Bono
Principle Management
30-32 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay
Dublin 2, 1111
Ireland
Marie Dennis
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
PO Box 29132
Washington, DC 20017
2 April, 2007
Dear Bono:
We hope that this letter finds you well. We applaud your efforts to erase the plagues of debt and famine from our planet and hope 2007 will bring new energy and advances in these struggles. We write with the hope that, while addressing these significant international issues, you will also use your considerable influence in a matter that is closer to home - a violent video game that has the potential to increase tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela while promoting violence in our communities.
Our faith traditions motivate us to confront the international debt problem that robs human dignity and calls us to counter the culture of violence that pervades our society today. The celebration of violence in much of our media, music and video games is poisoning our children. Games such as "Mercenaries 2" only serve to deepen the alienation that already exists in our society, creating fear that drives people away from each other. As people of faith, we are called to a different way of life. "Mercenaries 2" is an extremely realistic and vicious game in which the player leads a mercenary team to kill a "power hungry tyrant" that has taken control of oil supplies in Venezuela. Images of downtown Caracas are depicted as being completely destroyed during the game, and any "people" on the streets are to be killed.
Pandemic Studios, a company in which your investment partnership has financed hundreds of millions of dollars, is the creator of this game. Behavioral science research demonstrates that playing violent video games increases the likelihood of aggressive behavior, particularly in children and youth. A game like "Mercenaries 2" in which the player assumes the role of killer in scenes that appear very life-like is even more likely to provoke aggressiveness. Of equal concern is the fact that the game inevitably will provoke increased tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela. Pandemic Studios has made a similar training game for the U.S. military. This fact is not overlooked by Venezuelans, who see this as further evidence of U.S. government hostility toward their country.
We ask that you do whatever is necessary to see that "Mercenaries 2" is pulled from stores and not sold anywhere. We also ask you to reconsider your investment in a company that glorifies violence and militarization. Most of our organizations have reconsidered past investments in companies involved in life-draining activities and have reoriented our investments to support more life-encouraging companies. We hope that you will consider the same. We feel your connection with this game detracts from your image as a human rights defender. In the end, to paraphrase a statement of yours, we all know that history, like God, is watching what you do. We look forward to your response and would welcome a meeting to discuss these concerns further.
In Peace,
Marie Dennis
Director, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Washington, DC
Fr Joe Nangle, OFM
Pax Christi USA Ambassador for Peace
Washington, DC
Dave Robinson,
Executive Director, Pax Christi USA
Erie, PA
Fr Joe Nangle, OFM
Pax Christi USA Ambassador for Peace
Washington, DC
Dave Robinson
Executive Director, Pax Christi USA
Erie, PA
Rabbi Michael Lerner
editor of Tikkun magazine
Berkeley, CA
Bishop Thomas J Gumbleton
Archdiocese of Detroit
Detroit, MI
Rev A David Bos
Presbyterian Minister
Louisville, KY
Imam Mahdi Bray
Director, Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation
Washington, DC
Rev Daniel Dale
Good News Community Church, UCC
Chicago, IL
Rev James E. Flynn
St Mary’s Church
Park City, UT
Mary Turgi, CSC
Director Holy Cross International, Justice Office
Notre Dame
Elaine Donovan
Co-chair, Social Justice Committee Unitarian Universalist Church
Canandaigua NY
Patricia A Daly, OP
Roman Catholic, Executive Director Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment
Montclair, NJ
Brother Thomas Egan
DeLaSalle Brothers of the Christian Schools
Bronx, NY
Nora M Nash, OSF
Director, Corporate Social Responsibility Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia
Aston, PA
Ruth Kuhn, SC
Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, Corporate Responsibility Committee
Mount St Joseph, OH
Sister Anita Whitely Councilor
Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland
Cleveland, OH
Fr Roy Bourgeois, M.M.
founder of SOA Watch
Columbus, GA
Sr Rose Rauen, OSB
St Walburg Monastery
Covington, KY
Sister Ann Cecile Albers, SFP
Treasurer, Franciscan Sisters of the Poor
Brooklyn, NY
The Leadership Team
Sisters of St Dominic
Caldwell, NJ
Fr Benjamin J. Urmston, S.J.
Justice Across the Campus Committee of Xavier University
Cincinnati,OH
Karen J Hartman, SFP
Chair, US Area JPIC, Franciscan Sisters of the Poor
Cincinnati, OH
Sr Miriam Erb, CSA
Congregational Leader, Sisters of Charity of St Augustine
Richfield, OH
Rev William G Sinkford
President, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Boston, MA
Betty Ann Zengel
Sister of Notre Dame de Namur
Cincinnati, OH
Edie Tschetter
Regional Associate for Mennonite Central Committee
Freeman, SD
Jude Krehbiel
Mennonite Central Committee
North Newton, KS
Justice Committee
Congregation of St Joseph
Cleveland, OH
Dr Dean Linsenmeyer
Pastor of North Goshen Mennonite Church
Goshen, IN
John Stoesz
Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee Central States
North Newton, KS
Mary Ellen Gondeck
Sisters of St Joseph Office of Peace and Justice
Madison Heights, MI
Mark C Johnson
Executive Director, Fellowship of Reconciliation
Nyac, NY
Ethan Vesely-Flad
Communications Director/Editor, Fellowship of Reconciliation
Nyac, NY
John Lindsay-Poland
Co-Coodinator, Task Force on Latin America & the Caribbean (TFLAC)
San Francisco, CA
Susana Pimiento Chamorro
Co-Coodinator, Task Force on Latin America & the Caribbean (TFLAC)
San Francisco, CA
Julie Taylor
Children, Youth and Family Advocacy, Women's Division of Global Ministries
The United Methodist Church
Washington, DC
Marilyn McCann Smith
Associate in Ministry, Coordinator for Ministry Leadership of Region 6
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Bluffton, OH
Pastor Doug Krehbiel
Conference Youth Minister- Western and South Central Conferences
North Newton, KS
Lynne Staples
United Methodist Church Peace & Justice
New York, NY
Jessica Wilbanks
Faithful Security
Goshen, IN
Dorothy Susny, PBVM
Sisters of Presentation
San Francisco, CA
Jan Leore, PhD
Call to Action
Chicago, IL
Lane R Baker
Presbytery of the New Covenant
Houston, TX
Howard Dotson
Palms Westminster Presbyterian
West Los Angeles, CA
Charles McCarthy
Conventual Franciscan Justice, Peace and Safeguarding Creation
Rome, Italy
Eric Fenton
Willow Creek Community Church
Chicago, IL
Carol L Ries, SNJM
Mid-Atlantic Mission Centre Coordinator, Roman Catholic
Silver Spring, MD
Fr William Callahan
Co-Director, Quixote Center
Brentwood, MD
Sr. Maureen Fiedler, SL
Sister of Loretto
Hyattsville, MD
Rev Frederick Wegener
Pealing Places Counseling Center
Tacoma, WA
Cc Josh Resnick, President, Pandemic Studios, 1100 Glendon Avenue, 19th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90024
John Riccitiello, Chief Executive Officer Electronic Arts Inc., 209 Redwood Shores Parkway, Redwood City, CA 94065
