Tortured and Murdered by Empire - Stations of the Cross through Westminster, London

Photos
http://tinyurl.com/cf5wk6w

27 people associated with the Catholic Worker communities based in Harringay, Rickmansworth and Oxford, undertoook a five hour contemporary Stations of the Cross procession through downtown Westminster/ London on Holy Thursday.

Processing behind a banner reading "Tortured and Murdered by Empire", the group carried a cross, images of the crucified Christ, victims of the UK wars on Iraq & Aghanistan, Jimmy Mubenga killed by GS4 at Heathrow during his 2010 deportation, Bradley Manning & Julian Assange of WikiLeaks presently in the crosshairs of empire for exposing war crimes.

The procession paused for prayer, shared reflection and song outside of Downing St., Ministry of Defence, Dept of Energy, MBDA, BAe Systems, Qinetiq, Defence Export Services Organisation, Rolls Royce, Home Office, MI-5, Arms Export Committee, Treasury Office, Parliament, Foreign Office before returning to Downing St.

By the time the group had left the MI-5 building they had picked up an armed response unit tail. Their return to Downing St was greeted with a van load of armed offices tumbling out of their van The government is presently seeking 10 year ASBO's banning two Catholic Workers, Chris Cole and Fr. Martin Newell C.P, from Westminster in relation to their nonviolent anti-war activity.

Catholic Workers based in and around Giuseppe Conlon House/ Harringay, St Francis House/ Oxford and Farmhouse/ Rickmansworth are involved in nonviolent resistance to war and war preparations and the daily acts of mercy as a form of solidarity with the homeless and destitute refugees.

One of the participants Ciaron O'Reilly stated, "Our life and work with homeless refugees informs our anti-war resistance. The anti-war resistance in turn informs our practice of the "acts of mercy" as another form of nonviolent direct action in resistance to the institutions we have visited and named today as purveyors of wholesale crime and terror. In modern warfare, all that is asked of us today at the centre of empire is to avert our gaze as these institutions get on with the killing and our brothers and sisters out of sight and mind get on with the dying! The toruture and state murder of Jesus at the extremity of the Roman empire is echoed today in Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo......."