Open Letter to Alberto Gonzales  

signed by over 225 religious leaders,

including many from the Latino/a religious community,

some of whom are evangelical leaders.

Mr. Gonzales describes himself as an evangelical Christian. 

The letter was released at a national press conference

on January 4, just ahead of the confirmation hearings.

An Open Letter to Alberto R. Gonzales

January 4, 2005

Hon. Alberto R. Gonzales

Counsel to the President

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC   20500

Dear Judge Gonzales:

We, the undersigned religious leaders, greet your nomination to be Attorney General of the United States with grave concern.

As a self-professed evangelical Christian, you surely know that all people are created in the image of God. You see it as a moral imperative to treat each human being with reverence and dignity. We invite you to affirm with us that we are all are made in the image of God – every human being. We invite you to acknowledge that no legal category created by mere mortals can revoke that status. You understand that torture – the deliberate effort to undermine human dignity – is a grave sin and affront to God. You would not deny that the systemic use of torture on prisoners at Abu Ghraib was fundamentally immoral, as is the deliberate rendering of any detainee to authorities likely to commit torture.

We urge you to declare that any attempt to undermine international standards on torture, renditions, or habeas corpus is not only wrong but sinful. We are concerned that as White House counsel you have shown a troubling disregard for international laws against torture, for the legal rights of suspected "enemy combatants," and for the adverse consequences your decisions have had at home and abroad.

How could you have written a series of legal memos that disrespected international law and invited these abuses? How could you have justified the use of torture and disavowed protections for prisoners of war? How could you have referred to the Geneva Conventions as “quaint” and “obsolete.” We fear that your legal judgments have paved the way to torture and abuse.

We therefore call upon you

•  To denounce the use of torture under any circumstances;

•  To affirm, with the Supreme Court, that it is unconstitutional to imprison anyone designated as an "enemy combatant" for months without access to lawyers or the right to challenge their detentions in court;

•  To affirm the binding legality of the Geneva Conventions and the laws of war;

•  And to reject the practice of "extraordinary rendition," at home and abroad, by which terrorist suspects are sent to countries that practice torture for interrogation.

We believe, as you do, that the United States must be an example of moral leadership in the world community. However, the events at Abu Ghraib have gravely compromised America's moral authority. We ask that you commit yourself as Attorney General to repairing that damage by articulating and enforcing legal policies that reject the use of torture, embrace and advance standards of international law, and honor the dignity of all of God's creation.

With prayers for wisdom and grace,

   Over 225 Religious Leaders

  (Affiliations listed for identification only)

Initial Endorsers:

Rev. Dr. George Hunsinger, Princeton Theological Seminary 

       Coordinator: Church Folks for a Better America

Dr. C. René Padilla, General Secretary for Latin America, IFES

Sr. Dianna Ortiz, director, Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, The Shalom Center

Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB

Dr. Susan Thistlethwaite, President, Chicago Theological Seminary

Mr. Jim Wallis, Editor, Sojourners

Dr. Ron Sider,   President,   Evangelicals for Social Action

Dr. Anthony Campolo, Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education

Rev. Jimmy R. Allen, Past President of the Southern Baptist Convention

Dr. Rubén Rosario Rodríguez, St. Louis University

Dr. Juanita Jartu Jolly, Agape Christian Tabernacle

Rev. Victor Aloyo, Jr., Director of Vocations, Princeton Theological Seminary

Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, Executive Director, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice

Pastor Amaury Tañón-Santos, American Baptist Churches

The Rev. John E. Denaro, Episcopal Migration Ministries

Rabbi Michael Lerner, The TIKKUN Community

Dr. Stanley Hauerwas, The Divinity School of Duke University

Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton, Aux. Bishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit

Bishop James H. Burch, Catholic Diocese of One Spirit

Rev. Dr. Joseph C. Hough, Jr., President, Union Theological Seminary

Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, The Shefa Fund

Rev. Dr. James H. Cone, Union Theological Seminary

Dr. Teresa Whitehurst, Jesus on the Family Institute

Dr. Glen Stassen, Fuller Theological Seminary

Rabbi Brian Walt, Rabbis for Human Rights North America

Rev. Romal Tune, African American Ministers Council

Rev. Dr. Therese M. Becker, Department of Spiritual Care, University of Chicago Hospitals

Rabbi Shirley Idelson, Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion

Rev. Theophlus Caviness, Greater Abyssinia, Cleveland, OH

Rev. Violete Dease, Abyssinian Baptist, Harlem, NY

Dr. Paul H. Sherry, National Council of Churches of Christ

Rev. Dr. John McEntyre, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

       [ more signatures ]