At Dachau to “learn peace”” “

The celebrations ending the world missionary week, that had as its motto “Learning peace”, were concluded in the former concentration camp of Dachau on the outskirts of Munich on Sunday 28 October. Speakers at the event included witnesses from countries at war, among others Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo from East Timor, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Archbishop Jaime Pedro Goncalves, from Mozambique, Paul Nabil Sayah, Maronite archbishop from Haifa, Bishop Bechara Rai from Lebanon and Bishop Gaspard Mudiso from Congo. We managed to contact the organizer of the event in Munich: he is Michael Krischer , coordinator of Missio, the international Catholic aid organization of the Bavarian Church. What does it mean today to hold an event with the motto “Learning peace” in a concentration camp? “The Dachau concentration camp, which is situated close to Munich, was chosen because it is a symbol and an abiding appeal to the German population to re-ponder their own history, and never to forget what happened in the past, here at Dachau. For that reason we wished to have testimonies from former concentration camp inmates who survived the ordeal. We also wished to recall the document of the German bishops ‘ Gerechter Friede‘ (the just peace), which urges the faithful not to forget and declares that ‘justice creates peace’. I believe that this appeal may be repeated today. It was a central focus of this event: the appeal of the bishops and of the Church to embrace peace” What was the criterion for the choice of guests? “The guests we invited came from all over the world, but what they have in common is the fact of coming from countries in which there is a grave situation of crisis, and absence of peace”. What can you tell us about their interventions? “We wished that each of them would bring his own testimony of peace from a country at war and bear witness to it before German believers. For example Msgr. Ximenes Belo comes from East Timor, where there is a situation of violent conflict, and where Missio, which supports the Church’s efforts for peace in the world, has funded a project. Bishop Sayah, on the other hand, comes from Palestine, a country perennially at war, where there can be no peace so long as occupation continues. The Palestinians too have a right to dwell in their own country, in their own homes”. What scope is there for the pacifist movement in Germany and in the world today? “Its force as a movement is undoubtedly a good deal less than what it was some two decades ago or at the time of the Vietnam War. It was then far more active; today its role is far more limited. It’s more difficult to speak of a pacifist movement today, because its force is undoubtedly reduced. It is promoting more targeted actions than it was able to do in the past. For example, in recent times there have been interventions in Bosnia, in Kossovo, in Albania. But all this doesn’t mean that there aren’t people who seriously want peace today”. What role may the Church play in the peace process? “Undoubtedly a major one. Events like those promoted by the Church and by bishops in recent days, the march for peace, the mass, the visit to Dachau, though primarily aimed at the missions, attracted the participation of lots of people who, like us, fervently wish for peace”. Patrizia Collesi