The rainbow of peace

Twenty-five years ago, world religious leaders were called to Assisi by John Paul II to invoke peace together in their respective places of worship and according to their own religious traditions. It was a unique event, which at the time wasn’t linked to any historical event, and precisely for this, it was a prophetic event. Since then the “spirit of Assisi” never ceased to be, although the world is wounded by clashes, armed conflicts and wars. We discussed that event with a major protagonist of Assisi 1986: Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who at the time was the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and was thus called by John Paul II to cooperate with him for the preparations of the peace meeting in Assisi. How did John Paul II conceive, in his heart, the meeting of prayer for peace? “First of all we must to bear in mind the historical period that the Church and the whole of humanity were experiencing 25 years ago. It was the period of the Cold War, the world was divided in two, coupled by the threat of a nuclear war. It was a very hard time for the promoters of peace. Pope John Paul II was recognized as an apostle of peace, and the United Nations declared 1986 the International Year of Peace, so there were several coinciding circumstances. God does things well and He does them unexpectedly. I recall that Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, a Protestant world-renowned physicist from Germany, brother of the then president of the German Federation, wrote a letter to the Pope asking him to call a ‘World Council for Peace’. The pope read the letter very carefully. At the time I was the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and thus on behalf of the Pope, for him and with him, I followed all apposite issues. The Pope summoned me and showed me the letter. He asked for my advice and informed me that he intended to act to that regard. A few days later he summoned, along with myself, also the presidents of two other dycasteries: the head of the Council for Promoting Christian Unity Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, with the deputy-president of the same Council father Duprey, two major apostles of ecumenism; as well as the president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue Cardinal Francis Arinze. We had many meetings with the Pope and with other collaborators of the Secretary of State. Never again did I see the Pope so busy as in those days. It was decided to hold a day of prayer for peace and the Pope had the idea of holding it in Assisi, the city of Saint Francis, a city which John Paul II was very fond of and which to him seemed the most appropriate venue for a prayer meeting with world religious leaders”. How was the initiative received?“It was seen as something new. Never before had a similar initiative taken place. It was necessary to be very daring at the time, a prophetic vision of bringing together world religious leaders. From the onset the Pope’s concern was how to invite religious leaders to pray for peace avoiding all forms of syncretism as well as the any semblance of syncretism. It was a major problem. There ensued many meetings with the Pope aimed at identifying the most appropriate formula, which then became the foundation of the Assisi program. Undeniably, not everyone understood. As known, opposition was conveyed on the part of the Catholics and also on the part of the fundamentalist Lefebvrian current that accused the Pope of considering all religions on an equal footing”. How did the Pope live these contrasts?“He suffered a lot. Assisi was a unique initiative, the first in the story of the Church and in the history of Christian churches. Pope John Paul II took all the necessary precautions. He did his utmost to prevent misunderstandings. He brought together the Roman curia and the cardinals and tasked me with presenting the programme. He then dedicated four Sunday Angelus prayers just to explain this initiative to the public opinion”. Is it the price of the prophecy?“The preparations of Assisi lasted ten months. The announcement was made in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in January, during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Ten months were dedicated to the preparations. John Paul II did everything that could be done pedagogically to kindle the sensitivity of all the faithful”.How did the world react?“There is an event that was scarcely spoken of. On October 4, the feast of St. Francis, two weeks before the Day in Assisi, John Paul II was in France, in Lyon, and completely unexpectedly he launched an appeal to the world to hold one day of truce, on October 27. There were numerous ongoing world conflicts at the time and the Pope asked that on the Assisi day, October 27, arms were to be silenced. He received many responses, some of which were unexpected. At the time it was unimaginable that a Pope would request a similar truce”. What did John Paul II cherish in his heart? “He had at heart prayer more than anything else. He believed that without prayer there cannot be long-lasting peace, a just peace. October 27 1986 was an incredible date. 500 journalists followed the event. I recall that the Pope welcomed the delegations representing world religious at the Porziuncola – the chapel of St. May of Angels. There were representatives of Buddhism, Shintoism, and also from the Animist spiritual traditions, most of whom arrived from Africa. We were all there together. I remember that from Porziuncola we took a bus headed to the St. Francis Basilica. I can still picture John Paul II sitting near the delegate of the ecumenical Patriarchate, the Dalai Lama, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, next to each other, just like brothers, all of them in different ways seekers and promoters of world peace. The Pope’s formula was: we are together in Assisi for peace because we are the offspring of humanity, each of us praying in our dedicated places of worship, to avoid syncretism. It was a cloudy October day and at the end of the morning a beautiful rainbow appeared and embraced the whole city. John Paul II, that evening told me: ‘Have you seen the rainbow? It was a great surprise for me, and a great consolation: it was a sign that God is with us and that He is here for the peace of mankind'”. The peace of mankind seems an impossible goal today. Only a few days ago in Cairo, 24 Christian Copts were killed…“The Copts are at the centre of difficult political transformations in Egypt. They are Christians. Not only in Cairo but in the entire Middle East, all Christians, regardless of their denomination, are the most persecuted minority. Benedict XVI has underlined it on many occasions. It’s a mystery. But it is necessary to react to the fact that religions can lead to war, to clashes. The fact that across the centuries peoples waged wars in the name of God is unfortunately true. When I was a young seminarian in the Basque Countries occupied by Hitler’s Nazi officers soldiers wore a large belt on which were carved the words: ‘Gott mit uns’ (‘God is with us’). It’s unthinkable: neither the Bible nor the Koran, if they are read carefully and without bias, do prompt men to wage wars. All the Books inspired by God are books that speak of peace”. Before contemporary, ongoing world conflicts, does it still make sense to speak of the “Spirit of Assisi?” “Man, created to God’s image and likeness, can only be the promoter of peace and yearn for universal fraternity. Assisi has been an event that led humanity to make an extraordinary step forward since in Assisi it was acknowledged that mankind consists of an extraordinary human family where everyone are siblings, whatever be their religious diversity. We are all siblings, since in one way or the other we all depend on one creator, on one God, on one Father. But as known, it’s harder to make peace than war. And prayer is the only way to obtain peace”.The world situation casts a shadow of pessimism on this reflection. What is your opinion? “It is not a question of being pessimistic. We have to be realistic, and realism requires the acknowledgement that violence has always existed, since the dawn of humanity. Let it suffice to recall the figures of Cain and Abel: a brother killing another brother. God wants the happiness of all men and women, but He also bestowed on mankind the most beautiful gift that exists which is freedom. But when man is free, as willed by God, he is also free to use and abuse that freedom. We must not be discouraged since realistically, there will never be peace all over the world at the same time. Indeed, this is a period when evil, violence and hatred are strong and seem to prevail, but it’s also true that still today and also in those Countries in a state of war there are sparks of reconciliation, fraternity and solidarity, which are reasons for hope, even though they are scarcely known”. What can role can religion play in all this? “History has taught us that peace will never be perfect since there is also the mystery of evil. Religious leaders’ have a very important role which is proportionate to how much they have been the witnesses of the peace and the fraternity which they promote. On these grounds we are all called to undertake a step of conversion”.