Text Fwd: Mark Kenney sentence to six months for line crossing at STRTATCOM last Aug 9th

* Text & image fwd from Jerry Ebner and Frank Cordaro on Feb. 25, 2011

Mark Kenney sentence to six months for line crossing at STRTATCOM last Aug 9th

Don't forget that Fr Jack McCaslin returns to Fed Court in Omaha
for the same witness April 12th
http://groups.google.com/group/offitt-list-one/browse_thread/thread/1a67c3ea87cf5162


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Mark Kenney was sentence to a six month prison term today in Omaha
Fed. Magistrate Judge Thomas D. Thalken. court room. Mark was
represented by "pro bono" attorney & Catholic Deacon Chuck Hannan.
Mark plead guilty.

Mark's prior record of line crossing at Offutt AFB in which Mark has
served a 30 day, 45 day and two six month sentences (the two six
months sentences being given by Judge Thalken) played heavy in the
Judge's sentence. The Judge said he respected Mark's personal
convictions for peace but said Mark has many other option to express
those convictions without 'breaking the law'. Judge Thalken readily
admitted that any prison time given to Mark would not be a deterrent
but only punishment. Yet the Judge sentence Mark to the full six
month maximum jail time because of Mark's prior sentences.

The Judge is allowing Mark to "Self Surrender", which means Mark got
to go home today and wait until the Federal Bureau of Prisons assigns
him a Fed Prison to do his six month sentence. This process takes
between a month to six weeks. Mark will be notify by mail and or phone
when a site has been assigned and he will have to 'self surrender' at
the assigned prison.

Mark can be contacted at:
402 598 2403
markfpeter@gmail.com

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Mark read the following statement before being sentence.

Since my time in the military, I have struggled with living out my
Christian witness in a world dominated by weapons of war and mass
destruction. I wish I could say my witness was more consistent.

Like many Americans, the 9/11 bombings in New York, city gave me great
pause. Pope John Paul II had certainly made his feelings known, as to
the lack of validity of our going to war in the light of the Just War
theory.. But the silence of the pulpits of the Catholic church on the
issue seemed deafening to me.

I searched other churches through bible studies and services, and
found the same thing. Most pulpits were treading very lightly around
the message of the Sermon on the Mount. After all, Don't we know
better?. Isn't our military the righteous one here? Isn't our cause
Just? The Old Testament, Davidical idea that we can practice living
out god's message and teachings while engaging our enemies in war, was
back on track. The New Testament, Constantinian idea of making the
world safe for the practice of Christianity, through war and conquest,
was making a great comeback.

Nothing of this reality seemed scriptural to me. After all, didn't
Isaiah and Hosea and Zachariah seem to be sensing their current system
was certainly in want of something? Weren't they dreaming and
prophesying of a new reality to come? Didn't Mathew and Paul and the
early apostles and evangelists seem to be saying that Jesus was the
culmination of this desired prophetic reality sought for so many
generations? Certainly John thought so.

In the end, I have no choice but to accept the revelations of the
early prophets, the early evangelists, and the teachings, and life,
and death, and resurrection of Jesus, whom I willingly proclaim as the
promised messiah. No other power or principality holds a candle to
this.

While I recognize that I am a flawed and sinful man, I can not stand
idly by and watch the powers and principalities that be, butcher the
Good News of Jesus the Christ, through slanted interpretations to
false and violent, church driven theologies of acceptable violence,
militarism, and war.

If I am guilty of anything, it's that I desire to hold onto my faith
in Jesus the Christ more than I wish to hold onto the the manufactured
myth of the American Dream. If I am guilty of anything, it's that I
fear God more than I fear the courts.

For these reasons, I do what I do. For these reasons I will try to
accept as faithfully as I can whatever the courts or society have in
store for me. I have nothing further to say on the matter.

For updates and support for both Mark Kenney and Fr Jack McCalsin contact:
The Omaha Catholic Worker
Jerry Ebner, Mike Brennan
1104 N. 24th St. Omaha, Nebraska USA 68102
www.no-nukes.org/cwomaha
Email:cwomaha@gmail.com
Phone 402- 502- 5887
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8 Minute Youtube clip of statements at the line and the line crossing.
"The four Catholic peace activist in their own words." A MOST SEE!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG8A_V8IeoQ

Flickr Slide Show of Aug 6-9, 2010 STRATCOM Vigil and Line Crossing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frank_cordaro_and_the_dm_catholic_worker/sets/72157624580510523/