Reposted 2014-07-23    (first posted here in 2003)

April 3, 2003    Longing for peace - re the invasion of Iraq

Alexandre Solzhenitsyn writes in “The Gulag Archipelago” about those who were abducted between midnight and dawn to be deported to Siberia. He refers to the remorse of some: had they known what this hour would have meant for the next ten years of their lives, they would not have gone silently; instead, they would have screamed and cried out aloud to alert at least the neighborhood.

In the face of the latest war I ask myself often: are we not too silent? Will we regret that our protest had been so limited when we realize all the consequences of this conflict after some years?

Living in Rome one is very much aware that at least our Holy Father and the Vatican diplomacy have not remained silent. The enormous headlines in the daily L’Osservatore Romano during these days could easily compete with any tabloid of the world: “There is still room for peace”, “The Madness of War”, etc. The letters are 4 cm high and occupy up to three lines!

I have personally participated in one or other pro-peace activities, like the peace march towards St. Peter’s square organized by the Sant’Egidio community on January 1st.
  What else could one do? Let me point out some of the things which are within our reach as Oblates. I would like to mention specifically two of them.

The first is being informed about peace and war matters beyond the ordinary television news, using the network we have as missionaries.

v It is so easy to overlook the full reality of war. There have been fifty-six armed conflicts in the 1990s alone! Probably much of our lack of awareness has to do with the fact that ninety percent of the wars since 1945 have taken place in poor countries. Such countries are not often on the news. But we Oblates have a privileged access to information through our confreres, close to people in Sri Lanka and Southern Philippines, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Colombia, etc. I myself have visited these Oblates on the spot.

v Having a chance to know about the conflicts in our places of mission, we can inform others. Let me especially draw our attention to the forgotten war of Congo DR: since 1998 there have been about two million casualties, two million displaced persons, four hundred thousand refugees. We should not hold our silence on such matters.

v Our missionary network can also help us to interpret the present events in Iraq. This war is significant not because it is worse than the others but because the events happen before the television cameras and because many will interpret it as a conflict between Christianity and Islam. Our missionaries in Pakistan and Bangladesh, Nigeria and Cameroon, Chad and Sahara, the Philippines and perhaps even France will feel the threat that comes from this kind of interpretation. For the sake of peace in many countries -and not only in Iraq - together with the Pope we need to say it loud and clear: “This is not our war.”

A second thing we can do is have recourse to God through conversion and prayer.

^{* As Oblates we are religious, valuing highly the beatitudes on which we base our vows and at the same time conscious of the resistance the Gospel meets in our own lives. This is a time for conversion. Is there still violence in our own attitudes? Must we not totally refrain from taking pleasure in violence, even against criminals? Are the Christian communities whom we serve prone to emotions and actions which in the final analysis could lead to war? Before all else, we need to seek our own conversion and the conversion of Christ’s followers, listening anew to Jesus’ words addressed to Peter: “Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt 26:52).}

^{+ Then, we also need to pray for peace. It is a gift from God. We find a parallel in the prayer for our daily bread. Theoretically humankind should be able to assure the daily bread to every person on this planet. In practice, however, this does not happen. Why? It is simply because of our sinfulness. So it is best that we pray for the daily bread, pray that God prevents the sins that cause starvation. In the same way we need to pray for peace, a gift which only can come from converted hearts. There is a need to disarm our hearts. And, only God’s grace can bring about that conversion.}

May the war in Iraq, and all the other wars, provide at least the salutary opportunity of converting us and many people to the peace of God. Christ showed us the way to peace when he refused to take the sword and chose rather, the path of the cross. He is himself the only way to truth and life, to freedom and peace!

Christ has conquered sin and death - he is our Peace. Best wishes to all for a grace-filled Easter.

-----