Religious Leaders Unite to Abolish Torture Archbishop Demetrios Among Those Calling for Eradication

Washington, DC 06/12/2006­In a statement to be published in tomorrow's New York Times, religious leaders from across the faith spectrum called for the elimination of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

The statement, "Torture is a Moral Issue," proclaims that torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions hold dear. Shepherded by the

Archbishop Demetrios
of America
National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), the statement is signed by 27 national religious leaders, including Archbishop Demetrios of America, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America; Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, D.C.; Rev. Joseph Lowery, co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; and Nobel laureates President Jimmy Carter and Elie Wiesel.

Other signatories include,.Rev. Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches; Rev. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, Also, Dr. Rick Warren pastor and author of the runaway bestseller, The Purpose Driven Life Dr. Frank Thomas, pastor and editor of The African-American Pulpit; and Dr. Sayyid Syeed, National Director of the Islamic Society of North America.

NRCAT bridges theological and political divides by uniting mainstream Protestants and Evangelical Christians; Muslims with Reform and Conservative Jews; Orthodox and Roman Catholics; Sikhs and members of peace churches.

National, regional and local religious organizations and congregations have already joined NRCAT. NRCAT will continue the "Torture is a Moral Issue" campaign by encouraging people of faith across the country to endorse the statement by visiting www.nrcat.org.

(Posting date 8 July 2006)

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