bystander.”
Let us also remember the words of Pope John Paul II, “Disciples of Christ will reject torture, which nothing can justify.”
For personal stories of torture survivors, go to http://tassc.org/blog/.
