Peace Activists Arrested Praying @ Pentagon Appear in Court in Wash DC Thursday, June 4th

[Catholic Worker]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Frank Cordaro <frank....@gmail.com>

Media Advisory WASHINGTON, D.C. 

June 2, 2026 Contact: Paul Magno, 202-321-6650, pmag...@gmail.com 

 Peace Activists Arrested During Prayer Protest at Pentagon Appear in Court Thursday, June 4th 

    The activists are scheduled to appear at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse, 401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. An 8:00 a.m vigil in front of the courthouse will precede their court appearance. 

   On the morning of March 27, 2026, 27 activists, many of whom are members of the Catholic Worker Movement that shelters the homeless, processed to the Pentagon’s southeast entrance near the Metro stop. The group, which calls itself the Pentagon 27, carried signs that read: “Love your enemies,” “Put up the sword. -Jesus,” “Catholic Workers say: Peace Now!,” “War is a sacrilege.- Pope Francis,” “Support Peace!,” and “Your wars will kill us all.” They assembled on the right-hand side of the Pentagon entrance to protest, they said, the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran—a war His Holiness Pope Leo XIV declared unjust, immoral, in violation of international law, and against the Gospel. Standing or kneeling, they began to sing and pray for peace. All 27 were arrested without incident and charged with interfering with agency functions. 

 The Pentagon 27 will contend in court that their peaceful actions are protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act of 1993. They will also contend that nonviolent and prayerful means to promote peace are religious obligations for faithful Roman Catholics and other spiritual traditions. 

 POPE LEO XIV’S ENCOURAGEMENT TO ACTIVELY RESIST WAR. In his recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV condemned the increasing pervasiveness of the military industrial complex in our society and the use of AI in war. “AI does not remove the intrinsic inhumanity of conflict; indeed it can only bring about conflict more quickly and render it more impersonal, lowering the threshold for resorting to violence, transforming defense into threat prediction and thus reducing victims to data,” the pontiff wrote. Magnifica Humanitas ¶198. 

 Consequently, Pope Leo encouraged people of goodwill to continue actively resisting war and injustice: “Even in the darkest nights, the Lord raises up men and women who refuse to give up, who persevere in doing good, who protect the vulnerable and open pathways to reconciliation. The memory of the saints, righteous people and the oft-forgotten peacemakers, show us that grace does not magically eliminate conflict, but instead it inspires active resistance to evil and an astonishing creativity in doing good.” Id. ¶211. 

 The Pentagon 27 did exactly this on March 27, as an expression of their Catholic faith.   

Conatat in Iowa - Frank Cordaro 515 490 2490  frank....@gmail.com