Christians' responsibility for peace

Young children are sometimes led to believe that they are powerless to make decisions that truly impact the important things in life. Unfortunately, some adults too maintain a sentiment of apathy because they cannot or will not see the impact of their positive actions and words for the wider world.

Against the fatalism and conviction that choices that truly make an impact on the world stage are only made by a chosen few who are in positions of power or prestige, Benedict XVI encourages all Catholics to take seriously their personal responsibility for promoting peace in our world.

In Chapter 7 of his book Values in a Time of Upheaval, the Holy Father outlines three parts to the action plan by which Christians can contribute concretely to strengthening the forces of good:

• First, we have the promise of the future Jerusalem, which is not made by man but comes from God;


• Second, we have the prediction about the history of our world, that human freedom will continualy be misused and that injustice will seize power again and again in the world;


• Finally, the third part of the Christian response involves ethos and responsibility. (pp, 120-121)

Trusting in the promise of a kingdom which is yet to come, we live as people of hope as we await the fulfillment of the Lord's promise that we will all one day partake in the fullness of life and light in Heaven.

While we wait, we live in the world, where God allows the freedom to choose evil considerable space, but he never lets the world fall completely out of his hands, so no matter what evil can do, the world belongs to God, not to evil.

Conscious of the fundamental character or spirit of our local culture (and that of the world in general), Christians also draw upon our established norms of morality in order to inform our beliefs, customs or practices. God holds the world together but also grants us great freedom. We must use this - as a freedom to choose the good - to oppose the freedom of evil. Faith does not create a better world, but it does call forth and strengthen the freedom of the good against the temptation to misuse our freedom to do evil. (p. 121)

Christians, called to live in a world which naturally tends toward the good, but which also leaves lots of room for freedom on the part of humanity, are therefore the sentinels of a promise which will only come to its fruition in the future. In the meanwhile, it is our responsibility to work devotedly each day at promoting peace by the way we interact with others, showing them the mercy, justice and love of the Lord.

• Photo: The Return of the Prodigal Son; Rembrandt, H. The State Hermitage Museum

Freedom, Law and the Good

Humanity has always yearned to be free. The concept of being able to determine our own destiny, to control matters of life, and to decide our own fate has at times been the source of great celebration, but has also been the source of great suffering, especially when the result of human decisions do not bear out the expected outcomes.

True freedom is only found when we recognize and accept the responsibilties that are consequently imposed. In it's purest form, freedom can never be sought for the sake of oneself.

In Chapter 3 of his book Values in a Time of Upheaval, Benedict XVI explains that one cannot desire freedom for oneself alone; freedom is indivisible and must always be seen as a task to be achieved on behalf of mankind as a whole. This means that one cannot have freedom without paying the price of sacrifices and renunciation. Freedom demands that we undertake to understand morality as a public and communal obligation. Morality in itself has no power, but we must recognize that only the moral dimension possesses the true power to promote man. Freedom demands that governments and all those who bear responsibility bow down before a reality that is defenseless and incapable of exercising any coercion: morality.

In the gospels, Jesus understood his mission (and that of his disciples) as that of establishing freedom for the oppressed (Luke 4:18) and performed miracles as the proof that in God, he has the power to free us from sin (Luke 13:12, 16) in order to establish unity between all people, thus fulfilling the original dream of God for all creation.

We live in a multi-cultural society, but in order for various cultures and societies to exist in harmony with one another, they must at the very least share ethical-moral convictions. This indeed is the challenge which must be faced by anyone who proposes to establish common ground between warring factions or opposing forces.

Even majority decisions (as in a democratic society) become truly human and rational only when they presuppose a basic human element that they respect as the real common good that is the presupposition of all other good things.

What then is the task of Christian churches in our multi-cultural society? The Holy Father explains: It accords with the nature of the Church that it is separated from the state and that its faith may not be imposed by the state but is based on convictions that are freely arrived at. Indeed it is an essential aspect of the Church that it is neither the state not a part of the state but a fellowship based on conviction. (The Church) is also essentially aware of its responsibility for the totality ... On the basis of its own freedom, it must address the freedom of all human beings so that the moral forces of history may remain forces in the present. This will permit people, in continually changing circumstances, to grasp the evidential character of those values without which a shared freedom is impossible.

Thus the Holy See maintains diplomatic relations with various states throughout the world. In fact the episcopal see of Rome has been a sovereign entity since midieval times and maintains formal diplomatic relations with more than 175 countries around the world. Through the Pontifical Representations which exist in these countries, the Vatican is actively involved in addressing the inherent freedom of all God's people.

Moral foundations for freedom

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the first part of the Constitution Act, was established in 1982. Since that time, the Charter has been celebrated as a milestone of significant accomplishment in Canadian society, however where there are rights and freedoms, there ought to also be consequent responsibilities.

In Chapter 2 of his book Values in a Time of Upheaval, the Holy Father Benedict XVI examines the moral foundations of a free state. The subject matter discussed in this chapter addresses situations dreamed of by those who long to establish freedom from political systems which seek to control the rights and freedoms of society. It is equally if not more apropos to any civilized society which currently enjoys established rights and freedoms.

Benedict XVI acknowledges that we live in an increasingly global society where individual, political, economic and cultural forces are increasingly interrelated. In addition, the development of power on the part of humanity to create and to destroy makes ever-more urgent the question of legal and ethical controls on this power.

In light of increasing globalization, there is no longer any uniformity within individual cultural spheres. Rather every cultural sphere, whether that be defined as secular culture, Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist or the tribal cultures of Africa and Latin America, bears the marks of deep tensions within its own cultural tradition.

Therefore, perhaps the doctrine of human rights ought ... to be complemented by a doctrine of human obligations and human limits. This might help shed new light on the question of whether there exists reason inherent in nature and hence a rational law applicable to man and to his existence in the world. Today we would have to conduct the discussion of these matters in an intercultural context. Christians would see them as connected with Creation and the Creator. In the Indian world, they would be connected with the concept of dharma, the inherent regularity of existence. In the Chinese tradition, one would find the idea of the regulations laid down by heaven.

At least in Western culture, there appear to be two main components: Christian faith and Western secular rationality.

It is important for these two components ... to be willing to listen and to accept a genuine correlation with these cultures ... (and that they be included) in the attempt at a polyphonic correlation in which these cultures themselves will be open to learn from the Western complementarity of faith and reason.

In other words, rights and freedoms which are attained or granted must always be tempered by the responsibilities and obligations they oblige.