CATHOLIC PRIEST IN PRISON FOR WAR PROTEST

Fr Martin Newell CP was today sentenced to fourteen days in prison following a peace protest in December 2004. Before sentencing Fr Newell stated: "I work with refugees. I see the effects of wars daily. Jesus said 'whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters you do to me', and the war in Iraq is killing our brothers and sisters." On December 28th, the
Catholic Feast of the Holy Innocents, seven people mostly from the radical "Catholic Worker movement", had converted the lawn outside the Ministry of Defence (MoD) opposite Downing Street into a war cemetery in memory of the dead of the invasion and continuing occupation of Iraq. Fr Newell was writing "Remember the Innocent - Stop the War" and "Remember Iraqi War Dead" on the wall of the MoD as a memorial to the dead, when he was stopped by police. Prayers of remembrance and repentance were also said. He was later found guilty of criminal damage at Horseferry Road Magistrates Court, Westminster and ordered to pay £660 compensation to the MoD. He has refused to pay this as a further act of non-co-operation with the war on Iraq. He was among six others arrested on the day, of whom four were ordered to pay compensation. Chris Cole recently spent two weeks in HMP Wandsworth after also refusing to pay compensation.

Fr Newell said "Like King Herod at the time of Jesus, we are a in state of denial. We deny our responsibility for the suffering in Iraq. We deny our sin in taking part in this invasion. We deny that the presence of US and UK troops in Iraq continues to make things worse not better. We deny the reality of our participation in violence. So we went to the Ministry
of Defence to grieve, because to grieve is the only way out of denial: to grieve for our innocence, to grieve for our loss, to grieve for all those who have suffered and died and lost loved ones in Iraq, where a fate worse than death is to be the one who is left behind. We went to express our grief in the hope that hearts would be opened and lead to the repentance,
conversion and change that could end the occupation. This is still our hope and cry: end the occupation: bring the troops home now."

"Herod had the innocent killed in order to maintain his power and control. This US / UK led war is about exactly the same thing: 'protecting our national interests', which is to say, keeping control of oil resources, maintaining power and deterring others who may seek to go their own way. And the innocent suffer in ever greater numbers. The latest estimates are of a million people dying and child malnutrition rising fifty per cent since the invasion (1)."

"In the past governments and armies needed young men to go to war for them. But with today's high technology warfare, all they need is our silence and our taxes. We should refuse them and withdraw co-operation. This is why we have refused to pay our fines. We are calling for an immediate the end to the occupation. We are calling for a step up in protest to and direct resistance to this war. And we are calling on the Catholic Bishops and all church and faith leaders to be at the forefront of the campaign to end this unjust, inhuman and un-winnable war."

Fr Martin Newell cp is a member of the Passionist Religious Order in the Catholic Church, and has been missioned to work with the London Catholic Worker. He is 39, and has been a priest for 10 years. He lives in Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House in Hackney Borough.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

London Catholic Worker: Scott Albrecht:
tel: 01923 77 201 email:
 londoncatholicworker@yahoo.co.uk

For more information on the 'Catholic Worker movement'
see londoncatholicworker.org OR catholicworker.org

(1) figures on malnutrition from Caritas
Internationalis and Caritas Iraq. [child malnutrition
has risen from 19% before the invasion to 28% now, a
50% rise ]


London Catholic Worker website:  http://www.londoncatholicworker.org/