Opposing war, envisioning peace

Friends,

I want so much to write about all that is promising and good in the world, but the photos of the suffering from the US- supplied Israeli bombardment of Lebanon, the lingering US-caused crises in Gaza and Cuba, and the Presidential threat of a genocide in Iran compel me to continue to denounce war in my blog, if only for my own sake.  I am absolutely convinced that in our heart of hearts humanity wants to abolish war and establish a solid means to create and maintain peace, and in spite of the terrible threats and reality of active wars, I believe we are ever closer to being able to envision and work toward that goal. The peace walk of the Vietnamese monks surprisingly drew millions to join them on the basis that they represented a universal, sacramental commitment for world peace. And the masses of people demonstrating on the streets across the U.S., and in many other parts of of the world., are now a growing multitude of humanity regularly demonstrating for the cause of democracy, peace and a more sustainable world. And in the past couple of weeks Pope Leo XIV has shone forth with the moral leadership the world needs.

Pope Leo the XIV’s clear, forceful condemnations of war offer the world a true example of courageous moral leadership. The Pope speaks not only for the Roman Catholic Church he leads, he speaks for all of us who condemn war as the ultimate sin of lethal violence and moral failure. Because warfare represents the complete opposite of Jesus’ teachings that emphasize compassion and human dignity, the Pope rightly said it is unacceptable to use a reference of Jesus to bless war as some have done. Some have criticized the Pope's Palm Sunday and Easter sermons by interpreting his remarks as discouraging us from praying for the soldiers who risk their lives believing it is their patriotic duty. What he is saying, however, is that war is contrary to the Christian faith, and leadership in the United States, and in all nations, cannot pray for war when the weapons they use kill innocent people, create millions of refugees seeking often unwelcome asylum, destroy societal infrastructure and cause havoc to the exposed environment. The Pope thus concludes that those who instigate and support war will always have “blood on their hands.” War is always a universal evil, often and aptly described as Hell by those who have survived it, even when it is considered justified as self defense. 

So what the Pope is asserting is that the leadership in the world must commit to abolishing war. Stop it in Iran. Stop it in the Ukraine. Stop it in Gaza. Stop it everywhere in the world. There are existing means to do so with honorable diplomacy - the United Nations, and the International Criminal Court, among others. World leadership needs to honor and support these institutions and promote high-level, cooperative diplomacy. Although abolishing war is ultimately the responsibility of international leadership, such leadership will only follow when the people demand it. And opposition to war will have to begin within individual hearts. Opposing war does not mean we must all become pacifists or require us to believe we would never defend ourselves or others. It means that the preparation, cost, and execution of current wars, and the catastrophes they create, have firmly convinced us that war is not only evil but untenable if the planet is to survive. Yes, there will always be heated tensions between completing parties or requiring self defense, but we cannot use war to solve these conflicts.  There are alternatives.

Peace,
Tom 
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Brief footnote: I recently wrote to my Congressman, Rep. Rick Larsen, pleading for him to prioritize and assert whatever influence he has in Congress to oppose the Trump executive actions as a dire matter of life and death. Although short of what I wanted, I appreciated his response and share it with you for further action.

"In response to the Trump administration’s harmful executive actions, House Democrats formed the Litigation and Response Task Force to support action against the Trump Administration in the courts. Americans have initiated more than 600 lawsuits against the Administration and the courts are ruling against the Administration more than 70 percent of the time. The Task Force is collecting stories from Americans on the ways these executive actions affect them. You can read about the Task Force and share your stories at https://litigationtaskforce.house.gov/. Thank you to everyone who has voiced their opinions about the Trump administration. Your voice and the voices of your family members, friends and neighbors are needed to fight back."