Saxtons River -- Elaine Bowen, a member of Christ's Church in Saxtons River, knew a planned discussion on torture was going to ruffle some feathers in the sleepy village.

On Thursday, at 4:30 p.m., Nobel Peace Prize nominee Cherif Bassiouni will be at the church to speak on America's increasing use of torture as a foreign policy tool.

So when a banner proclaiming, "Torture is a moral issue," went up on the church on Main Street on Monday, Bowen wondered how the village would respond.

On Tuesday morning, she found out.

The anti-torture banner was stolen sometime Monday night.

The plastic banner was torn right off the side of the church, leaving ripped holes where the screws were put in to hold it.

"How have we become a nation that is so opinionated that we can't listen to another point of view?" asked Bowen after she heard about the vandalism. "I am saddened and distressed by this. I knew this was going to kick up a lot of dust. I guess there are people who believe war is the answer and torture is a reasonable way to get information."

Thursday's public talk by Bassiouni at Christ's Church is part of national campaign by The United Church of Christ to encourage discussions about torture and work to bring an end to the U.S. government's role in it.

The Saxtons River congregation was moving ahead with its plan to start discussion groups and put up a banner when church member Eloise Chevrier mentioned that she was a personal friend of Bassiouni, an international criminal law expert who led a United Nations commission on war crimes in Bosnia.

Bassiouni planned to be in New England this week and he agreed to give the Saxtons River church 90 minutes on Thursday.

"The timing just worked out. Cheris was going to be in town and I was brazen enough to ask," Chevrier said about her role in bringing an international law expert to Saxtons River. "He's a heavyweight. He speaks all over the world."

Chevrier knows it is a long way from Saxtons River to Abu Ghraib, and there is plenty of work to get done right here in southern Vermont.

But she said when her government is embracing torture and using it as a tool, it makes sense for any American who is outraged to get involved.

"This is still a government of the people, by the people and for the people," she said. "We live in a democracy and this is being done in our name. This is a moral issue and there is a relationship between morality and law. People of faith who believe in a loving God take this issue seriously."

The banner was ripped down sometime Monday, and like Bowen, Chevrier was afraid that the controversial topic might elicit some claims of anti-Americanism.

She was shocked it took less that 12 hours for opponents to make their voices heard.

"The sign was not that provocative. It said, 'torture is a moral issue.' That's all it said. We are challenging the people who tore down the banner under cover of night to be courageous enough to come hear about torture from someone who has documented the stories of people who have been tortured," said Chevrier.

Bassiouni, who was born in Egypt, is a law professor at DePaul University and is president emeritus of the International Human Rights Law Institute. He is the author of 27 books and has served on various United Nations committees since 1992.

In 2004, he was appointed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as the Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan.

Ed Warner, a church member, helped hang the banner, which cost $150.

He was trying to get money together Tuesday to get another banner in place before the talk.

"It's not an anti-government issue. Torture is a moral issue," Warner said. "I don't know if this was just a prankster or someone who doesn't agree with the message. Next time I guess we'll have to hang it higher."