The world today cries out for peace. All you have to do is read the daily paper or reflect on the conflict in the Middle East to see how true this is, and as a result how many innocent men, women and children suffer. In 1939, Pope Pius XII said, “Nothing is to be lost with peace; everything can be lost with war.” For the next six years the European continent was devastated by war.
Following World War II, the United States worked through the United Nations to try and prevent war in the future. Pope John Paul II shares this vision, and early in 2003 said, “No to war, war is never inevitable, it is always a defeat for humankind.”
In the Church, both in the writings of the Second Vatican counsel and the Catechism, the just war theory is outlined. The church recognizes that a nation has not just the right, but also the duty to ensure the security of its citizens. At times even the community of nations must block the hand of an aggressor.
Interestingly, the title for this section of the Catechism is called “Avoiding War”. “Governments must work first to avoid war, and Catholic thinking has clearly moved in the direction of the affirmation of an imperative toward peace and a presumption that the nonrecourse to force is the most appropriate way to resolve disputes.”
-Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.
At the same time the Church has been clear that we must combat terrorism. A war against international terror is not the same as a war about territory. It is a new kind of war against an enemy often difficult to identify and not necessarily living in the same area or from the same country.
The war on terrorism will be most successful when it follows the rule of justice. In a wounded world we re-establish respect for the dignity of every person, we work to restore rights and we share the world’s resources with all God’s people. Pope Paul VI said, “if you want peace work for justice.”
In our east river Diocese we have tried to do our part by supporting the education of Christian Palestinians in the Holy Land, and providing tuition for advanced degrees for those willing to return to the Middle East to work for peace. We have also helped to re-build parishes in the Diocese of Tschumbe (in the Congo) destroyed by war and are presently working with Presentation College in Aberdeen to provide nurse’s training for three religious women who will be able to then return to the Congo to train others.
In the Diocese of La Paz, Mexico we are assisting with a shelter for homeless migrants and working with the Church in Colombia to establish a monastery devoted to prayer for peace. We have the name (Pacem In Terris or Peace On Earth) and the religious community to work there and we are now trying to raise the funds to buy the property and support the sisters. We need peace-minded people like you to help us spiritually and financially to make these two projects a reality.
This is in addition to things like the Mother Teresa Endowment to assist pregnant women, the Good Shepherd Center helping families with everything from laundry to education, The St. Francis Shelter for the homeless and St. Joseph Catholic Housing providing a warm and safe place for people to live.
I believe that humanitarian intervention is the best way for the Church to work toward peace. It has to happen here at home and around the world. At the same time we cannot forget the obligation to pray for peace. Ever since 9/11 we have had a Mass for peace on the first Friday of each month.
Peace is a gift from God and we need to reflect on peace, pray for peace, fast for peace and work to convert the world for peace. As we walk in the footsteps of Jesus we must be prophets of justice and peace, and passionate about the suffering of humanity in our day. We should never underestimate the significance of every gesture for peace.