Weapons of Mass Destruction Plowshares

Greg Boertje-Obed —51; from Duluth, Minnesota; member of Loaves and Fishes Catholic Worker and Veterans for Peace; former U.S. Army officer; participant in previous plowshares actions which disarmed Trident II nuclear missile tubes in Rhode Island, combat helicopters and nuclear-capable war planes in Pennsylvania, and a Tomahawk nuclear-capable missile launcher and missile tubes in Virginia; married to Michele Naar-Obed; father of Rachel Obed,--11 years old.

“ I believe Jesus led us to do this witness based on his teachings of intervening for the sake of the poor. These weapons are killing us and the poor today. I believe this plowshares action is a natural extension of our Catholic Worker mission which is hospitality, providing for the needs of the poor, and defending the poor.”

Carl Kabat, OMI —72; from St. Louis, Missouri; 47 years a Roman Catholic priest; worked as a missionary in the Philippines and Brazil; participated in the first plowshares/pruning hooks action in 1980 and the first Silo Pruning Hooks action in 1984 and other plowshares actions; served about 16 years in jails and prisons.

“We are fools and clowns for God and humanity's sake. Over 2,500 American soldiers have died because of nuclear weapons in the past several years in Iraq . … I remember Eisenhower who said that every weapon that is made is a theft from the poor…. The only condemnation of Vatican II was that nuclear weapons are a crime against humanity and are to be condemned unreservedly.” Carl Kabat, OMI

Michael R. Walli— 57; Vietnam veteran; Roman Catholic; currently residing in Duluth, Minnesota

I've been influenced by the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, and the teachings of the late Pope John Paul II to oppose the culture of death, and this plowshares action seems to me to be a suitable way of acting on these teachings . Michael Walli