by Mike James, member of the CCSJ
The recent killing of Osama bin Laden set off spontaneous celebrations in several places around the world, and especially in the US among the cheering crowds in Times Square, in the city which had suffered the horrendous tragedy of the 9/11 deaths in the Twin Towers.
The Vatican in its statement on the killing noted that bin Laden “bore that most serious responsibility for spreading divisions and hatred among populations, causing the deaths of innumerable people, and manipulating religions for this purpose”.
Osama Bin Laden
But the statement also reminded the world that, “In the face of a man’s death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men.” It added that a Christian “hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred.”
The Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams said that the killing of an unarmed Osama bin Laden by US Special Forces left him with a “very uncomfortable feeling”.
“I think the killing of an unarmed man is always going to leave a very uncomfortable feeling, because it doesn’t look as if justice is seen to be done.
“I think it’s also true that the different versions of events that have emerged in recent days have not done a great deal to help.
“I don’t know the full details, any more than anyone else does. But I do believe that in such circumstances, when we are faced with someone who was manifestly a war criminal in terms of the atrocities inflicted, it is important that justice is seen to be served.”
Unfortunately, too many in the USA and elsewhere consider that in the execution of bin Laden, justice was indeed served. Far from regarding “true justice” as a process whereby an accused has the right to a fair trial and the opportunity to repent if found guilty, many regard the summary execution of bin Laden as far more satisfying than a guilty verdict in a fair trial. The execution has convinced many waverers that the current President of the US is not soft or sympathetic to Islamic radicals and this will have contributed to the meteoric rise in his popularity. Revenge, indeed, is sweet. Some even argue that the hard line taken will ensure his re-election in 2012.
“Forgive your enemies, do good to those who hate you” “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us,” seem so impractical and ineffective that the world feels it must either water down the message and example of Christ or reject it altogether.
The follower of Christ, however unpopular and difficult the choice, must take a different route.
“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” So wrote, so lived and so died Martin Luther King Jr.
The hate of those who murdered 80 in Pakistan in “revenge” for the execution of bin Laden, cannot be overcome by greater hate, swifter “justice”, more clinical executions. Christ shows us the way by His life, message, death and Resurrection. “Love one another as I have loved you.” This is the only way to overcome the world’s hate.
