So that fear may not win” “

“How should nations and supranational institutions act to promote security in an age of terror, nuclear proliferation and regional conflicts diffused in every continent? How can the churches introduce into the political and cultural debate criteria that give priority to the objectives of peace and international solidarity?”. The European bishops of COMECE (Commission of the episcopates of the European Community) and the American bishops of USCCB (US Conference of Catholic Bishops) met in Brussels from Wednesday 21 to Friday 23 September to discuss the most urgent issues of international life, the problems linked to the development of the poor countries, and the challenges of globalization. The meeting opened on Wednesday with a round table on questions linked to terrorism, wars and the promotion of peace. “FEAR AND INSECURITY GROWING IN THE WORLD”. Issues discussed by the European and US bishops included “global security and governance”, the role of law and the international institutions, religious freedom, and relation between Islam and Christianity. Constant attention was devoted to the possible role of the churches and believers in the current socio-political scenario. In introducing the meeting, Msgr. JOSEPH HOMEYER, bishop emeritus of Hildesheim in Germany and President of COMECE, declared: “There are many fears that are spreading through the world today. The horizon does not appear serene and uncertainties are being felt not only by citizens, but also by politicians with high responsibility. Not even the churches are exempt from this”. “In this perspective – warned the bishop – the responsibilities of the churches are growing: they are called to foster dialogue and support peace and hope in the contemporary world”. Specific sessions of the meeting were devoted to the Balkans, migrations and demographic questions, the situation in the Holy Land and the African reality. The declared aims of the meeting included “the search for potential areas of cooperation between Christian communities in Europe and the USA”. US BISHOPS AND THE “AMERICAN PARADOX”. During Wednesday’s round table, introduced by Archbishop DIARMUID MARTIN of Dublin (“The twentieth century shows how close are the interests and how interwoven the histories of Europe and the USA”), Bishop JOHN RICARD, President of the US Bishops’ Conference, explained how this “difficult phase of growing conflicts” is perceived in the USA”: “After the attacks of 11 September and the wars that followed them, we are witnessing a paradox. In our country a strong sense of vulnerability is being felt, just at a time when the USA has emerged as the world’s only superpower, super-exposed at the political and military level”. Ricard recalled that the Catholic Church in the USA has repeatedly made her own voice heard in her “opposition to preventive war and political unilateralism”, while at the same time agreeing that “each country has the duty to protect its own citizens and their security”. “It’s time to promote peace – added Ricard -, and peace is not just the absence of war, but also the protection of human rights and the commitment to justice, so as to help remove the underlying causes of international conflicts”. Bishop Ricard then explained the objective of “cooperative security”, which “requires that unilateral approaches be overcome: the duty to defend the common good and peace must find alternative approaches to that of violence and the recourse to arms, which in itself is insufficient to solve the problems; it must be a last resort”. Ricard then quoted Paul VI “who impressed on us the duty to build peace by pursuing justice. There is no other way than that of combating famine and poverty, alongside the reinforcement of the supranational organizations, first and foremost the UNO”. ETHICS OF PEACE; ROLE OF THE UN. Another speaker in the debate was Bishop GIUSEPPE MERISI, representative of the Italian Bishops’ Conference at COMECE. Merisi first described the positions of the teaching of the Pope and of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the “ethics of peace”. He pointed out that “the first consideration that emerges from the Church’s teaching concerns the progressive conviction that war ‘is always an evil'”. Merisi then tackled the particular aspects of “humanitarian intervention” and the role of “international police” (“which require an effective supranational authority and shared legal norms”), stressing the primary role of the UNO as promoter of peace, though without denying its limitations and the difficult political phase it is going through. Lastly he recalled, citing John Paul II and Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, that “the fight against terrorism must also be expressed at the political and pedagogic level, by removing the causes that lie at the origin of situations of injustice”. Bishop Mesisi also said that “to overcome the idol of hatred and violence it is crucial to have regard for the sufferings of others”.