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United Church of Christ
The Rev. C. Nozomi Ikuta, press contact
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Religious leaders support release of prisoners

     CLEVELAND -- In response to yesterday's acceptance
of President Clinton's offer of executive clemency by 12 men and
women being punished for acts and beliefs in favor of
independence for Puerto Rico, religious leaders today (Sept. 8)
reiterated their support for the prisoners' release.
     In a letter to President Clinton, the Rev. Paul H. Sherry,
president of the United Church of Christ, said, "We are pleased
that you agreed with so many of us -- and with international human
rights leaders such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Coretta
Scott King -- that the sentences received by these prisoners were
excessive and disproportionate, given that they were not
convicted, or even accused, of any bombing, injury or death.
With you, we affirm the Constitutional presumption of innocence
and insist that these prisoners should not be held guilty by
association for violent acts for which they were neither accused
nor convicted."
     The Archbishop of Puerto Rico, Roberto Gonzalez
Nieves, agreed.  When the clemency offer was announced, his
only criticism was that it didn't go far enough.  "Although as
Christians, we should be grateful that the wish of the Puerto Rican
people was heard that our brothers and sisters return home, we
lament that President Clinton did not grant unconditional freedom
to all the political prisoners," he said (translated from the original
Spanish; El Nuevo Dia, August 11, available at
<www.endi.com>).
     Others said that the prisoners' delay in accepting the
President's offer had nothing to do with renouncing violence.  "In
1997, in a public statement to the House of Representatives, they
committed themselves to peaceful means, and they re-affirmed this
a few days ago because so many people seemed unaware that this
was already their position," said Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of
Detroit, former head of Pax Christi, a Catholic peace organization.
     The Rev. Eliezer Valentin-Castanon of the United
Methodist General Board for Church and Society referred to last
week's march in Puerto Rico in favor of these prisoners, which
drew tens of thousands of people, including leaders from every
religious denomination and political party.  "This is obviously about
peace and reconciliation. You don't get such a broad-based
consensus for releasing people who are interested in violence," he
said.
     Sherry noted that one of the released prisoners,
Alejandrina Torres, is the wife of one of a United Church of Christ
pastor, and that one of the prisoners who would remain in prison is
the son of the same pastor.  "For us, this is not only a justice issue;
it is also a pastoral one," he said.
     Since 1991, when its General Synod adopted a resolution
in favor of release of the prisoners, the United Church of Christ
has been involved intensively in this effort.  "This issue has been a
priority for several years, of our Council for Hispanic Ministries,
our staff and many members," said Sherry.  "We have visited and
written to the prisoners, called and written to the White House,
published educational resources and participated in numerous
protests."
     Sherry also said that he had personally met several of the
prisoners.  "More than two dozen leaders of our church have
visited them, and they really are remarkable people. We are
certainly looking forward to welcoming them home," he said.
     The United Church of Christ, with national offices in
Cleveland, has more than 1.4 million members in the United States
and Puerto Rico and some 6,000 local churches.  It was formed
by the 1957 union of the Congregational Christian Churches and
the Evangelical and Reformed Church.
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