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This task, entrusted in particular to believers, is a field open to all “believers and unbelievers alike, to all men and women of good will who are concerned for the good of the human family and for its future.” This is the first time that in a Message for Peace the Pope assigns the same task to all humanity, believers and non believers, all men and women of good will, a sign of the particular urgency of radical action to restore peace in the present world situation.
The urgency: since September 11th, when a “a terrible crime was committed,” throughout the world there has been a growing sense of “profound personal vulnerability.” The Church must therefore testify to her conviction that evil, the mysterium iniquitatis, does not have the final word in human affairs. It is also urgent to ask ourselves “how do we restore the moral and social order subjected to such horrific violence?”
Radical must be the response: “justice and that form of love which is forgiveness.” Often we may think that “justice and forgiveness are irreconcilable.” The Pope seems almost to refer to the “enduring freedom” operation in Afghanistan. “Forgiveness,” he writes, “is in no way opposed to justice as if to forgive meant to overlook the need to right the wrong done. It is rather the fullness of justice, leading to that tranquility of order which is much more than a fragile and temporary cessation of hostilities, involving as it does the deepest healing of the wounds which fester in human hearts. Justice and forgiveness are both essential to such healing.”
The Pope firmly condemns international terrorism which today assaults “peace born of justice and forgiveness.” None of the world's political leaders, of east or west, have had such strong words of condemnation for terrorism, now “a sophisticated network of political, economic and technical collusion.” Pope John Paul II clearly says that terrorism is “a true crime against humanity” because it is “built on contempt for human life,” it is a sign of “despair of humanity, of life, of the future,” it springs from “hatred” and is a “death-wish.”
Notwithstanding this, the Message can in no way be manipulated. If on the one hand the Pope states that “there exists a right to defend oneself against terrorism,” he underlines that this right must be exercised identifying the guilty person or persons since criminal culpability is always “personal” and cannot be extended to the nation, ethnic group or religion to which the “terrorists may belong.” This means that whole peoples — Afghans, Iraqis, Somalis, Yemenis, Palestinians — cannot be held responsible for this or that terrorist or terrorist organization. The fight against terrorism must also include “courageous” political, diplomatic and economic commitment to “relieving situations of oppression and marginalization which facilitate the designs of terrorists.”
In his message the Pope demythologizes all pseudo-values connected with terrorism and ideologies which claim to reach justice through violence (i.e., Colombian guerilla warfare). The “injustices existing in the world can never be used to excuse acts of terrorism;” the victims of terrorism are above all “the people of the developing world,” least well-positioned to withstand “global economic and political chaos” generated by the radical breakdown of order. “The terrorist claiming to be acting on behalf of the poor is a patent falsehood.”
The Pope also demythologizes the religious claim of terrorism — the “fanatic fundamentalism” which springs from the conviction that “one's own vision of the truth must be forced on everyone else.” “Fundamentalism is an attitude radically opposed to belief in God. Terrorism exploits not only people, it exploits God: it ends by making God an idol to be used for one's own purposes.” The Pope calls on all religious leaders not to condone terrorism: “It is a profanation of religion to declare oneself terrorist in the name of God, to do violence to others in God's name.”
It is clear that the Pope refers not only to the Muslim sheiks close to Bin Laden. There exist fundamentalist Jewish settlers whose sole aim is the destruction of the Palestinian people and fundamentalist Christian groups which rejoice over destruction in Afghanistan, a premise for their “evangelizing” efforts. After September 11, no one can say they are totally innocent. This is why the Pope indicates the path of forgiveness. This is the path of the “followers of Christ,” a path which has a “divine source and criterion”, but can also be grasped “in the light of human reasoning.”
Forgiveness is above all “a personal choice”, but it has a social dimension. Families, groups, societies, states, and the international community “need forgiveness in order to renew ties that have been sundered, go beyond sterile situations of mutual condemnation and overcome the temptation to discriminate against others without appeal. The ability to forgive lies at the very basis of the idea of a future society marked by justice and solidarity.” Forgiveness is necessary for development: a failure to forgive often prolongs conflict. National resources are wasted on weapons, suffering is inflicted because of failure to reconcile.
The Pope insists on the “necessity of forgiveness,” the “high road,” difficult to accept, a paradoxical message; the “apparent short-term loss for a real long-term gain” of forgiveness. On the contrary violence opts for an “apparent short-term gain, but it involves a real and permanent loss.”
John Paul II launches his call for justice and forgiveness in view of “a far-reaching resurgence of the human spirit in individual hearts and in relations between the peoples of the world” and he suggests some urgent and necessary steps:
1) to “resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict” taking into proper account the “rights and demands of each party;”
2) to increase ecumenical and inter-religious cooperation “to eliminate the social and cultural causes of terrorism … by teaching the greatness and dignity of the human person and by spreading a clear sense of the oneness of the human family”. He calls on Jewish, Christian and Islamic religious leaders to publicly condemn terrorism, thus “denying terrorists any form of religious or moral legitimacy;”
3) religions must help “to form a morally sound public opinion” by “teaching forgiveness”: the path of forgiveness is the path to discover “a higher Truth,” God himself.
Precisely in view of teaching forgiveness, the Pope recalls the importance of praying for peace. Prayer is not an “afterthought” it is the essence of building a society of justice and peace. From this point of view he mentions two more elements essential for the future of the world. One immediate element: the inter-religious meeting in Assisi; a second more constant: guaranteeing religious freedom in every country. Both elements underline that “genuine religious belief is an inexhaustible wellspring of mutual respect and harmony among peoples; indeed it is the chief antidote to violence and conflict.”
Prayer embraces every situation: the victims of terrorism, the victims of war and violence, and even the pitiless terrorists: “May they look into their hearts, see the evil of what they do, abandon all violent intentions and seek forgiveness.”
