Catholics head to the gates of SOA/WINSEC

This week marks the 25th vigil at the gates of the School of the Americas at Fort Benning in Georgia. Originally begun in response to the massacres carried out in El Salvador by US-trained militaries, the vigil's message of peace and opposition to military hegemony by the U.S. is as relevant today as it ever has been.

SOA Watch, which organizes the annual vigil and works to shut down the SOA explains on their website the interconnected web of militarization in our society and draws attention to the violence in the Americas:

"The enforced disappearances of 43 students from Ayotzinapa, Mexico once again proved that the disastrous results of U.S. military aid and training in Latin America are ongoing. As the U.S. stubbornly imposes the Drug War on the rest of the hemisphere, the line between police and military inside the U.S. is also being blurred. Ferguson has reminded us that police militarization and the treatment of some communities as internal enemies are also major problems in the U.S., while putting into context what militarization looks like on the ground for so many in Latin America and beyond."

Many CTA members have attended the vigil for years, which was first organized by life-long advocate for justice Fr. Roy Bourgeois. If you are there this year, be sure to stop by the table we'll share with other progressive Catholic groups and say hi. Even if you won't be in GA this weekend, please join us in praying for the victims of violence and be sure to check out the SOAW website for information on how to take action to push back against the increasing millitarization of the police, the border and the ever expanding drug war.