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Peacemaking efforts around the world

01 Dec 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Christians await the Prince of Peace during Advent, just as the 8th-century prophet Isaiah foresaw a time of universal peace among the nations when “one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” While recent diplomatic efforts haven’t achieved quite so dramatic a breakthrough, there has been progress towards peaceful settlement in some areas of conflict:• Even though denounced by Israel as a "bad deal," a breakthrough agreement between Iran and six world powers to restrain its nuclear program should nevertheless make it significantly harder for the Islamic state to build any atomic bomb, experts saidBy halting Iran's most sensitive enrichment of uranium, last Sunday's interim accord is designed to stop the expansion of Iranian atomic activities and buy time for negotiations on a final settlement of the decade-old nuclear dispute. Iran will for now retain thousands of centrifuges refining uranium,but only to concentrations far below that needed for nuclear weapons, and also keep a stockpile which could potentially be used for bombs if processed much more."The short-term deal accomplishes a great deal," nuclear proliferation expert David Albright of the U.S. Institute for Science and International Security said. For example, he said, it would eliminate Iran's stock of uranium gas refined to a fissile purity of 20 percent, a source of deep concern for the West as it represents a relatively short technical step away from bomb-grade material.Under the agreement, Iran must halt this higher-grade enrichment and also dilute or convert its existing reserve of such uranium to a form that is not suitable for further enrichment, according to a U.S. fact sheet.The interim agreements leaves heavy economic sanctions against Iran in place while the world community works toward a permanent solution over the next six months.• From Afghanistan, a nation hoping to emerge from more than a decade of war, the news is less optimistic. Afghanistan's president and the U.S. delivered blunt messages to each other Monday which gave no indication of a resolution of their disagreements over a pact that governs the future of the American troop presence in the country.Hamid Karzai said he won't back down from his refusal to sign a Bilateral Security Agreement during the rest of his term in office, with National Security Adviser Susan Rice responding that would mean the U.S. would then start planning to pull out all its forces after 2014.Their meeting in Kabul came the day after Karzai's surprise decision to ignore last Sunday's recommendation by an Afghan assembly of dignitaries to sign the agreement, a refusal that cast doubt on whether American and allied troops would remain in Afghanistan to train Afghan forces after most foreign troops depart next year.The U.S. has urged Karzai to sign a deal that would allow about 8,000 U.S. troops to stay in the country beyond a 2014 withdrawal deadline. The two-term Afghan leader has insisted that the winner of an April 5 election to succeed him should be the one to sign the deal. More than $8 billion in annual funds for Afghanistan’s fledgling security forces and development assistance also are at stake.• On a third front, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pope Francis spoke a united word in favor of peace in Syria on Monday, agreeing in what the Vatican called cordial discussions on the need for the end of violence and a diplomatic solution in Syria. The United Nations announced this week that talks between the Syrian government and opposition representatives will begin January 22 in Geneva.Homily hint: Peacemaking is tiring work. Conflict seems to come more readily to the human race than cooperation. All the more reason we need to redouble efforts to be be peacemakers—in our homes and communities, our churches and cities. A peaceful people builds a peaceful world. Advent is the season to begin. Sources: Articles by Patrick Quinn for the Associated Press, Reuters,Patrick J. McDonnell for the Los Angeles Times, and VOA News

Peace Pope Francis afghanistan iran hamid karzai syria vladimir putin david albright peacemaking
Muddled Mideast relations

02 Nov 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist prays confidently to the Lord this Sunday, stating that even in dangerous times and places, “you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage.” Anonymous White House critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apparently think he lacks confidence and courage in his dealings with Palestinians and Iran. Publication of the criticism has left international relations roiling. The Atlantic magazine quoted an unidentified Obama administration official who used profanity to assail Netanyahu and complained about his settlement policies in the West Bank. The official also questioned the prime minister's commitment to Middle East peace efforts as well as his resolve to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iran to thwart its nuclear program. Publication of the comments put the administration on the defensive and prompted congressional demands for President Obama to repudiate the remarks. The incendiary comments come six days before elections with Democrats struggling to hold onto their Senate majority and taking steps to boost voter turnout in typically low-interest midterm contests. The remarks also come against the backdrop of negotiations involving the United States and other Western powers to secure a nuclear agreement with Iran. The high-profile diplomatic flap, all based on anonymous opinion, underscored the already tense relationship between Obama and Netanyahu despite decades of close ties between the United States and its Mideast ally. At the White House, spokesman Josh Earnest insisted Wednesday that the remarks did not reflect the administration's view and were counterproductive. "The prime minister and the president have forged an effective partnership; they consult closely and frequently and did so as recently as this month right here at the White House in the Oval Office," Earnest said. "That close relationship does not mean that we paper over our differences. The fact is the United States has repeatedly made clear our view that settlement activity is illegitimate, and only serves to complicate efforts to achieve a two-state solution in the region." In Jerusalem, Netanyahu dismissed the comments and insisted he was "not prepared to make concessions that will endanger our state. Our supreme interests, with security and the unity of Jerusalem first and foremost, are not among the top concerns of those anonymous elements that are attacking us and me personally," he said. Homily hint: Name calling does not advance the cause of peace—among nations or within families, for that matter. Do not wait until tomorrow to reconcile differences with loved ones that need to be healed. Families at peace lead to nations at peace. Source: An article by Donna Cassata for Associated Press

peacemaking mideast politics Courage
A city divided against itself

23 Nov 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s second reading, Saint Paul speaks of how resurrection came into the world through Christ to counteract the effect of the death that came through Adam. Death came to east Palestine Tuesday when two Palestinian cousins wielding a gun and butcher knives attacked a synagogue during morning prayers, killing four worshipers and a police officer and wounding several others.The terror attack—the deadliest in Jerusalem since 2008—came at a particularly tense time in the region. It follows recent deadly stabbings and vehicle attacks that, while not the same as the large-scale suicide bombings that defined last decade's second intifada, have left Jerusalem on edge. Streets are subdued, marketplaces are quiet, and people are on edge in Jewish areas of Jerusalem. The holy city, which Israel says must forever stay united, has rarely seemed more divided. In their 47th year of occupation, Palestinians are seething with anger over neglect and discrimination, continued Jewish settlement in their areas, and a belief, despite official denials, that Israel is scheming to take over their most revered site.This anger, coupled with Jewish fears of further violence, has left the city's 800,000 residents apprehensive, seemingly united in the belief that things will get worse before they get better. "I'm really not safe, and before leaving the house I think twice," said Sara Levi, a 22-year-old stay-at-home mother. "We are not calm, and we hope there is going to be an end to this, and that it is not just a beginning."At the heart of the present unrest is the holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem, known as the Temple Mount by Jews and Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) by Muslims. Pope Francis condemned the attack and said he's praying for the region. "From the bottom of my heart, I appeal to all the parties involved to put an end to the spiral of hatred and violence, and to take courageous decisions for reconciliation and peace," the pope said. "To build peace is difficult but to live without it is torment." Homily hint: Pope Francis offered both comfort and a challenge to the people of Jerusalem—and to all of us. Peacemaking is indeed difficult for nations, and peacemaking is difficult for individuals, couples, and families as well. Wherever you find strife and division, be a source of healing and uniting. Source: An article by Chelsea J. Carter, Jethro Mullen, and Ben Wedeman for CNN

peacemaking jersualem
Hospital hit in the heat of battle

11 Oct 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s gospel, a wealthy man who seeks wisdom from Jesus goes away troubled by what he hears. People around the world were troubled to hear of a deadly air strike by U.S. forces on a hospital in the Afgan city of Kunduz, and troubled as well by the initial distant and detached comments made by U.S. military personnel when asked about the attack that killed 22 people. That tone has changed in the past several days, with the U.S. military explicitly taking responsibility for the deadly air strike Tuesday and President Obama personally apologizing to Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders), who ran the hospital and lost personnel in the attack. Homily hint: “Collateral damage,” often used to refer to civilian casualties in a war, is a term that should be discarded. The impersonal nature of the phrase adds insult to the injury caused to innocent civilians and their loved ones when they are casualties of war. Truth be told, everyone involved in a war or conflict is a casualty in some way or another—physically, emotionally, spiritually. Let’s pray for peace today, and every day. For more on the hospital strike, see: Pentagon calls Afghan hospital strike a mistake, seeks accountability; Obama apologizes to Doctors Without Borders for U.S. bombing of hospital

casualties war victims peacemaking
No more of this!

20 Mar 2016 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The following is a partial list of countries or regions suffering from serious armed conflict at this time: Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ukraine, South Sudan, Israel/Gaza, Somalia, and Yemen. You can add India, Uganda, Libya, Sudan, and Egypt as countries also experiencing serious conflicts, and the list goes on from there. By one estimate the world is spending more than $1.6 trillion a year on its armed forces. That’s $1,600,000,000,000 dollars. That’s more than 4 billion dollars a day. Think of what that money could do if channeled into humanitarian, educational, and social needs. There is a dramatic moment in the Palm Sunday narrative of the Lord’s Passion that speaks volumes to our endless addiction to armed conflict. As Jesus is being arrested under cloak of darkness, one of his followers lashes out at the high priest’s servant and cuts off his ear. Jesus is having none of it. “‘Stop, no more of this!’ Then he touched the servant’s ear and healed him.” With this one sentence and gesture, Jesus sums up the whole of his gospel message. “Stop hurting one another! Start healing one another!” Our extravagant investment in armaments has not given us a better answer, nor will it ever. Yet we continue on, too stubborn, proud, and distrustful to be the first to lay down our weapons. There are glimmers of hope on the horizon, though you have to look hard to see them. The United Nations International Day of Peace each year on September 21 is certainly a day to celebrate. This past year Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to all warning parties to observe a global cease-fire, to “stop the killings and the destruction, and create space for lasting peace.” The United States Institute of Peace recently published a book, Personal Stories from the Frontlines of War and Peace. With a foreword by the Dalai Lama, the book contains interviews with 80 ordinary citizens—a taxi driver, a nun, a machinery worker, a mother—from conflict zones all over the world. “Their accounts illuminate the intensely personal experience of war, the uncertain transition to peace, and the aspirations that survive despite it all,” say the publishers. Lessons drawn from the gospel Imagine having the courage and presence of mind to stop to heal your enemy as he is about to lead you to certain death. Yet Jesus cared so much for us and believed so deeply in the Good News that he was willing to go to the mat, literally—to the cross and the tomb—to shake us from our collective complacency so we would pay attention to what he was teaching and showing us through his words and actions. Jesus paid the ultimate price—willingly—so that his remarkable witness would be preserved. Two thousand years later the story endures so we might hear it anew and this time, at last, take it to heart as a people. Final thought in light of the news In their book The Lessons of History, historians Willa and Ariel Durant reviewed humanity’s historical record on war and peace. They concluded, “In the last 3,421 years of recorded history only 268 have seen no war.” In other words, well under 10 percent of the time have we managed to make the peace. It’s too late for the year 2016 to be completely war free, but there is still time to silence the guns in the days ahead. Closer to home, family life, neighborhoods, and cities also suffer the scourge of violence. Let’s renew our efforts to be peacemakers, let’s knock war off the front pages and eventually consign it to the dustbin of failed strategies. What better week to begin than Holy Week?

Peace war Passion of Jesus peacemaking
Homily stories

30 Jan 2011 - Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the Benebikira Sisters sheltered hundreds of orphans and others who sought refuge in their convents. When a militia stormed their motherhouse and demanded that the sisters separate themselves by ethnic groups, the sisters said no--aware that at other convents 20 sisters had been killed for standing up to militants. The militia then took all their food, cut the water lines, and told the sisters they would come back to kill them. After the genocide, the sisters found themselves caring for about 350 orphans. The children "had food and clothing," Sister M. Juvenal Mukamurama told Kathleen L. Sullivan of the National Catholic Reporter, "but it was no life for them. Family is very important in our country. They needed a family." So the sisters built 39 houses and grouped the orphans into "families" of six to eight children. "Rwanda wants to move forward," said Sister Mukamurama, who is marking her 40th anniversary as a Benebikira sister (Benebikira means "Daughters of Mary" in Kinyarwanda, the native language of Rwanda). "We want to build our country, our relationships, a new life. We are no longer seen as Tutsi or Hutu. We live together. We are no longer separate. We are Rwandans." "Blessed are the peacemakers," scripture tells us. "The Lord loves the just; the Lord protects the stranger."

Authors Joel Schorn

Justice Courage genocide peacemaking

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Homily stories

30 Jan 2011 - Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Sammy Johnson was a peacemaker. Sammy was a little boy who lived at the childcare home I worked in years ago. Every time I hear the phrase, "Blessed are the peacemakers," I think of Sammy. There were 16 boys, aged 5 to 9, who lived together in his dorm. They were all wards of the state, taken from their homes for various reasons, usually neglect. With so many boys in one hall, there was a lot of opportunity for conflict. But Sammy somehow found a way to not only avoid getting into arguments, he had a calming effect on us all--even us counselors. One day when the boys had been at odds all morning, I was keeping an especially close eye on their game of tag. I had the sense something was going to flare up any second. Just then, Sammy came out of the dining hall where he'd been on clean-up duty. He was carrying a jumbo bag of freshly popped popcorn. He walked calmly through the melee and sat on a bench. He said quietly, "Anyone want any?" Soon the kids were all crowded around the bench, eating popcorn and joking good-naturedly again. It wasn't what he did so much as simply who he was. Sammy had a sweet and generous nature, and he saw the good in everyone he met. He was a 9-year-old peacemaker. Maybe you know somebody in your life who's like that. Maybe it's you. Blessed are you, Sammy.

Authors Tom McGrath

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Homily stories

01 Nov 2009 - Solemnity of All Saints, Cycle B

Blessed are the peacemakers . . .” says Jesus. “But where are the peacemakers?” we might well ask, in this age of seemingly endless conflict, strife, and warfare. Truth be told, “waging peace” has always been more difficult than waging war, which is why our world is in the shape it is. But rather than throw up our hands in resignation we can look close to home for opportunities to wage peace. Reconcile yourself with an estranged friend or relative, be the first to extend the olive branch of forgiveness. For inspiration, call to mind the great saints who have been peacemakers through the ages, such as Saint Francis Assisi. Wage peace and you, too, will be called a “child of God.”

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