Pope Francis leads a
vigil for peace in St. Peter's Square: One of the
most activist pope's in recent memory,
his calls for peace should not
be a cause for gloating by Russian President Putin, the
Assad regime's
staunchest defender.
Putin Should Be Humble in Face of Pope's Appeal for Peace (La
Croix, France)
"'War never again! Never again war!' The call of Pope
Francis, launched last Sunday from St. Peter's Square and repeated on Twitter,
may seem like particularly naive idealism. ... The Russian president might be
tempted to exploit these words - he who opposes any armed action against the Damascus
regime. He should take care not to linger too long in triumph. The former KGB
agent stationed in Germany at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall will recall
that the word of a pope - it was then John Paul II - can be a very disarming 'naiveté.'"
Russian President Vladimir Putin: While he and the pope share a desire to prevent a U.S. attack on Syria, their views on human rights and violence couldn't be more at varience.
"War
never again! Never again war!" The call of Pope Francis, launched last
Sunday from St. Peter's Square and repeated on Twitter, may seem like
particularly naive idealism. How can one issue such a cry when there are so
many bloody conflicts on the planet, while at the same time, ferocious cruelty
rages between Syrian factions? The words of Pope Francis are all the more
poignant because they refer to one of his predecessors.
On
October 4, 1965 in New York [during the Vietnam War], Pope Paul VI was the first pontiff
to express himself within the confines of the United Nations, during a speech that
left a mark on the world's spirit: "War never again! Never again war! It
is peace ... peace that must guide the destiny of peoples and all mankind!"
Nearly 50 years have passed and the wars have never ceased. Paul VI appears to
have spoken in vain.
Posted By
Worldmeets.US
[Editor's
Note: During Pope Paul VI's first visit to the United States, in October
1965, as U.S. involvement in Vietnam escalated under President Johnson, Paul VI
pleaded for peace before the U.N. This is a small excerpt: "Our very brief
visit has given us a great honor; that of proclaiming to the whole world, from
the Headquarters of the United Nations, Peace! We shall never forget this
extraordinary hour. Nor can we bring it to a more fitting conclusion than by
expressing the wish that this central seat of human relationships for the civil
peace of the world may ever be conscious and worthy of this high privilege. No
more war, never again war. Peace, it is peace that must guide the destinies of
people and of all mankind."]
However,
Pope Francis refuses to allow humanity to surrender in the face of violence. He
has invited all believers and people of good will to share tomorrow [Saturday] a
day of fasting and prayer for peace. In an unprecedented gesture, Frances himself
will lead an evening-long prayer vigil in St. Peter's Square. Whatever the
symbolic power of this gesture, the head of the Catholic Church isn't stopping
there. In a series of actions not seen at the Vatican in ten years, he has mobilized
all of the diplomatic strength of the Holy See to achieve a negotiated end to
the Syrian crisis and denounce the "futile pursuit of a military solution."
These
words are from a letter written by the pope addressed to Vladimir Putin, as host
of the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg. The Russian president might be tempted to
exploit these words - he who opposes any armed action against the Damascus regime.
But if his memory still functions, he will take care not to linger too long in
triumph. The former KGB agent stationed in Germany at the time of the fall of
the Berlin Wall will recall that the word of a pope - it was then John Paul II
- can be a very disarming "naiveté."
