NEW YORK — Widely-known Franciscan peace activist Louis Vitale, OFM, founder of Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service, will speak June 12, 7:30 p.m., at the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus here.
“Say ‘No’ to Torture” starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel of St. Mary of the Angels. A $10 donation is requested.
Earlier this week, Louie spoke on, “Love Your Enemies: Transforming Us vs. Them Thinking,” at Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y.
The event was organized by Larry Anderson, OFM, and Mathias Doyle, OFM, director of Siena’s Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy.
Louie is Siena’s non-violent action advocate. Ordained in 1963, Louie has devoted his life to peace, working tirelessly for the dignity and well being of people. He has a background in the sociology of religion and social movements.
He recently served a five-month prison term for protesting at Fort Huachuca, the Arizona military installation where U.S. intelligence officers are trained in interrogation tactics and torture.
For more information on the New York City event, call 212-749-0276, ext. 23, or e-mail holynamenyc@aol.com
Walt Chura, formation minister for the St. Bernadine of Siena SFO Community in Albany, said that Louie is admirable in many ways.
“First, for a man of his years, he has more energy than I at ten years his junior. Second, he is filled with Franciscan hope and joy, truly remarkable traits in one who has suffered the slings and arrows of ‘Holy Mother the State’ in his advocacy for those brothers and sisters who have become subject to the torture techniques now authorized by the federal administration. Also, he personally counseling with those suffering the after effects of those tortured and those plague by the horror of what they have done or witnessed during interrogations of suspects.”