This letter was sent to faculty, staff and assistants at Marquette University calling on them to stop military training on campus.

April 22, 2008

Dear Marquette Faculty Members, Teaching Assistants, and Associates,

We are a group of primarily Milwaukee area citizens, including students and alumni who do not, as a whole, pretend to be your peers in the realm of higher education. We do, however, advocate a proposal which will significantly affect the MU academe. We are proposing that Marquette no longer host the four military science departments on campus since military values are in direct conflict with the Christian Gospel values espoused at Marquette. For example, the Army states in its manual:

“Your personal values may and probably do extend beyond the Army values, to include such things as political, cultural, or religious beliefs. However, if you’re to be an Army leader and a person of integrity, these values must reinforce, not contradict, Army values.”

On the other hand, the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” teaches:

“The citizen is obliged in conscience not to follow the directives of civil authorities when they are contrary to the demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or the teachings of the Gospel. Refusing obedience to civil authorities, when their demands are contrary to those of an upright conscience, finds its justification in the distinction between serving God and serving the political community.”

The gospel of Luke quotes Jesus saying, “To you who hear me, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you…” As Christians we are to follow Jesus. The Jesuit tradition speaks of A.M.D.G., Latin for “the Greater Glory of God.” There is a contradiction between the Gospel values espoused by Marquette as a Christian Catholic Jesuit institution and training men and women for war.

We are currently engaged in an occupation/war. Young men and women trained at Marquette have the potential of being sent to Iraq. When in Iraq, do they follow their conscience or obey orders, if the two conflict? The number of soldiers returning from Iraq with PTSD is a clear signal that, for many, the participation in this war is damaging their soul. In light of the Gospel and recognizing the horrors of war, can we in good conscience continue to promote the military training of these young men and women on a Christian Catholic Jesuit campus?

The war in Iraq would not be possible without military training. As testimony from Iraq veterans participating in Winter Soldier filters back to the public, we now more than ever see the connection between Iraq and Marquette’s Departments of Military Science.

If you believe it would be better to have military training off campus rather than at Marquette, please sign our petition and join us on Friday, May 2, 2008 at 11:30AM in front of the Marquette Library. We will reverently read the names of those killed in the Iraq War.

Sincerely,

MU Peace Petitioners (see 300 signatures by clicking below)

Sign the petition: http://www.nonviolentcow.org/TeachWarNoMore/MUPetition2008-02