No Peace Without Forgiveness

With the current state of turmoil in the Middle East, we thought it would be a good time to reflect on St. John Paul II’s 2002 message for the World Day of Peace. This message was written right after the September 11 attacks, so in it the late Holy Father reflects on the nature of terrorism and the necessity of hope.

In the face of evils such as terrorism, the Church must continue to testify to her hope, John Paul II writes. This hope is “that, by the grace of God, a world in which the power of evil seems once again to have taken the upper hand will in fact be transformed into a world in which the noblest aspirations of the human heart will triumph, a world in which true peace will prevail (1).” 

The late Holy Father quotes St. Augustine, who wrote that peace is built on “the tranquility of order” (3).  This order can only be restored through a combination of justice and forgiveness, for the “pillars of true peace are justice and that form of love which is forgiveness” (2).  John Paul II explains:

True peace therefore is the fruit of justice, that moral virtue and legal guarantee which ensures full respect for rights and responsibilities, and the just distribution of benefits and burdens. But because human justice is always fragile and imperfect, subject as it is to the limitations and egoism of individuals and groups, it must include and, as it were, be completed by the forgiveness which heals and rebuilds troubled human relations from their foundations (3).

Forgiveness rebuilds while terrorism destroys. The fruit of “fanatic fundamentalism,” terrorism is always a crime against humanity, the late Holy Father writes, regardless of causes or intentions. It attempts to impose a view of the truth on others, and in that it exploits both God and man. One cannot be a terrorist in the name of God, and St. John Paul II begs all religious leaders to take a stand on this key point. The answer to religious, political, and cultural dilemmas is not one of violence against defenseless people. The answer is mercy and forgiveness as revealed by Jesus Christ.

St. John Paul II asks readers to pray for peace:

To pray for peace is to open the human heart to the inroads of God's power to renew all things. With the life-giving force of his grace, God can create openings for peace where only obstacles and closures are apparent; he can strengthen and enlarge the solidarity of the human family in spite of our endless history of division and conflict. To pray for peace is to pray for justice, for a right-ordering of relations within and among nations and peoples. It is to pray for freedom, especially for the religious freedom that is a basic human and civil right of every individual. To pray for peace is to seek God's forgiveness, and to implore the courage to forgive those who have trespassed against us (14). 

Let us be hopeful, then, and join Pope Francis in praying that God’s grace flow through the Middle East and all lands experiencing terror and violence. Let us pray that this grace may convert the hearts of those who offend God and man through their destructive acts. And let us especially pray for the victims of such acts, that they may find solace in the cross of Christ.

Saint John Paul II, Pray for Us!