(The following homily was given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde during the Peace and Justice Conference at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Arlington, Virginia, on September 18, 2004)
My brothers and sisters, we do well to gather today to consider the defense of life, the advance of justice, the promotion of peace and the fostering of solidarity. Peace, after all, is a scarce commodity of late. Russia witnessed just three weeks ago today an act of terrorism that left the world mute. In Iraq, car bombs routinely threaten the peace. Here in Northern Virginia, not a day goes by when we do not give at least some peripheral thought to the harsh new realities of terrorism. Our hearts are troubled, and we crave peace. We yearn for it, but do we understand its relationship to justice, to solidarity and to the defense of life?
We would do well, it seems to me, to revisit those well-known words of Pope Paul VI, “If you want peace, work for justice.” Today's conference will explore the relationship between peace and justice, one which Pope Paul VI pointed to in these words. After all, peace is one of the fruits of justice. Justice has to do with right relationships, the right ordering of individuals to one another and to the whole of society. As a virtue, justice consists in the constant and firm will to give to another what is due.
What is due to another in our present society?
Fundamentally, a respect for life — as the ground upon which all other programs and policies — needs to be built. To foster and promote a culture of life, as Pope John Paul says in Evangelium Vitae, is not an option, but a requirement of the gospel. To be unconditionally pro-life, from conception until natural death, is nothing less than being just to one's neighbor, whether that neighbor is the defenseless person in the womb or the person already born. To be pro-life is to respect life at every stage — thus, the Church works to ensure that all persons, regardless of age or chronological or mental development, are recognized as beings of intrinsic worth and value. The Church works to remind those in positions of executive, legislative and judicial authority that the policies, programs and laws they enact should correspond to the natural law and respect the inherent dignity and rights of human persons. As I and my brother bishops said in our June statement, “It is with pastoral solicitude for everyone involved in the political process that we will also counsel Catholic public officials that their acting consistently to support abortion on demand risks making them cooperators in evil in a public manner” (Catholics in Political Life). In this way, the right relationships that our laws, both natural and civil, establish within society lead to the flourishing of justice and peace.
How is this to be done? How can we work to establish justice and that peace that flows from right relationships? The first reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians reminds us so beautifully that personal virtue and its cultivation is necessary if we are to be just persons. “Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil 4:8). To consider the excellence of what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and gracious, and to strive after these things leads us to pursue a life rooted in moral virtue — an excellence of character, whereby our actions shape who we are. In turn, our identity as persons of good, sound character enables us to perform just acts — both in our individual, personal lives and in the life of society as a whole.
What results from this active pursuit of virtue and willingness to enter into right (just) relationships with our brothers and sisters is peace? St. Augustine understood peace to be the “tranquility of order,” that is, the tranquility that comes from people living and acting in accord with the truth and with justice. Peace is certainly the fruit of our actions and choices. But the gospel offers a reminder that peace is also a gift from God — a gift that the Lord Jesus gives to those whose hearts and minds are centered upon His word and intent on doing His will. Our Lord and Savior says to us, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn 14:27).
To read Part II of this homily, click here.
