WWJP? What would Jesus protest?

Where are the activist priests and ministers who took strong stands during the Vietnam War and hit the streets with their protests?

Three years into the war against Iraq, the silence of the clergy is deafening, despite U.S. abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and a reported American policy of shipping detainees to secret prisons abroad where, presumably, they can be tortured.

There are U.S. chaplains of many faiths serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, ministering to the men and women in uniform and reaching out to local religious leaders in both countries.
But here at home, the clergy seems to be in the same boat as the news media and most members of Congress: they are victims of the post-Sept. 11 syndrome that equates any criticism of U.S. policy with lack of patriotism.

The clergy are not alone. There is a disquieting public acceptance of the status quo. Although the Iraq war has a role in President Bush's declining standing in public opinion polls, rising gas prices may be having a bigger impact on his popularity.

During the Vietnam War, the clergy were vocal leaders of the peace movement and they picked up and marched.

The ever sultry Helen Thomas makes a very valid point here.

How can these religious leaders represent themselves as our moral compass if they are swayed by public opinion or political sensitivities?

Right is right every day, and wrong is wrong just as often. To see this country making the type of horrible decisons that it has made in the last five years and then stay silent is complicity by omission. If I attended a church (Yeah I know that is a little far fetched, but just go with me on this one.), and I felt that my minister was not taking on the hard moral choices in the world today I would grab my envelope out of that donation tray and go church shopping.

We need as many strong voices raised in opposition to the policies of this administration as possible.