January 19, 2007 Vol
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Saying goodbye Priest and widower’s friendship was a model for loving your neighbor, page 9. Serving the ChurchCriterion in Central and Southern Indiana Since 1960 CriterionOnline.com January 19, 2007 Vol. XLVII, No. 14 75¢ A conscientious choice Grandmother’s arrest is about taking a stand for the poor, oppressed By John Shaughnessy On the day before she was arrested by military police, Val Fillenwarth put on a white T-shirt decorated by the brightly colored handprints of her 17 grandchildren, includ- Photo by John Shaughnessy ing the one who had died too soon. At 64, Fillenwarth thought the shirt was the right one to wear as she joined other women in the group called “1,000 Grandmothers”—one part of the 22,000 protesters who had come to Fort Benning, Ga., to demonstrate peace- fully against a United States Army school that they believe trains soldiers from Latin America to torture and kill. The school has been a concern for Fillenwarth’s conscience since 1980 when she heard the news that four Catholic women—three religious sisters and a lay missionary—had been murdered in El Salvador, murders that implicated men who had been trained at the school. In the years since then, Fillenwarth has protested and given talks about the former School of the Americas that is now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Yet, on Nov. 19, 2006, the commit- ment of Fillenwarth—a member of St. Lawrence Parish in Indianapolis—took an even more personal turn. As the 22,000 protesters marched in a solemn, funeral- like procession near the gates of Fort Benning, Fillenwarth and 15 others broke ranks from the march. While members of the crowd said aloud the names of Latin American people—many of them poor—who have been killed by soldiers, the 16 protesters walked toward a hole in the Ed and Val Fillenwarth hold a family portrait of their seven children and 17 grandchildren that is displayed in their Indianapolis home. fence at Fort Benning. As they took turns climbing through the hole, they knew reared their seven children and opened their hearts to their has Catholic roots. Maryknoll Missionary Father Roy they were breaking a law against trespassing on govern- 17 grandchildren. As the sun streamed into the house on that Bourgeois started it in 1990, a year after six Jesuit ment property. They also knew that people who had been winter afternoon, Fillenwarth was just days from returning to priests, their housekeeper and her daughter were killed arrested for trespassing at Fort Benning in previous years Georgia for her Jan. 29 trial on the trespassing charges. in El Salvador by soldiers, many of whom had been had received prison sentences ranging from three months to “I’m not scared,” she said. “We did a lot of talking to the trained at the then-School of the Americas. The school’s six months. Still, Fillenwarth children and the grandchildren to graduates also included Manuel Noriega of Panama and didn’t flinch from her act of make sure they’ve understood it. Roberto D’ Aubuisson of El Salvador, two leaders civil disobedience as military ‘There’s this consistent ethic to They’ve been great. whose regimes were marked by violence, terror and police officers ran to arrest life—that we need to care for the “The one thing I want to stress is death. her and the others. poor, the oppressed, people who that this protest is not against our The name of the school was changed in 2001 to the There was no turning troops. It’s against the training of Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. back for Fillenwarth. Her are taken advantage of. To me, military personnel from Latin Defenders of the school say its curriculum requires turning point had been that’s a very important part of America. I want our grandchildren coursework in human rights and democratic values. reached in August of 2005 being a Christian. ’ to see that we can love our country Supporters also say the school shouldn’t be accountable when her 17-year-old grand- enough to speak out when we know when some of its graduates distort the purpose of the son, Ben Fillenwarth, died in — Val Fillenwarth something is wrong; that dissent is training. a traffic accident in patriotic. “The government says it’s a different school, but it Indianapolis. “Also, as Christians, as follow- isn’t,” Fillenwarth said. “New name, same shame.” “His death was the final conviction to do it,” the grand- ers of Jesus, we need to do whatever it takes to stick up for She hopes the makeup of the newly-elected mother recalled, “because I can see how a death like that the poor. There’s this consistent ethic to life—that we need U.S. Congress will eventually lead to the school being affects the family. You think of all the thousands and thou- to care for the poor, the oppressed, people who are taken closed. In June 2006, an effort in the U.S. House of sands of families who have lost a child in Latin America advantage of. To me, that’s a very important part of being a Representatives to suspend funding for the school because of this school. When a family loses a child, it’s Christian. The Catholic Church’s teachings call us to work failed by a vote of 218 to 188. never the same again.” for justice for everyone, that we’re all equally precious to The pastor of Fillenwarth’s parish says he takes no While she talked, Fillenwarth sat at the kitchen table of God.” sides in the controversy. Still, the support of Father John her Indianapolis home, where she and her husband, Ed, The annual November protest and vigil at Fort Benning See GRANDMOTHER, page 12 Bishop Skylstad says Iraqi security, dignity are key to policy WASHINGTON (CNS)—Every within the framework of “a key moral the Holy Land, issued his statement from U.S. action or policy in Iraq “ought to be question that ought to guide our nation’s Jerusalem, but it was released through evaluated in light of actions in Iraq: How can the U.S. bring the USCCB offices in Washington. our nation’s moral about a responsible transition in Iraq?” He noted that the U.S. bishops and the responsibility to help He said “benchmarks” for progress Vatican had expressed “grave moral con- Iraqis to live with secu- toward such a transition include “mini- cerns about the military intervention in rity and dignity in the mally acceptable levels of security; eco- Iraq” and its potential for uncontrollable aftermath of U.S. mili- nomic reconstruction to create employ- negative consequences. tary action,” said ment for Iraqis; and political structures “In light of current realities, the Holy Bishop William S. and agreements that help overcome divi- See and our con- Skylstad of Spokane, sions, reduce violence, broaden partici- Bush’s new plan ference support Wash., president of the pation and increase respect for religious draws support, broader regional Bishop William S. U.S. Conference of freedom and basic human rights.” criticism, page 19. and international Skylstad Catholic Bishops. “Any action or failure to act should be engagement to In a statement measured by whether it moves toward increase security, stability and recon- released on Jan. 12, Bishop Skylstad said these benchmarks and contributes to a struction in Iraq,” he said. the new U.S. policies announced by responsible withdrawal at the earliest “Another necessary step is more sus- President George W. Bush on Jan. 10 or time,” he added. tained U.S. leadership to address other any alternatives to them must be viewed Bishop Skylstad, who was traveling in See IRAQ, page 2 Page 2 The Criterion Friday, January 19, 2007 for the men and women in the U.S. mili- U.S. soldiers tary who serve bravely, generously and secure a road in IRAQ Baghdad, Iraq, in continued from page 1 at great risk.” He said, as religious leaders and this Nov. 5 photo. deadly conflicts in this region, especially human rights defenders, the bishops In an address to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the “have expressed particular alarm at the the nation on crisis in Lebanon,” he added. deteriorating situation of Christians and Jan. 10, President George He said the bishops’ conference has other religious minorities in Iraq.” CNS photo/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud, Reuters repeatedly called for “substantive, civil Their special vulnerability highlights W. Bush said he and nonpartisan discussion of ways to the dangers being faced by all Iraqis, wants to send bring about a responsible transition in including Sunnis and Shiites, he said. 21,500 additional Iraq.” A day after Bush announced he wants U.S. troops to “Such civil dialogue is even more to send more soldiers to Iraq, anti-war Iraq. He admitted essential and urgent at this moment of activists held protests in a number of that it was a national discussion and decision,” he U.S. cities, including San Francisco, mistake not to said. Boston, Washington and New York. have more troops In his Jan. 10 address on national tele- Demonstrators said the buildup planned on the ground. vision, Bush outlined a plan to boost by the president will cause more blood- U.S. troop strength in Iraq by about shed and give insurgents new American 21,500 and set a series of benchmarks targets. the Iraqi government is expected to meet Organizers of the protests said they in coming months to stabilize the coun- were a prelude to a Jan.