Two campus Christian leaders join Iraq war protest; one gets arrested at the White House
by Rae Schindler
News | 3/20/07
Posted online at 10:40 PM EST on 3/19/07
/ Last updated at 4:49 AM EST on 3/19/07
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Two Brandeis chaplains and thousands of Christian anti-war demonstrators descended on the nation's capital Friday night to protest the Iraq War as its four-year anniversary approached. The Christian Peace Witness group organized the event.
The Rev. Alexander Kern, a Quaker minister, was taken into custody along with 221 others engaged in an act of civil disobedience.
After ralliers walked three miles from the Cathedral to the White House while singing and praying, the group began surrounding the perimeter of the White House and others continued to demonstrate on the sidewalk in front of the building, an illegal act considered to be civil disobedience.
The police moved in and took 222 people, including Kern, into custody early Saturday morning. He said the police gave him three warnings before they arrested him, booked him and took his fingerprints.
The Rev. Walter Cuenin, a Catholic priest, said he was inspired to demonstrate against the war because of the actions of the late Pope John Paul II, who urged President Bush not to invade Iraq. Kern took his inspiration from the Scriptures.
"There is no way to justify this war if one looks to the life and teachings of Christ," Kern said.
Though they both traveled from Waltham to D.C., they could not find each other amid the crowd that gathered at the Washington National Cathedral, which made its way toward the White House.
The participants first attended a worship service at the renowned Washington National Cathedral, and then with electronic candles in hand, they walked three miles from the church to the White House singing songs, beating drums and praying.
After the police gave Kern a $100 fine, he was released at 3 a.m. Saturday morning, he said.
"It wasn't an admission of guilt, it was a condition for release," he said.
The cold weather and snow may have been a burden on the crowd, but both Cuenin and Kern were enthusiastic about the event.
"I have been feeling so powerless and I wanted to join with others in a faith expression of outrage," Cuenin said.
The two chaplains gave distinct descriptions of what they witnessed at the vigil. Cuenin said people were "celebratory in the cathedral … in an African American tradition." Kern described the scene as a multi-emotional event, "filled with imagery of lamentation, words of sorrow and calls to hope."
The Rev. Alexander Kern, a Quaker minister, was taken into custody along with 221 others engaged in an act of civil disobedience.
After ralliers walked three miles from the Cathedral to the White House while singing and praying, the group began surrounding the perimeter of the White House and others continued to demonstrate on the sidewalk in front of the building, an illegal act considered to be civil disobedience.
The police moved in and took 222 people, including Kern, into custody early Saturday morning. He said the police gave him three warnings before they arrested him, booked him and took his fingerprints.
The Rev. Walter Cuenin, a Catholic priest, said he was inspired to demonstrate against the war because of the actions of the late Pope John Paul II, who urged President Bush not to invade Iraq. Kern took his inspiration from the Scriptures.
"There is no way to justify this war if one looks to the life and teachings of Christ," Kern said.
Though they both traveled from Waltham to D.C., they could not find each other amid the crowd that gathered at the Washington National Cathedral, which made its way toward the White House.
The participants first attended a worship service at the renowned Washington National Cathedral, and then with electronic candles in hand, they walked three miles from the church to the White House singing songs, beating drums and praying.
After the police gave Kern a $100 fine, he was released at 3 a.m. Saturday morning, he said.
"It wasn't an admission of guilt, it was a condition for release," he said.
The cold weather and snow may have been a burden on the crowd, but both Cuenin and Kern were enthusiastic about the event.
"I have been feeling so powerless and I wanted to join with others in a faith expression of outrage," Cuenin said.
The two chaplains gave distinct descriptions of what they witnessed at the vigil. Cuenin said people were "celebratory in the cathedral … in an African American tradition." Kern described the scene as a multi-emotional event, "filled with imagery of lamentation, words of sorrow and calls to hope."
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