ACLU: FBI Spied on Thomas Merton Center
Wednesday March 15, 2006
Category: Law Enforcement, Crime, and Punishment | War on Terror
If you look at the web site for the Pittsburgh-based Thomas Merton Center for Peace and Justice, you'll find that it begins with a pretty simple statement of conscience, one consistent with the values of the gentle Trappist monk after whom the group is named:
We are people from diverse philosophies and faiths who find common ground in the nonviolent struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just world. We work to raise the moral questions involved in the issues of war, poverty, racism, and oppression.
Crazy talk like that is bound to land you in hot water with the Feds, and indeed the ACLU of Pittsburgh now has evidence that the FBI launched a full-scale investigation against the Thomas Merton Center for expressing antiwar views:
Two documents released today reveal that the FBI investigated gatherings of the Thomas Merton Center for Peace & Justice just because the organization opposed the war in Iraq. Although previously disclosed documents show that the FBI is retaining files on anti-war groups, these documents are the first to show conclusively that the rationale for FBI targeting is the group's opposition to the war ...
[T]he FBI ... [noted] in a November 2002 memo that the center “holds daily leaflet distribution activities in downtown Pittsburgh and is currently focused on its opposition to the potential war on Iraq.” The synopsis of the document is provided to “report results of investigation on Pittsburgh anti-war activities.” The FBI memo points out that the Merton Center “is a left-wing organization advocating, among many political causes, pacifism.”
The new investigation may very well be an honor for leaders of the Merton Center, who are no doubt well aware of the fact that Brother Merton himself was once investigated by the FBI for protesting the Vietnam War. All of which just goes to show that whatever threat Americans face--be it a Cold War nuclear holocaust or global terrorism--we can always trust the U.S. government to keep tabs on Roman Catholic monastics who preach nonviolence.
If you look at the web site for the Pittsburgh-based Thomas Merton Center for Peace and Justice, you'll find that it begins with a pretty simple statement of conscience, one consistent with the values of the gentle Trappist monk after whom the group is named:
We are people from diverse philosophies and faiths who find common ground in the nonviolent struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just world. We work to raise the moral questions involved in the issues of war, poverty, racism, and oppression.
Crazy talk like that is bound to land you in hot water with the Feds, and indeed the ACLU of Pittsburgh now has evidence that the FBI launched a full-scale investigation against the Thomas Merton Center for expressing antiwar views:
Two documents released today reveal that the FBI investigated gatherings of the Thomas Merton Center for Peace & Justice just because the organization opposed the war in Iraq. Although previously disclosed documents show that the FBI is retaining files on anti-war groups, these documents are the first to show conclusively that the rationale for FBI targeting is the group's opposition to the war ...
[T]he FBI ... [noted] in a November 2002 memo that the center “holds daily leaflet distribution activities in downtown Pittsburgh and is currently focused on its opposition to the potential war on Iraq.” The synopsis of the document is provided to “report results of investigation on Pittsburgh anti-war activities.” The FBI memo points out that the Merton Center “is a left-wing organization advocating, among many political causes, pacifism.”
The new investigation may very well be an honor for leaders of the Merton Center, who are no doubt well aware of the fact that Brother Merton himself was once investigated by the FBI for protesting the Vietnam War. All of which just goes to show that whatever threat Americans face--be it a Cold War nuclear holocaust or global terrorism--we can always trust the U.S. government to keep tabs on Roman Catholic monastics who preach nonviolence.
Comments
It is their job to investigate. If you are that paranoid, move to the country where no government official investigaates its citizens of interest. Where would that be?