by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
“Peace is a gift, it is a handcrafted gift that we must work for every day; but doing so in the small things, in daily ‘littleness.’ Great manifestations for peace, great international encounters, are not enough if peace is not then made in little things…if in your little things, in your heart, there is no peace, in your family there is no peace, in your neighbourhood there is no peace, in your place of work there is no peace, there will not be peace in the world” (Pope Francis, September 8, 2016).
On Wednesday, September 21 the world will observe International Day of Peace. This is a day “devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples” (UN). The theme this year is: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Building Blocks for Peace.
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at the launch of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015: “The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are our shared vision of humanity and a social contract between the world’s leaders and the people. They are a to-do list for people and planet, and a blueprint for success.”
There are 17 SDGs and 169 targets of the new agenda. The 17 goals are as follows: No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-Being, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Clean Water and Sanitation, Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Reduced Inequalities, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action, Life Below Water, Life On Land, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, and Partnerships for the Goals.
While it is true that “everyone has a stake and everyone has a contribution to make”, there are powerful forces that seem bent on preventing us from making this vision a reality, and indeed, there are many, like us Catholics, who are concerned about the push by some to use these SDGs as a way of promoting their deadly agenda under the guise of “reproductive health”.
The Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes, rightly states: “Peace is not merely the absence of war; nor can it be reduced solely to the maintenance of a balance of power between enemies. Nor is it brought about by dictatorship. Instead, it is rightly and appropriately called ‘an enterprise of justice’… Peace results from that harmony built into human society by its divine founder, and actualized by men as they thirst after ever greater justice”.
Sadly, many of our world leaders are spending inordinate amounts of money on weapons which they believe will help build peace. For example, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s 2015 figures show that the following countries are spending the most on weapons (recorded in US Dollars): South Korea: $36.4 billion, Germany: $39.4 billion, Japan: $40.9 billion, France: $50.9 billion, India: $51.3 billion, UK: $55.5 billion, Russia: $66.4 billion, Saudi Arabia: $87.2 billion, China: $215.0 billion, and USA: $596.0 billion.
And there is no sign that we are seeking to free our planet from nuclear arms. As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said in 2006: “What can be said…about those governments which count on nuclear arms as a means of ensuring the security of their countries? Along with countless persons of good will, one can state that this point of view is not only baneful but also completely fallacious. In a nuclear war there would be no victors, only victims….The resources which would be saved could then be employed in projects of development capable of benefiting all their people, especially the poor.”
The list of ongoing armed conflict in our world today is long. As Pope Francis says: “We are living a war and all are seeking peace.” And many warmongers who call for peace continue, hypocritically, to sell arms to those involved in these conflicts. In spite of these global ills, we must continue to hope that one day swords will be turned into ploughshares.
As St John Paul II said in his World Peace Day Message 2000: “It is a sign of hope that, despite many serious obstacles, initiatives for peace continue to spring up day by day, with the generous cooperation of many people. Peace is a building constantly under construction.”
We will only embrace peace when we accept that we are called to have respect for the life and dignity of the human person, based on the belief that we are all created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). Remember the words in Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.”
Reflect on the following: what does peace mean to you? How can you and I be peacemakers in our homes, workplaces, schools/educational institutions, communities, and indeed in our own church? Prayer alone is not enough. We must pray and act.
