There is no peace without justice

Even for this we have to work and to pray in favor of vocations

by G.L.Novelli, Serra International President

What happened on September 11 compels us as Serrans from all over the world to a deep reflection.

A thought that comes to mind, after moments of anguish at the first impact…at a new slaughter of the innocents… is about the frailty of our culture; a culture that is able to build prestigious towers, while at the same time running the risk of losing its soul – that Christian soul that has left an indelible mark on our western civilization.

Those towers, however, were not only a symbol of power, as many are eager to comment, but also of work and human progress; they were the workplace of men and women who loved and were loved by their families, parents and children. It was a site of living humanity.

Perhaps there will be no rebuilding, and what is left after the destructive collapse will remain preserved as a memorial to the murderers, not in the name of God or Allah, but in the name of Death or Nothingness, dealing a blow to a structure believed to be an expression of that humanistic civilization over which there was a desire to pour out a hatred instigated by old feelings of revenge or for dark geo-political purposes.

Unfortunately some wrong analyses of this event are being spread, at times by certain important men who in the guise of a hypocritical pacifism lead to other dangerous fundamentalisms.

The analyses that speak of revenge caused by other injustices produced by the egoism of the western world are unacceptable. They are led by an anti-Americanism that is anti-Christian as well as inhuman, to say nothing of the fact that they are inclined to see the evil and suffering of only one part of the world and to make judgments of reality only through a lens distorted by ideology.

We hope, instead, that from this tragedy and the committed and firm world movement against terrorism, a little conscience regarding the values of our civilization can arise in the fundamentalists sympathizing with the terrorists – even if at a popular level it is difficult to see – values all coming from the Christian proposition that lets democracy, liberty and respect for women live in humanity.

On the other hand, Catholics should remember that Christian love for peace cannot be separated from love for justice; in fact, there is no true and lasting peace without justice. But justice will be not obtained through stone-throwing and guerrilla actions that are expressions of violence even if some will justify them as an answer to other violence.

We are not at the mercy of an inscrutable fate, indifferent to our lives, but we are participating in a loving destiny that has God as its goal, a God who is solid – or better still – rich in mercy toward every one of us.

This is the great message that committed Catholics, such as Serrans, corresponding to Serra’s second objective, have to transmit, particularly to young people, in order to infuse hope and optimism derived from Christian consciousness. We do this even as events like the recent massacre in the Christian church in Pakistan are calling for a new heroism and a new availability to the martyrdom that we believed to belong to other times.

From “soil” so fertilized, it will be possible to better nurture the “calls” that by virtue of the Holy Spirit are generously handed out to all mankind, even if at times in conditions hard to accept.

With all the above sentiments I join you in prayer during this Christmas season with my best wishes to you and your families.

 “ Diligete iustitiam, qui iudicatis terram” (Sap.I,1)

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