Prayer to Close the School of the Americas

Section: 
prayers

Let us place our efforts for peace and justice before our God. Let us remember daily our call to be a voice for the poor. Let us stand in the tradition of Jesus, Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and all those who have gone before us in the way of nonviolence.

Song:
We are Called, by David Haas or any appropriate song or music
 
Opening Prayer:
We gather in prayer in union with all people of good will throughout the world. We need God's wisdom and love to be peacemakers in our times.
 
All:
Great lover of the Earth, Lover of all peoples, be with us at this time of prayer. We gather asking that your gift of justice and love may be given and shared. We ask that your care for the poor and oppressed be enfleshed anew in our times. We ask that your gift of wisdom be with all of us as we ponder; pray, and act to discontinue the injustices connected with the School of the Americas.
 
Psalm: 139
 
Antiphon: O God, we praise you for the wonder of our being.
God, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I stand;
You discern my thoughts from afar.
You mark when I walk or lie down,
with all my ways you are familiar.
Before a word is on my tongue,
Behold, O God, you know the whole of it.
Behind and before, you besiege me,
You lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me
Too high, beyond my reach.
O, where can I go from your spirit,
or where can I flee from your presence?
If I climb to the heaven, you are there!
If I lie in the grave, you are there!
If I say, “let darkness cover me
and the light around my be night.”
Even darkness is not dark to you,
and the night is as bright as the day;
for darkness is as light to you.
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Test me and know my thoughts!
See that I follow not the wrong way
and lead me in the way of life eternal.
Glory to you, source of all Being...
 
Reader:
The US Army School of Americas (SOA), based in Fort Benning, Georgia, trains Latin American soldiers in combat, counter-insurgency, and counter-narcotics. Graduates of the SOA are responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America that includes the El Mozote Massacre of 900 civilians.
 
The UN Truth Commission Report on El Salvador cited over 60 Salvadoran officers, 2/3 were alumni of the School of the Americas, participated in that country's brutal murders of Archbishop Romero, the six Jesuits and housekeepers, and the four US church women.
 
On January 17, 2001 the SOA was replaced by the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC). However, the list of graduates involved in torture, murder, and human rights abuses continues to grow. On May 5, 2001 Barbara Ann Ford, SC was shot and killed in Guatemala by a group of heavily armed men. Her murder took place within escalating threats and attacks against human rights workers. Archbishop Gerardi was assassinated in Guatemala after the release of his 1998 report on the SOA atrocities. In June 2002, Colombian police arrested SOA graduate Fredy Jimenez for the murder of Archbishop Isaias Duarte in March - the atrocities continue.
 
Reflection
Petitions Response: O God, we need your wisdom and love.
Leader: O God, you are the source of all help and hope, of all wisdom and love. Accept these our prayers.
For the hundreds of thousands of people all over Latin America who have been tortured, raped, assassinated, disappeared, massacred, or forced into refuge by those trained at the School of the Americas. We cry...
 
For the memory our sisters and brothers who first lived on these lands. We pray for an end to the SOA violence and arrogance that continues to ravage indigenous peoples. We cry...
 
For conversion of heart and commitment to actions that will bring about the closing of the U:S. Army School of the Americas. We cry...
 
For ways of working together to create a world where people of all religions, races, ethnicities, genders, abilities, classes, and beliefs will live together free from fear and oppression. We cry...
 
(Other petitions...)
 
Closing Prayer:
O loving God, show us the way of hope.
Enkindle the flame of faith and love.
Help us to respond as your people
In integrity and with peace. Amen.
 

Adapted from Prayers for a New World Order by Mary Elizabeth Clark, SSJ

Prayer adapted by Kathleen Coll, SSJ, from that written by Patricia Joseph Corkery, RSM. Used with permission from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia.