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Dear Friends in Christ,
I have been blessed to live through the pontificates of several popes in the Roman Catholic Church. The word “pontiff” means bridge builder. Both Popes John XXIII and Paul VI offered special encouragement to the church and world of their times. They had lived through two world wars and experienced the spread of the “Cold War” and its escalation of weapons of mass destruction.
Pope John XXIII is remembered for many things, including his encyclical “Pacem in Terris” (Peace on Earth), which he signed just weeks before his death in1963.
“We deem it opportune to remind our children of their duty to take an active part in public life and to contribute toward the attainment of the common good of the entire human family as well as to that of their own political community.”
Pope Paul VI summarized this hope in his speech before the United Nations Assembly on October 4, 1965, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. “No more war! Never again war!” Sadly, his plea continues to be ignored by world leaders, and we find ourselves in this country presently involved in a war with Iran.
I write not to offer political commentary on this conflict, but moral commentary. Our call as Catholics is to respect the dignity and lives of all people. Six US servicemen have been killed, and over 1000 Iranians, including 175 girls in an elementary school in Tehran, have died. It’s difficult to see how this war is just or how it leads to peace. Our current Pope Leo XIV has reminded us about something essential is this time we share. “Let us not forget to pray for peace!” So let us unite in a prayer offered by the late Pope Francis:
Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts and give us the courage to say: "Never again war!" "With war, everything is lost". Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace.
Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words "division", "hatred", and "war" be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be "brother and sister", and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam!
Blessings of peace,
Fr. William Heric, pastor