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As a
priest, Pope John XXIII witnessed the horrors of World War I and as an
Apostolic Delegate the horrors of World War II.
As Pope, in 1963 he was in the midst of the
great Cold War that had split Europe in two, and threatened to escalate into
another world war. In addressing the encyclical to "all men of good will",
Pope John XXIII publicly acknowledged that all people desire peace, not just
Catholics, "Pacem in
Terris" is not a
letter on the Just War Theory.
That term was never mentioned, deliberately I believe since history has
shown it to be misunderstood, and therefore misapplied. Misunderstood:
because people/governments forget that first and foremost is the overriding
presumption against war. Misapplied: it is used too often in a
mechanical way, a hypothetical checklist of reasoning for governments to
declare war. To Pope John XXIII, peace is more than the absence of
armed conflict. Peace is harmony, the tranquility of order, e.g.
Isaiah chapter 11 vs. 1-9.
For this harmony, tranquility of order to prevail Pope John XXIII said the
world must accept one fundamental principle: each individual is a
person endowed with intelligence and free will and has rights and duties.
These rights and duties are universal and inviolable and therefore
altogether inalienable. The human person is not an object to be used
by another and then disposed when no longer useful. Each person in
made in the Image and Likeness of God, e.g. Genesis chapter 1 vs. 27 and in
each person dwells the breath of God, e.g. Genesis chapter 2 vs. 7. This
encyclical promulgated the concept of Human Rights, which has come a
long way since then! Pope John XXIII listed these as the Rights of a
Human Person: right to live, to bodily integrity and to the means necessary
for the proper development of life, particularly food, clothing, shelter,
medical care, rest and social services, to be looked after in the event of
ill health, disability, widowhood, old age, enforced unemployment, the right
to a good education and the right to exercise his/her faith, the right to be
accurately informed about public events. This is an impressive list of
rights! But we know they are not being enjoyed by all within our
own country much less in the developing world. While Pope John XXIII
also stated that the human person has a primary duty to recognize every
person as an equal, history is replete with humanity's failures, and thus we
have ongoing wars, poverty, slavery, and genocide.
Pope John XXIII called for the general welfare of society. He
challenged governments to avoid subservience to the rich and powerful (the
role of lobbyist and money in our own political system), rather encouraging
greater attention to the weak, incapable of defending their rights and
asserting their legitimate interests. He called on rich nations to
avoid
exploiting political or economic domination over underdeveloped ones, and
listed their responsibility to become leaders for universal social progress.
How does this fit in today hen U.S. Foreign Aid is limited to only a few
countries, and is often, military in nature.
His encyclical can also be used to question transnational companies and the
profits they earn on the backs of oppressed workers. The common good
of any one nation cannot be divorced from the common good of the Human
Family.
Pope John XXIII was deeply distressed and troubled by the amount of
intellectual and material resources devoted to the production of destructive
weapons, which not only kill people but also burden their own citizens
because arms development priorities negate social needs. Forty-one years
later this concern of Pope John XXIII is still valid. In the US today,
too many have no health care, too many cannot afford their medications, our
schools are crumbling literally and figuratively, too many unemployed or
employed at
jobs that do not allow them to truly support their families, yet our Defense
Establishment demands we spend more money and expend more intellectual
capital to produce "better weapons" that continue the cycle of violence. As Pope John XXIII reminds us in
Pacem in Terris we must counteract the common belief that
peace can be assured by an equal balance of armaments. Peace is based
on mutual trust and respect for the dignity of every human person.
Pope John XXIII called all Catholics to work for peace, to be a nucleus of
love, a leaven of the whole mass. We must all ask ourselves how do we
safeguard and promote the dignity of others: our fellow family members, our
co-workers, the cashier at the supermarket, and even the person who cut us
off on the road. |
