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...it is called "sanctuary" from an ancient custom and law that has existed since before the time of Jesus.
When David was being chased by the Philistines who were going to kill him, he ran into a temple and as the story goes, he "grabbed the horns of the alter" and the Philistines had to retreat and give up the fight.
When someone enters a sanctuary (temple, church, mosque or any place of worship) they are supposed to be safe from the Powers That Be.
In the 1980's progressive churches all over the country joined in and provided an underground railroad such as what Harriet Tubman provided slaves to escape. South American people were at that time, fleeing the death squads and murderous regimes that were being funded and supported by the Reagan administration. Our ambassador to Iraq today, John Negroponte, was at the time a part of supporting death squads that went into villages and killed innocents and raped and murdered entire towns along with nuns as well as butchered priests who were ministering to the people.
It all began from the interpretation of the Bible that became liberation theology. In S. America a movement began because the Catholic Church did not have enough priests to minister to the people. Also the churches did not have enough printed material that dictated what scripture parishioners should read (they printed selected passages from the Bible and told the people that actually READING the Bible was not recommended). Since there was not enough printed material and priests, lay-people began to perform the duties of the church and refer directly to the Bible. So then after hearing directly from scripture, and from the words of Jesus, the poor and downtrodden came upon teachings like the Sermon On the Mount and the other 1700 or so references to the poor that said God walked among the poor, not with the rich.
Like we Americans, many believed there that if someone were rich, God somehow loves that person more than anyone who was poor. For centuries, since European invasion, there were only a few "special" families who owned everything (the Bush's being one of the interested parties, btw) who "let" people farm their lands for such things as coffee beans. In payment they required a portion of the yield in exchange for the care and usage of property to grow the crops. They kept the poor down because they demanded most of the crop that took such hard work to produce.
This new knowledge created a new way of thinking. And with the charismatic leadership of one American-trained El Salvadorian, Archbishop Cesear (sp?) Romero and others, it empowered the poor. Following the teachings of the early Chrisitans, they began to create small intertwined communities where they assisted one another with farming, health clinics, schools and the like, forming co-ops. They began to grow in resources and stature as they found that these communities promoted welfare for all, not just a few. And they also no longer depended solely on the whims of the rich for their livelihood. For instance Nicaragua had for awhile anyway, created the best third world health system in the world.
But Reagan and his people did not like this boldness of the poor (remember that Bush Sr was his vice president, a former CIA head as well as interested party in profits from the goings on of S America). They told Americans that these people were "communists" and a danger to us. They lied to us and said they did not do things like put mines in the waters of Nicaragua, which they did. They trained chosen people of the affected countries at places like the School Of The Americas, to become soldiers. Then these soldiers were set loose against those self-sufficient villages to burn, rape and pillage. Nuns were raped and murdered, priests murdered and dismembered, and Archbishop Romero was mysteriously assassinated by CIA trained and supported people.
When a few American and Canadian churches learned of what was happening, they tried to protect the refugees pouring over the border by saying these people were fleeing certain death in their own countries because they were marked by the death squads. But the Reagan administration said these people were not fleeing anything dangerous and therfore were illegal aliens and did not deserve sanction. So these churches formed the underground railroad that stretched from the Mexican border and got people to safety either to Canada or to an American church where some actually lived in the church (and a few synagogues).
Americans were tried for treason, for defying Reagan and his minions, but were later acquitted because, well it was an embarrassment to say the least. They knew if Americans learned the truth about the lies and what horrors our tax dollars in reality supported, WELL they would be toast. Iran-Contra came from it and Bush Sr barely excaped prosecution himself. And if they had been made into toast, we would not be in the trouble we are now in Iraq because THE SAME PEOPLE RUNNING S AMERICA THEN ARE THE SAME ONES RUNNING IRAQ AND OUR COUNTRY NOW.
What this woman is demonstrating is an honored tradition by going into the church and requesting sanctuary. She, like the people before her, is again by requesting sanctuary. She is raising back up a VERY bad ghost for this administration.
YOU GO GIRL!!!!
Cat In Seattle
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