Pope calling for Reconciliation and Dialogue

In view of the dramatic events of 11 September (Message for the World Day of Peace 2002) and in face of the war in Afghanistan, Pope John Paul II calls for reconciliation and peace. He urgently warns against using the events as an opportunity to fan the flames of new hate between religions and cultures. He expresses his great respect for Islam and invites people to seek dialogue with one another.

mh. Pope John Paul II has castigated organised terrorism as ‘crimes against humanity’. ‘Terrorism is built on contempt for human life’, and is ‘a true crime against humanity’. The Pope demands ‘a courageous and resolute political, diplomatic and economic commitment to relieving situations of oppression and marginalization’ because they ‘facilitate the designs of terrorists’. However, he firmly states that injustices ‘can never be used to excuse acts of terrorism’. The consequences of terrorism affect most of all those people who already suffer most from injustices, ‘namely the people of the developing world, who already live on a thin margin of survival and who would be most grievously affected by global economic and political chaos.’ Thus ‘the terrorist claim to be acting on behalf of the poor is a patent falsehood.’

Defence against terrorism only by respecting the law

The Pope acknowledges ‘a right to defend oneself against terrorism’. This right, though, ‘must be exercised with respect for moral and legal limits.’ ‘The guilty must be correctly identified, since criminal culpability is always personal and cannot be extended to the nation, ethnic group or religion to which the terrorists may belong.’ (Message for the World Day of Peace 2002) The US has flagrantly and substantially contravened these principles of law and order in its attacks against Afghanistan. The consequences for the people of Afghanistan have been horrifying, even though they had nothing to do with the terror attacks. In accordance with his demand the Pope has repeatedly made appeals not to resort to the use of violence after the 11September attacks. Alarmed by recent events he sees the dangers threatening world peace today, and is concerned that humanity will be drawn into new, serious conflicts.

Before the war started, at a time when the world was barely aware of the plight of Afghanistan, the Pope appealed for help. He saw that civil war and drought were producing countless victims, that large numbers of people were fleeing, thousands were threatened by starvation and the cold, especially children, the sick and the aged. He requested the international community not to forget the people of Afghanistan, and urgently appealed to the warring parties to put down their arms so that relief aid could get through to the threatened areas. (Radio Vatican, 28 February, 2001) And now all the more determined, in the war of the US and England against Afghanistan, he appeals for protection of the civilian population. In an appeal to the international community he demands that the lives of innocent people be protected and at the same time aid for refugees be organised. Relief aid needs to be brought in before the beginning of the winter. It is above all those people who have lost everything that are now so in need of help.

The Pope’s tireless calls for peace awaken hopes in those who are affected and threatened by war. This was nowhere more apparent than in Astana in Kazakhstan when the Pope paid a visit there in September 2001. The German newspaper ‘Berliner Morgenpost’ wrote that people celebrated the Pope because he was a hope for peace. ‘Be ready to promote peace, so often threatened by the spectre of catastrophic wars’, he encouraged the predominantly Muslim population of Kazakhstan. The paper went on to say that for these people this leader of a billion Roman Catholics, so many of whom are inhabitants of wealthy Europe and the US, is not looked upon as an intruder, as a symbol of the Western world whose weapons the Muslims now so dread. His manifestations of deep respect for Islam, his vow that the Catholic church desires no conflict with other world religions impressed the Kazakh people. Even when he attacked a perverted form of Islam that sows terrorism and makes God the hostage of human ambitions, he was obviously expressing exactly what the Kazakh people felt. John Paul II came to Kazakhstan to stand by the side of a population alarmed at the US deployment of forces in the region, and although they believe in a God who goes by the name of Allah and not Jesus Christ.

Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, the Vatican foreign minister, also explicitly dismissed any theory of a ‘war between the cultures’ in connection with the Afghanistan conflict, as has been put forward by Huntington. He stated that terrorism in the name of Islam was a perversion of Islam. The Catholic church respects the authentic Islam of prayer and solidarity with the needy. A dialogue between the different cultures was necessary. Thus, the Vatican rejects the notion that the Koran incites its followers to take arms against other cultures and religions.

John Paul II has untiringly solicited for a dialogue that transcends all religious and cultural boundaries. In exemplary fashion he has ‘invited representatives of the world’s religions to come to Assisi, the town of Saint Francis, on 24 January 2002, to pray for peace. In doing so we will show that genuine religious belief is an inexhaustible wellspring of mutual respect and harmony among peoples; indeed it is the chief antidote to violence and conflict.’ (Message for the World Day of Peace 2002)

In a joint declaration last September the Vatican and the Al Azhar University, the most respected theological institute of the Islamic world, condemned terrorism. High-ranking representatives of the Vatican and Islam did likewise by stating that as religious leaders they emphasised that justice and mutual respect were the real foundations for peace.

The Pope clearly illustrated his deep respect for Islam on his arrival at Kazakhstan’s Astana airport on 22 September: ‘I greet the Islamic Leaders and faithful, who boast a long religious tradition in this region.’ On his visit he also rejected any instrumentalisation of religion for political aims and power politics: He testified to the respect of the Roman Catholic church ‘for Islam, the authentic Islam that prays’ and shows solidarity with the needy. With the words, ‘You shall not kill in God’s name’, he unmistakably condemned ‘fanatic fundamentalism’: ‘It is a profanation of religion to declare oneself a terrorist in the name of God, to do violence to others in his name. Terrorist violence is a contradiction of faith in God.’ (Message for the World Day of Peace 2002)

In Astana the Pope clearly denounced any instrumentalisation of religious conflicts for political ambitions: ‘Recalling the errors of the past, including the most recent past, all believers ought to unite their efforts to ensure that God is never made the hostage of human ambitions. Hatred, fanaticism and terrorism profane the name of God and disfigure the true image of man.’ This was a clear rejection of all intimations that Islam in its very being was the cause of terror and violence. He urgently warned against using this argument to fan the flames of new hate between the peoples and cultures of the world. He made clear that religious conflicts are possibly engendered in the name of interests completely foreign to that religious conflict.

The US war for pipelines

The Brazilian bishops expressed the opinion that the US military operations in Afghanistan are primarily aimed at retaining western control over the oil and gas transport routes. In a Bishops Conference paper on the present political situation it is stated that the gas and oil reserves in Central Asia and the Caspian Sea would be an alternative for the West if the reserves in the Middle East are exhausted in a maximum of 20 years. The bishops criticise that as a result of this option it has become difficult to develop a realistic option to the war in favour of justice and world peace (Vatican Radio, 8 December, 2001). Here it becomes clear that senior Catholic dignitaries believe that it is not religious conflict which is the cause of the terror and war, but instead American power policy. According to Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, long-standing Vatican ‘foreign minister’, mainly among the bishops of the developing countries a widespread concern is that a prolonged war in Afghanistan could aggravate the climate between religions. They perceive the danger of a deepening of the divisions between civilisations and religions. Silvestrini hopes that nevertheless peaceful coexistence between Christians and Moslems will continue, as it does in Jordan, Syria and Iraq. The viewpoint of the Vatican contradicts that of Huntington, the Harvard political scientist: It is not divisions that create war, as he would have us believe, but war that creates the divisions between cultures.

Religion must never be used as a reason for conflict

With an appeal for peace in Astana the Pope tried to provide justified food for the hopes expressed by Silvestrini: ‘From this city, from Kazakhstan, a country that is an example of harmony between men and women of different origins and beliefs, I wish to make an earnest call to everyone, Christians and the followers of other religions, to work together to build a world without violence, a world that loves life, and grows in justice and solidarity. We must not let what has happened lead to a deepening of divisions. Religion must never be used as a reason for conflict. From this place, I invite both Christians and Muslims to raise an intense prayer to the One, Almighty God whose children we are, that the supreme good of peace may reign in the world. May people everywhere, strengthened by divine wisdom, work for a civilization of love, in which there is no room for hatred, discrimination or violence.’ (Astana, Square of the Motherland, 23.9.2001) He also called upon the bishops, apostolic administrators and superiors of the missions in Kazakhstan to seek dialogue with Muslims: ‘Respect and dialogue should also be fostered in relation to the Muslim community, with those who belong to other religions and with those who profess themselves to be non-believers. May everyone be able to appreciate the gift of your faith lived in charity and may they open their hearts to the most profound dimensions of life.’