Ash Wednesday 2010: an International Day of Silence

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Remember this date:

Ash Wednesday,
February 17, 2010

Some Canadians are organizing an international project to stop religious terrorism and bring to justice the killers of children, and the project includes a Day of Silence Ash Wednesday February 17, 2010.

"The only reason I'm still alive is because I know people care about what happened to me, and will stand beside me when I face the ones who tortured me," says Bingo, survivor of Catholic Indian Residential Schools, Vancouver, Canada

Report from Canada: Survivors of violence in Catholic institutions are uniting across borders to converge on Rome and the Vatican this April 2010 to break the silence imposed on them, and the crimes of the church.

You can be of direct moral and practical help to these courageous men and women by taking a vow of silence on February 17, 2010 in order to stand in solidarity with them and all those who are silenced by churches and governments - and offer them material support.

The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared (FRD), a network of survivors of Christian Indian Residential Schools in Canada, and their allies in Italy, Ireland and the United States, are asking people of conscience everywhere to remain silent on that day and acquire pledges for their effort.

The funds raised from these sponsors will be used to pay the travel costs of survivors of Catholic Indian residential schools who will confront the Pope and Vatican officials in Rome during April of 2010.The FRD is asking seven things of the Vatican:

1. Repatriate for a proper burial the remains of all children who died in Catholic boarding schools, churches, orphanages and other institutions.

2. Surrender those responsible for these deaths and open the Vatican archives for inspection.

3. Revoke papal laws which condone and legitimate conquest, rape and murder, including the Romanus Pontifex (1455) and Inter Catera (1493).

4. Revoke the Vatican policy - established by the present Pope - of concealing evidence of violence against children in Catholic churches and of silencing the perpetrator and the victim.

5. Return all lands taken from indigenous people by the church.

6. Pay back to the victims all the wealth made for the church off the labor of children and others in Catholic institutions.

7. Appear before an international war crimes Tribunal to answer charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.

A public vigil in memory of the children who died at the hands of the church, held outside the Vatican on October 11, has forced senior church officials to agree to meet with FRD representatives in April to discuss these demands.

Thus, your support during this crucial period leading up to April is especially needed.Ash Wednesday is traditionally a time for repentance and transformation. Help us make this year the time when the church will actually repent from its crimes, be held accountable for mass murder, and stop violating the innocent.

We ask that you endorse the February 17 Day of Silence for the Silenced by agreeing to take a vow of silence on that day and seeking sponsors to pledge financial support for your efforts. To get a Pledge Form, to make a donation, contact The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared, at the address below, or through the pay pal account on our website: http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/ .In lieu of being sponsored, you may also undergo the silence and then pledge your own donation to us. Make this day an important teaching moment for your friends and neighbours!

Or contact Hidden From History by postal mail:

Kevin Annett

The Elders Council of the Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared

c/o 260 Kennedy St.

Nanaimo, B.C. Canada V9R 2H8

In memory of more than 50,000 children who died in Canadian Indian Residential Schools