Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
October 16, 2002
Outside speech venue, crowd urges Bush to 'give peace a chance'
By Dennis O'Connor
CINCINNATI (CNS) — There was a sense of urgency in the air Oct. 7 near Cincinnati Museum Center as an estimated 2,500 people gathered to send a message of peace to President Bush.
Bush was in Cincinnati to make his most forceful speech to date condemning Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and urging lawmakers and members of the international community to support military action against Iraq.
Officials from the Cincinnati office of the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center said calls about the protest — held near the entrance of the former Union Terminal, where an invitation-only crowd of about 800 had gathered to hear the president's speech — had been coming from Cleveland, Dayton and Columbus, as well as Louisville, Ky., and other nearby cities.
The gathering was orderly and peaceful, marred only by a few protesters who blocked the exits from the museum center following the president's departure. A couple of protesters were arrested by Cincinnati police officers.
"People from all walks of life ... are expressing a variety of concerns including religious considerations, economic worries, human-rights issues and the protection of innocent people," said Kristen Barker, spokeswoman for the center.
Protesters carried signs and banners along Ezzard Charles Drive and Western Avenue, just across the street from St. Joseph Church, where prayer services also had been held during the peace vigil. And groups from the University of Dayton and Xavier University in Cincinnati were on hand to call for peace, as well as to urge support for the president, during the approximately four-hour gathering.
"I think we should support the president's efforts here," said Andre Bausch, vice chairman of the Xavier University Young Republicans organization. "This isn't a war we started, but we really need to consider the options that the president is presenting to us. We can't sit back and wait for Saddam to make an aggressive move against us. I back the president 100 percent."
Bobbie Brunner, from Crestview Hills, Ky., said he was not convinced by the president's message.
"I knew he was going to put a spin on this that would position us for war," he told The Catholic Telegraph, newspaper of the Cincinnati Archdiocese. "The message is that there just has to be war; there is no other alternative. Obviously, I don't agree."
Neither did Mike McNamara, a parishioner from Sacred Heart Church in Fairfield. "Our first priority should be to maintain peace," he said. "Our government is taking us down this destructive path that is ill-defined and ill-prepared. (If we go into Iraq) I think we are looking at more attacks on us because of our aggression."
Many who had gathered said they were heartened to see so many people protesting the administration's desire to attack Iraq.
"I'm proud and glad that people from Cincinnati and surrounding areas came out to protest what's going on in the country," said Keith Green from Oxford. "President Bush said he wanted to come to the heartland to get his message across, and I think tonight the heartland sent back a message to him that he probably didn't want to hear."
"We're angry that the country is moving so quickly toward war," said Dave Beck, a member of St. Francis de Sales Church in Cincinnati. "We're totally against this action. In the end, innocent people are going to be the ones who suffer, and there really has been no discussion of that at all to date."
The swiftness of the president's administration to propel the nation into war also rankled Cindy Cottle from Miamisburg. "I think this is all so much politics," she said. "I don't see why the president has to make this move before the November elections. This isn't about anything except keeping control in Washington."
Amid the chants and songs there was friendly banter between groups that supported or opposed the president's policies. But, as Darrin Klinger from Anderson Township said, that is part of the beauty of the American political process.
"This is what it's all about," he said. "There is plenty of good discussion going on tonight. I think there are a lot of people viewing this from outside who probably are going to be surprised there would be such a large group like this who are raising their voices against the war. And that, ultimately, will get more people to understand that this war is not good. We need to pursue peace, not a pre-emptive strike."
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