The Nuclear Resister

from Catholic Peace Action

On March 13, Ray Towey marked the Ministry of Defence in London, as a witness against the nuclear war preparations of the U.K. government.

Ray was supported by Carmel and Dan Martin.  

As usual, we started in the nearby park with prayers and readings from the Bible and “Follow Me – The Way of the Cross”, with reflections taken from the writings of Blessed Franz Jagerstatter (pub Pax Christi).  Prepared and led by Carmel, see below.

The police arrived after Ray had written several messages along with the sign of the cross under the MoD plaque:   

“Trident is Genocide”

“Choose Life not Terror”

Nukewatch photo

from Nukewatch

First Ever U.S. Woman Sentenced to Prison in Decades-Long Effort

Susan Crane, of the Redwood City, California Catholic Worker, has been sentenced to 229 days in prison in Germany for daring to interfere with the U.S. nuclear weapons stationed at Germany’s Büchel Air Force base, southeast of Cologne.

Crane participated in six nonviolent go-in actions, confronting the air force system on base which routinely trains to drop the U.S. H-bombs on targets in Russia,[1] most provocatively this winter in operation “Steadfast Defender 24” — which was launched in the midst of NATO’s war in Ukraine.[2]

As a result of convictions on misdemeanor charges of trespass and damage to the chain-link fence, Crane was fined a total of twenty-five-hundred Euros. Now, for refusing to admit guilt or pay, a mid-level court on Jan. 18, 2024 ordered Crane to report June 4, 2024 to Rohrbach penitentiary, a 450-bed, co-ed in southwest Germany. Crane’s 7.6- month penalty is the longest prison sentence ever imposed in the 25-year-long series of rallies, protests, marches, peace camps, and civil resistance directed at the NATO nuclear weapons base. Crane is also the first U.S. woman to be ordered to German prison in the decades-long effort.

from Art Laffin, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker

Dear Friends,

From 7 – 8 a.m. on December 28, ten peacemakers witnessed at the Pentagon to commemorate the Feast of the Massacre of the Holy Innocents. The witness was organized by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in conjunction with the Little Flower Catholic Worker and Norfolk Catholic Worker.

We act in prayerful solidarity with many sisters and brothers today in the U.S. and elsewhere who are commemorating this special feast day by engaging in acts of public witness in resistance to a warmaking empire.  

Photo by Felton Davis

On November 30, activists affixed a 10-foot-long sticker to the windows of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations which read, “U.S. sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.” This strong message to the U.S. Mission was delivered by members of the Atlantic Life Community, Catholic Workers, New York City War Resisters League and Nukewatch.  

The nuclear abolition activists, holding signs and banners and singing protest songs, blocked all three entrance doors to the U.S. Mission. Soon after the blockade was in place, the Mission played a taped message instructing employees to “shelter in place”.

After two hours, eighteen blockaders were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. They were processed within a couple of hours and released with a December 20 court date.