Detroit — A number of local Catholics were among the upwards of 150 people who protested the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq Monday outside the Theodore Levin Federal Courthouse in downtown Detroit.
While most of the participants walked around the courthouse carrying signs or banners, others stationed at the two main entrances of the building read the names of people killed in the war – both Iraqis and Americans.
On the Fort Street side of the building, Sr. Maureen Sinnott, OSF, struck a bell each time the Rev. Bill Wylie-Kellerman, rector of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Detroit, read off a name.
"To me, one child killed is too many. It's an illegal, immoral war," Sr. Sinnott said after the protest.
Veronica Cornett, a member of St. Michael Parish in Sterling Heights, said, "I'm here to honor the dead who I think the United States has illegally and immorally killed in this horrible, horrible war."
For Mercy Sr. Rita Mary Olszewski, the protest brought her back to the site where she and 21 other people were arrested four years ago protesting the beginning of the war.
"In the year 2006, 34,000 Iraqis were killed. It's our occupation that's causing this," she said.
Ron Dale, a member of St. Leo Parish in Detroit, said he came to the protest for the same reason he was at the protest in Washington, D.C. two days prior. "Just as Jesus opposed empire, I must also oppose empire. As a Christian, I must say no to war and torture," he added.
Fellow Pax Christi member Bob Fehribach said he wished local bishops had joined in protesting what he called an unjust war. "My conscience tells me Christ would not support this war," he said.
Related Link: USCCB Parish Resources on Iraq
