As war rages, talk of peace
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Rome
With a torrent of messages, summits and symbolic gestures, Pope
John Paul II in December turned up the volume on his calls for peace. The sense
of urgency came even as he, for the first time since Sept. 11, affirmed in his
own name a principle often invoked by papal aides when asked about the U.S.-led
war in Afghanistan: the right of a state to defend itself against
terrorism.
The pope demanded courageous and resolute efforts to
overcome injustices that fuel violence, especially the long-running
Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
Papal pleas for peace were heard in several venues, including a
Dec. 7 Christmas concert, the traditional Dec. 8 visit to a statue of the
Virgin Mary in the Piazza di Spagna to mark the Feast of the Immaculate
Conception, and a message for the World Day of Peace, released Dec. 11.
In the message, the pope argued that peace can only be established
on the twin pillars of justice and forgiveness, and expressed hope for a
far-reaching resurgence of the human spirit in individual hearts and in
relations between the peoples of the world.
John Paul also convened in Rome an impromptu summit of Catholic
leaders from Jerusalem and environs on Dec. 13, to express spiritual
closeness with the populations of the Holy Land and to share the
drama of their daily life, too often tested by acts of violence and
discrimination.
A handful of prelates from around the world joined the summit,
including Bishop Wilton Gregory of Belleville, Ill., president of the U.S.
bishops conference.
Finally, the pope was to observe a day of fast on Friday, Dec. 14,
the final day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. He called on Catholics and
others to join him in prayer and fasting, in solidarity with the worlds
Muslims.
In his World Peace Day message, the pope used some of his
strongest language to date about terrorism, saying it is built on
contempt for human life and is thus a crime against humanity.
He demanded that religious leaders publicly repudiate terrorism, language that
aides acknowledged poses a challenge to Muslim clerics to clearly disassociate
themselves from terrorist groups.
The pope added, however, that defense against terrorism must
be exercised with respect for moral and legal limits in the choice of ends and
means.
The message was presented at a Dec. 11 news conference. Try as
reporters might, Vatican officials would not be drawn into making critical
statements about the U.S.-led Afghan campaign.
Bishop Giampaolo Crespaldi, secretary of the Pontifical Council
for Peace and Justice, defended the Western response.
There was a regime [in Afghanistan] that gave cover and
legitimacy to these terrorists, Crespaldi said. There is no doubt
that this action was not directed against the people but against those
responsible. Thus it seems to me an exercise of the right of legitimate
self-defense.
The papal message asserts that criminal culpability is
always personal and cannot be extended to the nation, ethnic group or religion
to which the terrorists may belong.
Asked by NCR how that principle might apply if the United
States were to launch strikes against Iraq, Sudan or Somalia, other nations
alleged to harbor terrorists, an official said the Vatican could not offer a
simple yes or no to military action.
Instead, the pope is asking world leaders to consider these
choices through the eyes of those who have to suffer, the afflicted
populations, said Fr. Frank J. Dewane, an American who serves as
undersecretary at the Council for Peace and Justice.
Meanwhile, American diplomats in Rome continued efforts to invoke
Vatican support for the anti-terrorism campaign, sponsoring a Mass on Dec. 11
in the Vaticans Chapel of St. Anne to mark the three-month anniversary of
the terrorist attacks in the United States.
The Mass, celebrated by American Cardinal Edmund Szoka, governor
of Vatican City, began precisely at 2:46 p.m. Rome time, marking the moment
when the first airliner slammed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. The
congregation sang The Star Spangled Banner to open the Mass and
God Bless America at the close.
In his homily, Szoka said the teaching of the Catholic church is
that governments have not only a right but a duty to protect citizens
against unjust aggressors.
Nevertheless, Szoka said, whats important for Christians is
whats in our own hearts. He asserted that Jesus brought
an end to violence as a solution.
John L. Allen Jr. is NCR Rome correspondent. His e-mail
address is jallen@natcath.org
National Catholic Reporter, December 21,
2001
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