Inside
NCR
God, I do not know where to turn in
a time of terrorism. I have no easy answers or solutions to acts of terror
against the innocent, begins a prayer written by Benedictine Sr. Mary Lou
Kownacki. When buildings explode without warning, when the defenseless
are murdered without reason, I am tempted to retaliate with vengeance. I am
tempted to place the flag above the cross and put my faith in the state rather
than the Sermon on the Mount. I am afraid to face my deepest fears of suffering
and death, both for myself and those I love.
Continuing as a lament, the prayer then asks forgiveness and ends
in a recommitment to nonviolence: as a witness to Your love
I will
give my passion to kindness and beauty and imagination. I commit to hope and
the children of tomorrow.
The prayer contains the line that for me speaks the only certainty
I can hang onto in a time of terrorism and war: I believe that violence
ignites greater violence and that, in the long line of history, our only
lasting legacy is love.
These are not words of statecraft, so some might deem them
inappropriate for this moment of escalating violence. However, it is abundantly
clear that violence only begets more violence, and that this cycle, easily
whipped into a frenzy, can become unspeakably vicious before its appetite for
victims is sated.
I commend the prayer, crazy as its words may seem in a time of
terror, in the firm belief that the world could use a good dose of wild and
crazy holiness. It is available from Pax Christi USA, 532 W. Eighth St., Erie,
Pa. 16502, email: info@paxchristiusa.org
The generally accepted premise
underlying mainstream news coverage of the day, whether print or television,
radio or Internet, is that the United States had no choice but to begin bombing
Afghanistan in pursuit of Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda network.
Margot Patterson, in interviews with an array of foreign policy
experts and representatives of nongovernmental organizations, unearthed a range
of views showing significant reservations with the U.S. military campaign.
It was a bit of a coincidence that the story appears with another
by Patterson, on the rebirth of the city of Dubrovnik, one of the first to be
pounded by the Serbs during the Balkans wars that broke out 10 years ago.
Patterson writes that little of that city was left untouched by
the shelling a decade ago. Today, in contrast, one would be hard pressed to
find any evidence of war on the citys edifices and public places. But the
wounds of war remain deep, if hidden, for the people. Scrubbing hatred and
mistrust from the heart is not so easy as restoring a buildings
façade. Many citizens of Dubrovnik are not willing to forget, and others
cant even if they might be willing. It is a not irrelevant lesson for
today: The wounds of war will continue to haunt the human heart for years.
Finally, this stopper in the hallway
from Celebration editor Pat Marrin: Its interesting that we
stop bombing on Friday in respect for the Muslim holy day, but we keep bombing
on Sunday. Is that because Christians dont care?
-- Tom Roberts
My e-mail address is troberts@natcath.org
National Catholic Reporter, November 2,
2001
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