Two Roman Catholic priests who were arrested for trespassing on a southern Arizona Army base last year were sentenced Wednesday to five months in prison.Rev. Louis J. Vitale and the Rev. Steve Kelly, both from the San Francisco area, were immediately taken into custody.
Vitale, 74, and Kelly, 58, had gone onto the Fort Huachuca on Nov. 19, hoping to deliver a letter to the base commander protesting what they believe was torture training being given to soldiers attending the intelligence school there.
The Army denies doing such training.
The two pleaded no contest to the trespassing charge Wednesday.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Hector C. Estrada said he was reluctantly sending the priests to jail because they said they would not do community service work or agree not to associate with groups that engage in acts of civil disobedience.
In a statement to the court obtained by the Arizona Daily Star newspaper, Vitale confirmed he would not be able to comply with probation if it would mean stopping his protests against nuclear proliferation and torture.
"It's like telling me I can't associate with Paul or the other apostles," Vitale said.
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