Our Creator is NOT a Murderer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Sollicitudo Rei Socialis
Nathan Nelson, Webmaster
srseditors@gmail.com
nnelson323@gmail.com

People of Faith Declare: "Our Creator is NOT a Murderer."

(08/31/2005, 10:30 P.M. EDT) - In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, people of faith are coming together to speak out in protest against those who claim that the hurricane was an act of God to punish New Orleans and the rest of the United States. A petition condemning such claims and affirming a loving Creator is being sponsored by Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, a weblog committed to examination of social justice and politics from a Catholic perspective.

Addressed to the American faith community, the petition also addresses a statement made by Michael Marcavage, director of the evangelical Christian organizaton Repent America. In reference to New Orleans, Marcavage stated that "this act of God [Hurricane Katrina] destroyed a wicked city." Marcavage also made reference to an annual festival held by the New Orleans gay community, called Southern Decadence, stating that "Hurricane Katrina has put an end to the annual celebration of sin."

In response, the petition, entitled "Our Creator is NOT a Murderer," states that the signatories "do not believe that the Creator of all things would destroy whole cities, kill hundreds if not thousands of innocent people, and damage our whole nation's infrastructure as punishment for purported sins." The petition goes on to say: "Our various faith traditions teach us that our Creator is loving and merciful, slow to anger and rich in kindness. If there is one thing we can come together to affirm even in our diversity, it is the basic truth that our Creator loves us and also calls us to love one another." The petition concludes by exhorting those "who have committed this act of scandal" to apologize and affirm an all-loving God. The petition affirms the need for acts of kindness in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina's devastation, and declares that "it is through love, not through hatred, that we will come out of this time of national crisis."

The petition was written by Nathan Nelson, one of eight contributors for Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, a Catholic weblog founded in February 2005 to address social and political issues from the perspective of Catholic social thought. Although sponsored by a Catholic weblog, the petition is intended for all people of faith in the United States and in other countries.

To view the petition, visit: http://www.petitiononline.com/katrina/petition.html

For more information, visit: http://socialconcern.blogspot.com/

Or contact: Nathan Nelson, srseditors@gmail.com or nnelson323@gmail.com

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Sollicitudo Rei Socialis is a Catholic group weblog seeking to joyfully proclaim moderate, left of center, and nonpartisan social and political principles from the perspective of Catholic social thought. Nathan Nelson is a 21-year-old gay activist from the Catholic tradition and a proud member of both the Green Party and the larger Reality-Based Community.