Did You Know?

The 60-year old Franciscan Cardinal and head of the Church in the Holy Lands is a powerful voice for an end to the now 2-year-old conflict. (You may recall that he offered to take the place of the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas – a true shepherd.) He said: “You’ve already heard the news, so there’s no need to delve into the dramatic daily story of what we’re experiencing in Gaza. The images are also very significant; unfortunately, they speak of destruction, of death, of so much pain. . .”

“One of the problems we’re experiencing is precisely this: We’re so overwhelmed by pain that there seems to be no room for the pain of others.” He added, “We are also experiencing a climate of deep hatred, increasingly entrenched within both populations, Israeli and Palestinian, that seems to have no end”.

This mutual hatred is demonstrated not only in violence, he said, but also in language. “I believe that the violence we are witnessing is also the result of years of violent and dehumanising language.” Cardinal Pizzaballa explained that if we dehumanised others through language, “creating a culture, a way of thinking, the transition to actual physical violence is only a matter of time, and unfortunately, we are witnessing it”.

The Cardinal’s insight is an important one for us living in the United States as well.

The demonizing (‘dehumanizing’ in the Cardinal’s words) of political opponents and the collapse of civil discourse, is resulting in the inevitable violence, as he describes. We have all heard the adage: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will not hurt me.” But we are discovering that “name calling” (reducing others to objects rather than persons) can – and the Cardinal says, will inevitably - lead to violence.

As Catholics we are called to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), which involves communicating the truth with genuine care and empathy to foster spiritual growth and strengthen relationships. It requires humility, empathy, and a willingness to listen before speaking. The goal is to build people up, never to tear down or denigrate, and to promote that peace which has God as its source. (“Blessed are the peacemakers. . .for they shall be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:9)

How are we creating a culture of peace – in our own homes? In conversations with friends? In the public forum? Is what I am viewing on television or on the internet building up or tearing down that culture of peace and civil discussion? Do I spend as much time in prayer – interceding for persons and situations – as I do criticizing? We each of us - and all of us as the Church - have a vital role in addressing the verbal and physical violence which is placing our world at such risk. Cardinal Pizzaballa concluded: “This war must end as soon as possible. We know it makes no sense to continue it. It’s time to stop … But we know that the end of the war we long for, despite what the news reports say, will not be the end of the conflict, it will not mark the end of the hostility, or the pain this hostility will cause.” He encouraged believers and all those involved to renounce hateful language and to “work hard to create a different narrative”. PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM – and the Holy Land!