Work for peace, not war and discord

Leela Ramdeen

On Thursday 21 September we will observe the International Day of Peace. The theme is Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals. This is "a call to action that recognises our individual and collective responsibility to foster peace. Fostering peace contributes to the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will create a culture of peace for all" (UN).

The theme of the recently concluded G20 held in New Delhi, One Earth, One Family, One Future, was: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - a Sanskrit phrase meaning: 'The World Is One Family'. You wouldn't think this if you read about what is on offer at the arms fair - DSEI (Defence & Security Equipment International) 2023, a biannual event - Japan in March and London Docklands from 12-15 September. This arms fair, the largest in Europe, is only open to Official Delegations, VIPs, MOD, Government visitors and media and trade. Many will be "salivating" at the sight of ammunition which "can deliver greater range, precision and lethality." Countries are upgrading their artillery and combat vehicles for land, air and underwater battlespace. There continues to be a proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons - all in the name of maintaining peace.

I was pleased to note that the Department for International Affairs of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales issued a media release stating that the sale of weapons for profit causes "grave harm" to humanity. UN Secretary-General António Guterres says: "Peace is needed today more than ever. War and conflict are unleashing devastation, poverty, and hunger, and driving tens of millions of people from their homes. Climate chaos is all around. And even peaceful countries are gripped by gaping inequalities and political polarisation."

2023 marks the mid-point in implementing the SDGs which aim "to bring us closer to having more peaceful, just, and inclusive societies, free from fear and violence." Given the state of our world and the lack of commitment by some of our world leaders, it is highly unlikely that humanity will achieve the 17 broad sustainable development goals in its three dimensions - economic, social and environmental - in a balanced and integrated manner, by 2030. Studies, including one by Jonathan D. Moyer and Steve Hedden highlight the fact that the world is not on track to achieve many human-development related SDGs.

Despite these and other challenges to address poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice, we cannot afford to sit idly on the sidelines and hope that others will do what is necessary to build a better world. We must do as Pope Francis says and embark together on paths of peace, since "no one can be saved alone." His Message for the 56th World Day of Peace on 1 January 2023 is worth reading.

Our experience of the pandemic, he said, should lead us to transform our hearts, no longer thinking "exclusively of carving out space for our personal or national interests; instead, we must think in terms of the common good, recognising that we belong to a greater community, and opening our minds and hearts to universal human fraternity...the time has come for all of us to endeavour to heal our society and our planet, to lay the foundations for a more just and peaceful world, and to commit ourselves seriously to pursuing a good that is truly common...we cannot ignore one fundamental fact, namely that the many moral, social, political and economic crises we are experiencing are all interconnected, and what we see as isolated problems are actually causes and effects of one another. Consequently, we are called to confront the challenges of our world in a spirit of responsibility and compassion."

He constantly calls us to work for peace e.g., in 2015, in his homily as he celebrated Mass at Sarajevo's "Kosevo Stadium", he called on all men and women to become "artisans of peace" in living out their daily lives; to work "each day, step by step, without ever growing tired". As the Jesuit Review reported, he said Peace must be put into practice with acts of kindness, fraternity, dialogue and mercy. This must be done "with compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness patience and a spirit of forgiveness." However, "we should not fool ourselves into thinking that this all depends on us! Peace - he said - is a gift from God because with his Spirit he can imprint these attitudes in our hearts and in our flesh and can make us true instruments of his peace."

Let's do as the Holy Father did and ask the Lord for "the grace of patience, the grace to struggle and work for justice, to be merciful, to work for peace, to sow peace and not war and discord."

Remember Jesus' call in the Beatitudes on the Sermon on the Mount, for us to be peacemakers - "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" (Matthew 5:9). Pope Paul VI rightly said that there can be no peace without justice. Pope Francis has said that this beatitude, the seventh one, is the most active. "Love by its nature is creative -- love is always creative -- and seeks reconciliation at any cost... True shalom and true inner balance flow from the peace of Christ, which comes from his Cross and generates a new humanity, embodied in an infinite host of inventive and creative saints, who have always devised new ways to love."

May the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) inspire us to promote justice; to reconcile ourselves with our neighbour, our environment, and with all God's Creation.

Leela Ramdeen is Consultant of Trinidad & Tobago Catholic Commission for Social Justice & Archdiocese's Ministry for Migrants and Refugees

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