Pope Benedict: Force in the name of Christian faith a great shame and an abuse
Assisi day of prayer for peace – today and 25 years ago
VATICAN CITY, 27 OCT 2011 (VIS) – Today marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the historic meeting for peace in the Italian town of Assisi, called by Blessed John Paul II. For the occasion, Benedict XVI has made a pilgrimage to the city of St. Francis, accompanied by representatives of other religions and by non-believers, for a Day of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world under the theme: “Pilgrims of Truth, Pilgrims of Peace”.
The Pontiff and the members of the various delegations left the Vatican by train at 8 a.m. today, reaching Assisi at 9.45 a.m. where they were greeted by the civil and religious authorities in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. As the ceremony unfolded inside the basilica, the large numbers of faithful present were able to follow events on giant screens set up in the square outside.
Following a greeting from Cardinal Peter Kodwo Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, a video was screened in commemoration of the 1986 meeting. Then, one after the other, the representatives of the various religions rose to speak: His Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople; Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, Primate of the Anglican Communion; Archbishop Norvan Zakarian, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of France; Rev. Olav Fyske Tveit, secretary general of the World Council of Churches; Rabbi David Rosen, representative of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel; Wande Abimbola, spokesperson for the Yoruba faith; Acharya Shri Shrivatsa Goswami, representative for Hinduism; Ja-Seung, president of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism; Kyai Haji Hasyom Muzadi, secretary general of the International Conference of Islamic Schools, and Julia Kristeva, representing non-believers.
The Holy Father then rose to make his address, extracts of which are given below: Read more
Pope Benedict: The Kingdom of Christ cannot be built by force
VATICAN CITY, 26 OCT 2011 (VIS) – Because of the rain, the Holy Father presided over this morning’s celebration of the Word in the Paul VI Hall, rather than in St. Peter’s Square as had been scheduled. The celebration of the Word took the place of the usual general audience, in view of the event due to take place tomorrow in the Italian town of Assisi: “Day of Reflection, Dialogue and Prayer for Peace and Justice in the World: Pilgrims of Truth, Pilgrims of Peace”. Before the celebration this morning, the Holy Father greeted pilgrims gathered in the Vatican Basilica who had been unable to find space in the Paul VI Hall.
Following a greeting from Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the Pope’s vicar general for the diocese of Rome, and the readings from the Bible, the Holy Father pronounced his homily.
“As Christians”, he said, “we are convinced that prayer is the most precious contribution we can make to the cause of peace. For this reason we, the Church of Rome and pilgrims from elsewhere, are gathered here today to listen to the Word of God and to invoke the gift of peace”. Read more
Nobel Prize winner connected to peace-church tradition
Leymah Gbowee
Harrisonburg, VA (EMU) — One of the three women receiving the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, Leymah Gbowee, is closely connected with the “peace-church tradition” of the Mennonites.
Gbowee, who shares the prize with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and women’s rights activist Tawakkul Karman of Yemen, earned a master’s degree in conflict transformation from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She attended CJP’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute in 2004 and completed its Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (known as “STAR”) program in 2005.
EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) was one of the first university graduate programs in conflict and peacebuilding field. CJP’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute, the first of its kind, has become a model for other peacebuilding institutions around the world.
Gbowee led a nationwide women’s movement that was instrumental in halting Liberia’s second civil war in 2003.
“Leymah Gbowee mobilized and organized women across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia, and to ensure women’s participation in elections,” noted the Norwegian Nobel Committee in making the award. “She has since worked to enhance the influence of women in West Africa during and after war.” Read more
Mennonite interchurch leader analyzes shift away from just war theory
Writing in the Sept. 12 issue of the Mennonite Weekly Review, Andre Gingerich Stoner observes that leaders of Christian churches from around the world are increasingly concluding that the just war theory is obsolete. Stoner is director of holistic witness and interchurch relations for Mennonite Church USA. Here is his commentary:
André Gingerich Stoner
Just war concept obsolete
by André Gingerich Stoner
Mennonite Weekly Review
In a remarkable shift, a key World Council of Churches statement describes the concept of a just war as obsolete. It calls for a fundamental shift in ethical practice to what it calls “just peace.”
The Ecumenical Call to Just Peace repeatedly lifts up the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus as the model for Christian peacemaking.
The 13-page document is peppered with sentences like, “Jesus told us to love our enemies, pray for our persecutors, and not to use deadly weapons … Despite persecution, he remains steadfast in his active nonviolence, even to death.”
Catholic theologians in the U.S. speak out against the death penalty
A Catholic Call to Abolish the Death Penalty
There were two state-sanctioned executions in the United States on September 21, 2011. In Georgia, Troy Anthony Davis, an African American man, was put to death for the 1989 murder of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. In Texas, Lawrence Brewer, a white supremacist, was executed for his participation in the racist hate crime dragging murder of James Byrd in Jasper in 1998. As theologians, scholars, and social justice advocates who participate in the public discussion of Catholic theology, we protest the state-sanctioned killings of both of these men, and we call for the abolition of the death penalty in the US. Read more
Susan Harrison insists: Interfaith dialogue must include those “you can’t talk to”
Susan Kennel Harrison
Drawing especially on her experience with Iranian Shiites, former Bridgefolk Board member Susan Kennel Harrison recently spoke at Eastern Mennonite University’s Interfaith Forum recently. Her forum presentation, “You Can’t Talk to Them – Peacemaking and Dialogue,” focused on the importance of building relationships with persons of other religious affiliations, particularly fundamentalists, in order to promote understanding and respect. The talk is available as a podcast at http://emu.edu/now/podcast/2011/09/14/cie-interfaith-forum-susan-kennel-harrison.
Sant’Egidio convenes 9-11 peace reflection in Germany, emphasizes solidarity with the poor
Geneva (WCC) — A call for solidarity with the poor was delivered to a gathering of religious and political and civil society leaders from all over the world by one of the presidents of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The meeting on the topic “Bound to Live Together: Religions and Cultures in Dialogue” is taking place from 11-13 September in Munich, Germany.
The Roman Catholic lay community of Sant’Egidio has convened the gathering in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 in New York. Read more
Reflections on 9/11 and Catholic peacebuilding in US Catholic
Maryanne Cusimano Love
In its September issue, US Catholic interviewed Maryann Cusimano Love on the aftermath of 9/11 and Catholic understandings of peacebuilding. Cusimano Love is a friend of Bridgefolk who teaches at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. Among her reflections are these:
That nonviolent resistance can be very effective is something most Catholics don’t understand, but we’ve seen it in Egypt and Tunisia. Sometimes it takes an outside example to help us draw on our own tradition.
For the U.S. military, peace is the absence of the use of military force right now. So if nothing’s blowing up today, that’s peace in Iraq, right?
The Catholic Church says, not so much. You have to rebuild social relationships, restore people who have been traumatized by violence, reintegrate refugees and internally displaced persons back into their communities, and rebuild the human infrastructure.We think about peace in a sustainable and holistic way, as being about education and development.
When the U.S. military or other state organizations talk about building peace, they’re really talking about construction projects. How many roads and bridges can we put in?
The Catholic Church says building peace is not just about bricks and mortar. It’s about rebuilding the people and the human community. If you don’t do that work, then the bricks-and-mortar stuff you rebuild today is going to be blown up tomorrow.
To read the entire article in US Catholic, click here.
Benedict XVI calls for simple lifestyles, nonviolence
Pope: God’s Love Is Cure for Ills of Society
Offers Reflection on “Yoke” of Christ
VATICAN CITY, JULY 3, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The answer to the many situations of injustice, poverty and suffering around the world lies in the love of God, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope said this today in a reflection on the “yoke” of Christ, which he delivered before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
“In today’s Gospel,” the Holy Father began, “the Lord Jesus repeats to us those words we know well, but which always move us: ‘Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.’” Read more
