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Thursday, June 08, 2006 |
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Human Concerns/Voices for Justice
By St Mary Administrator @ 9:29 AM :: 297 Views ::  :: Human Concerns
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World Peace Day. Each January 1, World Peace Day is observed. Since Vatican II, the church has taught that the arms race is an utterly treacherous trap for humanity, and one that ensnares the poor to an intolerable degree. True peace and security does not lie in armaments but in a world in which each person is enabled to develop to his or her full human potential. Yes, there are virulent forms of violence in the world, including war, which have increased tensions and caused terrible human misery. Pope John Paul II, in an earlier World Peace Day message, however, had this to say:
“If it is to be won, the fight against terrorism cannot be limited solely to repressive and punitive operations… The fight against terrorism must be conducted also on the political and educational levels: on the one hand, by eliminating the underlying causes of situations of injustice which frequently drive people to more desperate and violent acts; and on the other hand, by insisting on an education inspired by respect for human life in every situation: the unity of the human race is a more powerful reality than any contingent divisions separating individuals and people.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Mt 5:9). How could this saying, which is a summons to work in the immense field of peace, find such a powerful echo in the human heart if it did not correspond to an irrepressible yearning and hope dwelling within us? And why else would peacemakers be called children of God, if not because God is by nature the God of peace? Love is more powerful than hate and peace more powerful than war or violence. The peaceable kingdom is in our hands! |
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