Waihopai Three - NZ
On Behalf Of Graeme Ferguson; 7/5/08; Kevin Toomey OP
Peter Murnane OP became parish priest of St Benedicts shortly after I went to St David’s. I came to appreciate him as one of the most Christ-like priests I have met. Peter has the capacity to act in highly creative ways to ensure that the Gospel is demonstrated in life.
He planted - with others - a city garden on waste land on the edge of the Auckland motorway. With the Dominican nuns in St Benedicts, he had created an entire wall of the church property painted by graffitti artists who were being hounded by the city authorities.When prisoners were rioting on the roof of Mt Eden Prison, Peter was there providing food and blankets and standing with them to ensure their concerns were heard. With the other members of the Dominican community, he offered refuge to Achmed Zaoui while he continued to have his case heard for acceptance as a refugee.
Now he has again with others, created a protest of dramatic power against the international spy satellite network at Waihopai. As a member of the Order of Preachers, he stands in the classic tradition of prophetic protest. This time he has produced an image of a deflated balloon protecting the satellite dish that has gone round the world and which desrves recognition as an iconic image for the peace movement, (as John Minto said.)
Peter has a simple directness in his understanding that could be thought to be naive except that it has already faced squarely the cost of standing with Jesus against the invasive destructiveness of thte principalities and powers. Following Jesus all the way is costly, risky and dangerous. For Peter there simply is no other way.
The sign of a sickle puncturing the sailcloth is powerful. The accompanying image of three people preparing a shrine to offer their gesture to Christ for his blessing in broken bread, has not been highlighted nor has their readiness to wait for the guards to arrive.
Nearly forty years ago I was present at a briefing called by the Prime minister of the day to present Waihopai to NGOs as a benign communications tracking device. The member of SIS or its predecessor who made the presentation was confident that he had done an effective snow job on all the protest leaders present. I don’t think anyone believed a word then and they certainly do not trust Waihopai today.
Peace! Graeme Ferguson.
Tags: Human Rights, NZ, Peter Murnane, Terrorism, USA, Waihopai