GRAND RAPIDS -- Three catholic sisters, who belong to the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in Grand Rapids, will be speaking on June 8th about their "symbolic disarmament" of a nuclear missile in Colorado in October 2002. The three, Sister Carol Gilbert, 55, Sister Ardeth Platte, 67, and Jackie Hudson, 68, are saying their goodbyes to friends and family as they prepare for their July 25th sentencing in Colorado, with a potential sentence of five to eight years in Federal prison.
The nuns felt compelled to act in order to bring attention to the 49 nuclear-armed Minutemen-3 missiles in Colorado, missiles that each have an explosive power of 300 kilotons or nearly 25 times the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. They acted both out of their religious faith, "...in the many names of God the Compassionate...to transform swords into plowshares" as well as what they see as an obligation under the principles of international law. Citing the 1945 Nuremberg Charter, they believe individuals are required to act against government policies that violate international law. During their recent trial, their attorney argued that the nuns' actions were not only legal, but also morally imperative under the Nuremberg Principles.
Photo of the missile silo
On the morning of October 6, 2002, the three nuns cut through a fence and carrying four baby bottles filled with their own blood and a ball-ping hammer proceeded towards the N8 missile site near Greeley, Colorado. Once inside the restricted area, the three nuns, wearing hazmat suits with "Citizens Weapons Inspection Team" on the back began their "symbolic disarmament" of the missile. They poured the blood they were carrying into the shape of six crosses on the 20-ton missile lid and repeatedly hit the lid of the missile silo with a ball-ping hammer. Three panels of fencing were cut down to open the site for public inspection and the nuns were able to complete a liturgy and sing songs and hymns before Air Force personnel appeared.
The nuns are members of the Plowshares Movement, a worldwide disarmament group that was founded in 1980 by the late Philip Berrigan. Since 1980, over 150 people have participated in approximately 70 plowshares actions around the world. Like all Plowshares actions, this action was both symbolic and public; the three Sisters used hammers to symbolically disarm the weapons and their own blood to represent the deaths that can be caused by the weapons.
The nuns carried a statement with them that explained why they acted, highlighting both the fact that they were compelled to act by legal and moral imperatives and that they hoped their actions would bring the issue of nuclear weapons into public discussion. Naming themselves "Sacred Earth and Space Plowshares II," they came "...to Colorado to unmask the false religion and worship of national security" supposedly gained by nuclear weapons, and acting under the imperative of God, they seek "...to name things what they are, to unmask the lies, abuses, and racism hidden in the rhetoric of patriotism, security, and moral superiority." They argue that the voice of God is one "...that proclaims world community, not domination of the world's economy; peace, not planning for space warfare."
The Sisters were arrested and charged with two felonies, interference with and obstruction of national defense and damage of more than $1,000 dollars to government property. The nuns spent nearly seven months in jail awaiting trial, as they refused to sign personal-recognizance bonds, as they would not agree to stay out of trouble during wartime. Their trial took place in the first week of April, in the midst of the war on Iraq. The nuns were convicted by a jury in a trial and as a result, could face up to twenty years in prison and a $250,000 fine. However, prosecutors are planning to ask for a five to eight year sentence, which according to the nuns' lawyers, is one of the harshest penalties ever for a civil disobedience case.
The prosecution argues that the sentence is in part a result of their past crimes. The prosecution made it clear that this is meant to be a deterrent to those who may engage in similar actions, stating that "It is our hope that this prosecution and conviction serves as a deterrent not only to these defendants, but to others inclined to bypass peaceful and lawful means of protest to commit similar crimes."
The nuns will be speaking on their Plowshares action at a free public event in Grand Rapids on Sunday, June 8th at 12:30pm. The event will be held at the Dominican Center of Marywood, located at 2025 E. Fulton St.
