Cajun Priest in a David and Goliath Struggle With the Pentagon is Focus of New Book

An outspoken U.S. priest, whose tireless human rights campaign has been called both prophetic and patriotic at a time of escalating U.S. military interventions, is the subject of a new book entitled Disturbing the Peace."

(PRWEB) February 3, 2005 -- The narrative details the inspiring journey of Cajun priest Roy Bourgeois, a former Navy officer injured in a bomb blast, who has seen at close range a half dozen war-torn countries - from Vietnam to Iraq. The book also profiles the growing movement he founded to close a U.S. Army school whose graduates have committed atrocities across Latin America.

The story of this spiritual pilgrim has more twists and turns than the Mississippi River: From love affairs ending in heartbreak to patriotic impulses ending in doubts and disillusionment. From dreams of wealth to missionary work among the poor. From prison terms to a cloistered monastery. From disagreements with church hierarchy to political battles on Capitol Hill.

Bourgeois opposition to militarism began after a blind Vietnamese orphan opened his eyes to the realities of war. His human rights work has taken him to Bolivia, where security forces kidnapped him after he denounced torture. To El Salvador, where two friends were killed by U.S.-trained troops. To Nicaragua and Honduras, where contra commandos were trying to overthrow a government. To Colombia, where he witnessed the human toll of the drug war, escorted by an Army general linked to terrorist bombings. To Iraq, where he met desperately poor Iraqis just before the country became a bloodbath.

The book describes the courage of Bourgeois and thousands of Americans of all religious denominations whove risked arrest each year to close the U.S. Armys School of the Americas. In detailing the schools history and its use of torture manuals, the book questions the morality of U.S. policies in Latin America that shed light on the prison abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib.

Disturbing the Peace" is an astonishing chronicle ... on a deeper and even more profound level; this book describes the evolution and journey of a soul from conversion to re-conversion, from prayer and contemplation to heroic action, all in a continuous effort to unite the will of the spirit to the work of the flesh." Martin Sheen, from the Foreword.

From the first pages of Disturbing the Peace" you will be hooked . . . an amazing spiritual journey." Sister Helen Prejean, author, Dead Man Walking"

Roy Bourgeois represents all that is best about America-our abiding faith, our love of country, and our deep compassion for the least among us. He is both priest and patriot, a decorated war veteran who has fought for peace and justice to redeem the promise of America." Joseph Kennedy II

One of the finest examples of spiritual peacemaking this country has to offer is that of Maryknoll priest Roy Bourgeois ... His struggle is masterfully told by James Hodge and Linda Cooper in Disturbing the Peace," one of this seasons best books and a sure-fire candidate for a Catholic Book Award." Kerry Walters, William Bittinger Professor of Philosophy Gettysburg College.

Disturbing the Peace is a dramatic, well-written book that will grab and hold you and inspire you." The New Orleans Archdioceses Clarion Herald.

Disturbing the Peace: The Story of Father Roy Bourgeois and the Movement to Close the School of the Americas" by James Hodge and Linda Cooper is published by Orbis Books.

Hodge, a longtime editor and writer with The Times-Picayune" in New Orleans, and Cooper, a former ESL instructor at Tulane University who writes for the National Catholic Reporter," can be contacted at info@hodge-cooper.net

Fr. Bourgeois can be reached at 706-682-5369.

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