Teaching Against Torture: Sacramental Catechesis in Exceptional Circumstances 1

The ongoing crisis concerning torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of prisoners by U.S. personnel or under U.S. auspices in the “War on Terror” raises issues central to the identity of both church and society. The practice of torture cries out for practical theological reflection inasmuch as it threatens to eviscerate the moral integrity of both American Christian churches and the nation as a whole. Serious practical theological attention needs to be paid to the challenges of teaching youth and adults in mainline Protestant congregations in ways that will move them from awareness to action around the issues raised by the torture crisis.