Calling torture a "moral issue" and an affront to humans' reflection of "the image of God," the Rev. John H. Thomas, UCC general minister and president, delivered the following remarks at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., today.

His address was the keynote among several religious leaders speaking at the June 11 "Religious Public Witness" organized by the National Religious Coalition Against Torture (NRCAT.) The witness occurs during Torture Awareness Month and organizers hope to influence the President regarding the need for a Commission of Inquiry into U.S. torture practices.

In addition to Thomas, speakers include Archbishop Vicken Aykazian (Armenian Church in America), Rabbi Steve Gutow (Executive Director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs), Ingrid Mattson (President of the Islamic Society of North America), and the Rev. Michael Kinnamon (General Secretary of the National Council of Churches.)

I am grateful to my colleagues from many religious traditions who have joined me today and to members of the media for your attention to this important issue. Thank you.

A strong and very broad consensus has emerged among people of many faiths that torture is a moral issue. Its particular form of cruelty is an affront to those of us who believe each human person – even one who threatens us – bears the image of God. When national security is used to excuse its use, it makes a god of our own safety, encouraging a form of idolatry that places narrow national interests over the call to defend the sanctity of human life and so honor the Creator of the heavens and the earth. It makes a mockery of Jesus' call to love even our enemy. And it lures those was ask to carry out torture into grave ethical peril. Torture is a moral issue.

As a moral issue torture must not simply be ended by political action; its ugliness must also be exposed and judged against the bright light of truth. I am exceedingly grateful that President Obama has clearly and emphatically ended the use of torture in my name. But I am disappointed that, thus far, he has resisted a call for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry.

We need to face the challenges of today and prepare for the challenges of tomorrow. They are profound and they are urgent. No one wants to dwell in the past. But until we have a formal and impartial accounting of how and why we journeyed down this tragic path, our nation runs the grave risk of making the same catastrophic errors in the future when we again feel threatened. And until we make a full and transparent accounting, many in this country and many friends around the world will be hard pressed to be confident that this tragedy is fully behind us.

In religious terms, sin must not simply be ended, it must be confessed and acknowledged. An impartial Commission of Inquiry represents that kind of acknowledgment. It will be difficult and it will be uncomfortable. But it is necessary. It is necessary for our children who must know that torture will never be perpetrated in their name. But I believe even more than that, it is necessary for the health and the healing of our nation's soul. Thank you.