World Day of Peace

Today is the 40th annual "World Day of Peace." This does not not mean that we should all put on groovy clothes, hold hands and sing Kum Ba Ya. It wouldn't hurt, I suppose, but there are better things to do. For example, pray for an understanding of what "peace" really means.

War is a terrible thing and the lives lost in them are distressing. Yet there are other wars in progress, right under our noses. Benedict XVI talked about it in his message today. I've put some key points in italics:

The duty to respect the dignity of each human being, in whose nature the image of the Creator is reflected, means in consequence that the person can not be disposed of at will. Those with greater political, technical, or economic power may not use that power to violate the rights of others who are less fortunate. Peace is based on respect for the rights of all. Conscious of this, the Church champions the fundamental rights of each person. In particular she promotes and defends respect for the life and the religious freedom of everyone. Respect for the right to life at every stage firmly establishes a principle of decisive importance: life is a gift which is not completely at the disposal of the subject.

Similarly, the affirmation of the right to religious freedom places the human being in a relationship with a transcendent principle which withdraws him from human caprice. The right to life and to the free expression of personal faith in God is not subject to the power of man. Peace requires the establishment of a clear boundary between what is at man's disposal and what is not: in this way unacceptable intrusions into the patrimony of specifically human values will be avoided.

As far as the right to life is concerned, we must denounce its widespread violation in our society: alongside the victims of armed conflicts, terrorism and the different forms of violence, there are the silent deaths caused by hunger, abortion, experimentation on human embryos and euthanasia. How can we fail to see in all this an attack on peace? Abortion and embryonic experimentation constitute a direct denial of that attitude of acceptance of others which is indispensable for establishing lasting relationships of peace. Full address.

Benedict has an interesting style that gets to the heart of the matter. His message boils down to this: if we don't respect life, there can be no peace. If we cannot accept others in the quiet of the womb, we will never learn to accept those of other nations as our brothers.

Peace begins at home. Peace be with you.