Fwd: Message from Art Laffin: Updated Report of April 3, 2026 Good Friday Commemoration Peace Witness in Proximity to the Pentagon

[Catholic Worker]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Art Laffin <artl...@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, Apr 4, 2026 at 11:43 AM
Subject: Message from Art Laffin: Updated Report of April 3, 2026 Good Friday Commemoration Peace Witness in Proximity to the Pentagon
To:

Holy Saturday, April 4th--Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr. Martyrdom—Dr. King--Presente!

Dear Friends, 

On Good Friday morning, from 7-8 AM, 16 peacemakers held a prayer service on the perimeter of the Pentagon to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus and to call for an end to modern forms of crucifixion as vast numbers of God's global family are crucified to a cross of war, militarism, racial hatred, discrimination and economic exploitation. (see attached photos) We held this witness near the corner of S. Fern St. and Army Navy Drive. Since October 22, 2025, we've been banned from witnessing in the designated protest area near the Pentagon Metro entrance on the southeast side of the building. At this new location, we can hold signs and are still visible to some soldiers and workers going into the Pentagon, as well as to vehicular traffic.

This witness, which was coordinated by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, included members from Pax Christi, Franciscan Action Network and other faith communities. Our witness was yet another prayer of intercession at the center of warmaking on our planet. We carried in our hearts friends who are engaging in similar acts of public witness elsewhere and many from our extended communities who could not be with us physically but joined us in spirit for this witness.    

As Pentagon police kept a watchful eye on us from a parked vehicle in the distance, and in proximity to some Pentagon workers and soldiers en route to the Pentagon as well as street traffic, we held crosses, signs and a large banner in honor of St. Oscar Romero.  

 

The prayer service began with an opening that I gave and Verleah Kosloske reading an account of Jesus's crucifixion from the 15th chapter of Mark's Gospel. Michele Dunne then read several reflections which included a Good Friday plea to Pentagon workers and calling into our presence the Holy Cloud of  Witnesses, which now includes deceased members of our extended community. Preceding each part of the reflection was the prayer recited by all gathered: "We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!" (See the Prayer Service Below)

This was followed by a Litany prepared by Frank Panopoulos (see attachment).

 

We then read accounts and prayers for crucified victims today (see below: "Remembering Crucified Victims Today"). The readers included:  Ken Cooper, Paul Magno, Kathy Boylan, and Mary Beth Sullivan. After each account/prayer, we sang "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord." Scott Wright then read an excerpt from the Kairos Palestine II Document — "A Moment of Faith in a Time Of Genocide." This was followed by Mary Beaudoin reading a prayer from Sabeel and an excerpt from a book by Pope Francis decrying war as a sacrilege. John Holden then read excerpts from Pope's Leo's Palm Sunday homily calling us to follow Jesus, the King of Peace, and decrying those who use the Gospel to justify war https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/full-text-pope-leo-xivs-first-palm-sunday-homily, as well as from Bishop John Michael Botean, (eparch) of the Greek Catholic (Romanian) Eparchy of St. George in Canton, Ohio, who decried the war in Iran as immoral and calling us "to resist participation in this war in any way you can." (see attachment)

After each excerpt was read, we sang together: "Let Me Be An Instrument of Peace."

Philip Krabill then read: "Jesus Our Tortured Brother Today," that was written by the late Sr. Dianna Ortiz, who herself was a torture victim. We then sang "Stabat Mater" with new lyrics by Joe Byrne. Our witness concluded with a closing prayer read by Kirstin DeMello, a recitation of the Lord's Prayer and singing "Vine and Fig Tree." We then processed with crosses, signs and the St. Romero banner to the Pentagon City Metro.

I extend a word of deep thanks for all who participated in this witness and for those offering support and solidarity from afar. Let us pray for each other during this Holy Season, and for all those in our world who are experiencing at this very moment the passion and death of Jesus. In this perilous time, let us be transformed by the cross and resurrection of Jesus as we seek to practice resurrection and be living signs of hope for our world.

  

In Resurrection Hope, 

Art Laffin

Good Friday Prayer Service 2026

Opening: A Good Friday Plea To All Who Work at the Pentagon: Stop Crucifixion Today!

"We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!"  (Everyone Repeat)

Good Morning and may God’s peace be with all of us and all who work here at the Pentagon. Today is Good Friday, the day Christians commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Today, vast numbers of God's global family experience a modern form of crucifixion as they are crucified to a cross of war, militarism, racial hatred, discrimination and economic exploitation. In the crucified people of our world, we see the crucified face of Jesus.

We, members of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Christians 4 Ceasefire and Just Peace, Pax Christi, Franciscan Action Network and other faith communities, come to the Pentagon, the center of warmaking on our planet, as we seek to follow Jesus in nonviolent revolution as He made his way to Jerusalem. We remember all victims who have been and continue to be crucified and deemed expendable, and call for an immediate end to their crucifixion. We also pray for an end to the desecration of our sacred earth. Leonardo Boff writes: “Jesus continues to be crucified in all those who are crucified in history...There are not enough Stations of the Cross to depict all the ways in which the Lord continues to be persecuted, imprisoned, condemned to death and crucified today.”

Gospel Reading from Mark: 15:16-37 (see attachment)

"We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!"  (Everyone Repeat)

We are people of faith who believe in God's reign of justice, love, and Gospel nonviolence. As followers of Jesus living in a warmaking empire, we say loudly and clearly with Jesus to the nations, especially our own, and to all warring parties everywhere: "Love one another," "Love your enemies," "Be merciful as God is merciful,” "Put away the sword," Thou shalt not kill!" "Beat all swords (weapons) into plowshares." We call on all soldiers to refuse to fight and kill. We denounce all killing, torture, oppression, occupation, and war, no matter who the perpetrator is. God's love knows no borders. We reject all that is contrary to God's commandment to love our neighbor. We denounce empire, white supremacy, Christian Nationalism, and all systems of domination and structures of power that oppress, exploit and kill. 

"We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!"  (Everyone Repeat)

The U.S., who along with Israel, is waging yet another war--this time in Iran, and Christian nationalists are proclaiming it to be a "holy war." We decry as a heresy the Secretary of War and others use of the bible and the Gospel to justify the Iran war. Our Catholic Worker friend, Claire Shaeffer-Duffy, writes: "The U.S./Israel war on Iran is an extension of the Gaza genocide, the inevitable logic of our decades-long, heretical devotion to the gods of metal, an idolatry that now has the whole world by the throat."  We decry the Trump administration and Israel's immoral and illegal war against Iran.  We decry the US-backed Israeli genocidal war in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in Palestine.

"We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!"  (Everyone Repeat)

We decry the Trump regime's attempts to seize absolute power to enrich themselves and their wealthy supporters, provide tax cuts for the rich, gut agencies that assist the poor and vulnerable. We denounce the reign of terror being inflicted on our immigrant sisters and brothers. 

"We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!"  (Everyone Repeat)

In our prayer this morning, in solidarity with sisters and brothers engaging in similar acts of nonviolent witness today, we beckon Jesus, our crucified and Risen Savior, and summon the holy cloud of witnesses--past and present. We especially remember all who witnessed for peace here at the Pentagon over the decades and who have gone home to God. We call out to the consciences of all who work at the Pentagon to extricate themselves from the war machine and uphold God's command to renounce all killing.

"We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!"  (Everyone Repeat)

Good Friday Litany — Prepared by Frank Panopoulos (see attachment)

"We adore you o Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!"  (Everyone Repeat)

Jesus commands us "to take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye." We appeal to the U.S. government, which Dr. King called the greatest purveyor of violence in the world; to take the log out of its own eye and repent for the sins of violence it has committed against numerous nations. The U.S. cannot legitimately call into account the wrongdoing of others until it first repents for its own wrongdoing.

REMEMBERING CRUCIFIED VICTIMS TODAY

Victim of Racial Violence 

We oppose all forms of racism, Antisemitism and Islamophobia. We pray for all those--past and present--who have been and continue to be crucified to a cross of racial hatred. We repent for and denounce the sin of white supremacy. We remember and pray for all those American Indians and African Americans who were slaughtered, enslaved, lynched and murdered simply because of their skin color. Today, racial hatred and violence are pervasive throughout the land. A disproportionate number of African Americans are imprisoned and executed. African Americans are constantly profiled and are being killed in record numbers by white police officers. Too many have suffered and died because of White Supremacy and State violence! The knee of White Supremacy has been on the necks of Blacks for far too long! Black Lives Matter!  Islamophobia is pervasive. Muslims in the U.S. are demonized and targeted. Systemic violence and racism, inherent in oppressive economic and political structures and policies, crush the poor and people of color, denying so many of their dignity and human rights. We call into our presence all victims of racism.

Loving God, you have instructed us that every person is created in your image and that all life is sacred. We repent for the sin of racism. Deepen our commitment to work for justice and equality for all people of color as we strive to make the Beloved Community a reality here and now.            

Sing: Were You There When They Crucified MY Lord

Victim of Militarism and Nuclearism                                                                       

We pray for all people–past and present--who have been, and continue to be, crucified to the cross of militarism, nuclearism and warmaking. No matter who the perpetrator is, whether if it's the U.S., Russia, Israel or any other nation or group, the sin and crime of war, military intervention, occupation, abduction, indiscriminate killing, the use of weapons of mass murder, displacement, ethnic cleansing and genocide, violates God’s command: “Thou Shalt not kill.” We remember and pray for all victims of U.S. warmaking and intervention, including in Iraq and Afghanistan and now Iran, which has resulted in the death, displacement and trauma for millions of people. The U.S. must repent for the war crimes and make reparations to its victims. We call for an end to AFRICOM and the closing of the estimated 800 U.S. military bases worldwide, including Guantanamo.  The Doomsday Clock is set to 85 seconds before midnight. The U.S. military budget is $1 trillion. The U.S. is the world's leading arms dealer fueling wars and conflicts across the globe, and continues its $1.7 trillion several decades long nuclear modernization program. The late Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen of Seattle declared "Nuclear Arms Are The Global Crucifixion of Jesus."  Pope Francis has declared that the very possession of nuclear weapons is immoral. The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons now makes nuclear weapons illegal under international law. We call on the U.S., the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons, and which has threatened on numerous occasions, and 8 other nuclear nations to ratify the TPNW, which has already been ratified by 74 countries. 

Pope Francis declares: “Abolish war now, before war erases humanity from history.” We pray and are committed to working for the abolition of war; for the elimination of nuclear weapons, killer drones and all weapons; for an end to the militarization of space and all U.S. arms sales and military intervention worldwide; for the conversion of our war-based economy to one centered on serving the common good. We call for the Pentagon to be converted and transformed from a center of warmaking to a center that serves life! We pray in gratitude for all who have resisted and who have been imprisoned for decrying the sin of militarism and nuclearism.  Let us heed the words of the late peacemaking prophet, Daniel Berrigan: "There is no cause however noble that justifies the taking of a single life, much less millions of them!" Let us heed the words of Pope Francis: "Abolish war now, before war erases humanity from history." And let us heed the words of Dr. King (tomorrow marks the anniversary of his martyrdom) who declared on the night before he was martyred: “It is no longer the choice between violence and nonviolence in this world…it’s nonviolence or nonexistence.”

Sing: Were You There When They Crucified My Lord

Imprisoned Victims and Persecuted Truth-Tellers                                                                               

We remember and pray for all whistle-blowers, truth-tellers, journalists and political prisoners who have been, and continue to be persecuted.  We call, too, for the immediate release of all immigrants who have been detained. We remember and pray for the estimated 2 million prisoners in the U.S., for all who are condemned and awaiting execution, and for all prisoners worldwide. We pray and work for a dismantling of the mass incarceration complex, and an end to torture and the death penalty. In the words of Jesus, let us "proclaim liberty to all captives."

Sing: Were You There When They Crucified My Lord

Victim of Poverty and Economic Exploitation                                 

We remember all people who have been, and continue to be, sacrificed at the altar of greed, oppression and economic exploitation. Never before have so few rich people been allowed to hoard so much. Income inequality is a grave injustice. According to the Poor People's Campaign, there are over 140 million poor and low-income people in the U.S. It is estimated that nearly half a million people are experiencing homelessness in the U.S. In 2025, 75 people in D.C. died without the dignity of a home. We remember all people who have died early deaths in the U.S. and worldwide from dire poverty, malnutrition, homelessness and inadequate health care. We pray and work for an end to structures and policies that dominate, exploit, and crucify people to a cross of dehumanizing poverty, debt, and neglect. Sing: Were You There When They Crucified My Lord

Immigrant Victim

Mindful that Jesus was born as a migrant and exiled as a refugee, we remember today those immigrants and refugees who have been crucified to a cross of exploitation, racism, oppression and war. We remember all those who have fled their homelands in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine due to war. We remember, too, those who have been driven from their homes and the many who have died in the Mediterranean Sea and crossing the Mexico-U.S. border. We denounce and call for and end to the Trump regime's mass deportation and dehumanizing detention of immigrants. We remember those who have died in ICE custody and in dealings with ICE agents. Loving God, help us to learn to love and welcome the immigrants in this land. Give us the courage to stand for justice for all immigrants instead of imprisoning them in dehumanizing detention facilities and deporting them. Give us the courage to speak out and expose how our country's policies of globalization and free trade are driving people to leave their countries and tearing families apart. Help us to take down the walls of division and fear that create physical walls of separation on our border. Teach us the words of love you would have us speak as we call for just comprehensive immigration reform in this land.                  Sing: Were You There When They Crucified My Lord

Desecrated Earth

In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis implores us to protect our environment and sacred earth, our common home. Creator God, we confess that the way we live today is desecrating the Earth, changing the climate, the seas and the balance of life, and dispossessing those who are poor and future generations. Creator God, help us and all other nations to stop destroying your creation. With its vast global war machine, the Pentagon is the single largest consumer of energy in the U.S., and in fact, the world's single largest institutional consumer of petroleum, making it a major contributor to destabilizing the climate. With respect to the Iran war, the US military has been bombing oil depots causing serious environmental devastation. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated: “ We must act decisively. We must end the merciless, relentless and senseless war on nature. It is putting our world at immediate risk…” Creator God, empower and sustain all those who are nonviolently resisting threats to land, water, air, and sky throughout our world. Help us to divest in fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy. Empower us to safeguard the Earth and all of creation and choose life for all that is at risk.

Sing: Were You There When They Crucified My Lord

Prayer from Gaza and the West Bank (The following is taken from the Kairos Palestine II Document — "A Moment of Faith in a Time Of Genocide" released November 14, 2025 by The Palestinian Christian Initiative, which calls us to greater costly solidarity with the Palestinian people).

“We live now in a time of genocide, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement unfolding before the eyes of the world. This moment — a moment of truth — demands from us a new stand unlike any before it...We raise this cry from the heart of the assault on Gaza — a war that has left behind hundreds of thousands of martyrs and wounded, and nearly two million displaced people. Many were buried beneath the rubble, burned alive, tortured to death in prisons or forcibly displaced more than once. Others endured starvation, targeted even as they ran in search of food. Tens of thousands of children were killed in the most horrific ways. Gaza’s health, education, economic, and environmental sectors — indeed, every component of life — have been destroyed. It will take years to recover from the devastation and catastrophe that have befallen us as a people. Human rights organizations, legal institutions and international experts have been unequivocal: ...Israel’s actions in its assault on Gaza constitute genocide...From the land of the Incarnation, the Cross and the Resurrection, we renew our word of hope in the God of the poor, the oppressed and the downtrodden. The genocidal war has sought to strip us of our hope and faith in God’s goodness and in life upon our land. Yet we declare our adherence to our faith in a holy and just God, and in the right God has given us to live with dignity on our land and the land of our ancestors. This is our hope. This is our steadfastness. This is our resistance... We have heard much talk of political solutions and peace while the reality on the ground says otherwise. To speak of a political solution today is futile unless we first undertake the serious work of acknowledging and rectifying past wrongs—What is required is international action and protection, accountability for war criminals, and compensation for survivors of genocide, the Nakba and settler colonialism. Enduring solutions will not rest on the logic of force, but on the foundations of justice, equality and the right to self-determination...Our aim is to live as sons and daughters of God in our homeland without barriers, walls, military occupation and apartheid—but in a world in which justice, fairness and equality rule. We envision a future in which our world is free of war, death, sectarianism and tribalism, where the word of truth rises above the word of power, where legitimacy belongs to peace and justice. We draw our hope from the Word of God and from the faith alive in our hearts, refusing to leave the shaping of the future to the voices of extremism, colonialism and supremacy.”

We share a prayer from our friends with Sabeel, the Palestinian Liberation Theology Center: God of Compassion, for nearly 80 years, our people have endured dispossession and loss. From Gaza to the West Bank, the weight of oppression continues to bear down on our hearts. We grieve the pain of those who have lived through generations of injustice...Amidst our fear and uncertainty, we ask you to make your presence and love known to those suffering. Grant peace to the afflicted, comfort to the grieving, and strength to the oppressed. Embolden the world to put an end to this cycle of violence and injustice.     Sing: Were You There When They Crucified My Lord

Excerpt from Pope Francis: In light of the perilous Iran war, the words of Pope Francis need to be heeded by all people of faith. In April 2022, Pope Francis published his book Against War: The Courage to Build Peace. In the introduction, Francis writes:

"War is a sacrilege that wreaks havoc on what is most precious on our earth: human life, the innocence of little ones, the beauty of creation...war is madness, war is a cancer that feeds off itself, engulfs everything...  When people allow themselves to be devoured by this monster represented by war everyone loses...we destroy God’s creatures, we commit sacrilege and prepare a future of death for our children and grandchildren...Greed, intolerance, ambition for power, violence are motives that advance the decision for war, and these motives are often justified by a war ideology that forgets the immeasurable dignity of human life, of every human life, and the respect and care we owe it... If we had memory, we would know that war, before it reaches the front lines, must be stopped in hearts. Hate, before it is too late, must be eradicated from hearts. And in order to do so, we need dialogue, negotiation, listening, diplomatic capacity and creativity, far-sighted politics capable of building a new system of coexistence that is no longer based on weapons, on the power of weapons, on deterrence...There are millions of people who do not aspire to war, who do not justify war, but ask for peace...Wars must be stopped and they will only be stopped if we stop “fueling” them."

Sing: Let me be an instrument of peace, let me be an instrument of peace.

Excerpt from Pope Leo's 2026 Palm Sunday Homily

We turn our gaze to Jesus, who reveals himself as King of Peace...Jesus did not arm himself, or defend himself, or fight any war. He revealed the gentle face of God, who always rejects violence. Rather than saving himself, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross, embracing every cross borne in every time and place throughout human history.

Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood” (Is 1:15).

As we set our gaze upon him who was crucified for us, we can see a crucified humanity...Christ, King of Peace, cries out again from his cross: God is love! Have mercy! Lay down your weapons! Remember that you are brothers and sisters!

Sing: Let me be an instrument of peace, let me be an instrument of peace.

Excerpt from Bishop John Michael Botean's 2026 Holy Week Pastoral Letter

"I must declare for your sake that this (US--Israeli) war (in Iran) is unjust, killing in it is murder, and any willing participation in it is complicity in murder. It is quite clear to me that appealing to the conscience of the state is futile. The state is not listening, and it never will. It is our conscience and our willingness to follow it courageously regardless of consequence that makes the difference. Moreover, it is by virtue of our conscience, formed by the teaching of the Church and the command of Christ, that I urge you to resist participation in this war in any way you can."

Sing: Let me be an instrument of peace, let me be an instrument of peace.

Sing: Stabat Mater

Prayer from Sr. Dianna Ortiz: Jesus, Our Tortured Brother Today

Closing Prayer

Today, we recommit ourselves to join with all followers of Jesus who are resisting empire, proclaiming Gospel Nonviolence, advocating for just peace, racial, economic, climate and restorative justice, the abolition of war, nuclear weapons and all weapons, and working for the conversion of the war economy to meet urgent human need and for an end to all that separates, wounds and divides God’s global family.

We appeal to the consciences of all in government and people everywhere to practice mercy and compassion and end all forms of corruption and social injustice. Dr. King implores us to eradicate the "triple evils of poverty (economic exploitation), racism and militarism." We call on all people of faith, conscience and goodwill to create a political and economic order dedicated to the common good that upholds the dignity and human rights of every person, protects the environment and meets the human needs of all, especially the poor. Now is the time for followers of Jesus to rise up, as many are now doing, and be a Gospel witness of love in resistance to the forces of oppression, destruction and death. We act in prayerful solidarity with all Christians and people of faith and conscience who are engaging in similar actions at this time throughout the U.S. and worldwide to bring about nonviolent social transformation and create the Beloved Community. Let us recommit ourselves to ending the crucifixion taking place in our country and world today and Practice Resurrection!

Recitation of the Lord’s Prayer

Closing Song: Vine And Fig Tree