Religions for Peace: A Call for Solidarity to the Religions of the World

1 Understanding Peace The Essence of Peace When we say "peace" we mean the tranquility of order. We mean that situation of justice and rightly ordered social relationships that is marked by respect for the rights of others, that provides favorable conditions for integral human growth, and that allows citizens to live out their lives to the full in calm and joyful development. The peace we are talking about, therefore, has such components as freedom, truth, and stability. It includes the integral development of the human person, of the whole person, and of all persons. It implies interdependence between people, an interdependence that is not just tolerated but is freely accepted and generously lived. In short, true peace rests upon mutual love and benevolence between people and serene society in which these people live. Peace, therefore, is a very positive concept. It is not mere passiveness. Rather it is an active component to establishing order that will be a source of tranquility. This attituded is greatly helped by a recognition that all human beings belong to one family, that they have one Creator and a single origin, that human nature is the same in all people, that they have all been redeemed by Jesus Christ, and that they are all called to the same final destiny. Within this human family, the will of God the Creator is that each person should respect the rights of others and be willing to work with them as fellow pilgrims on the journey of life. But this respect for the rights of others flows from the spirit of justice, and therefore justice is absolutely necessary for true and lasting peace. This justice can manifest itself, for example, in respect for life from the moment of conception right up to the natural death, in respect for the right to religious freedom for individuals and for groups, and in the elimination of discrimination against people because of their language, social status, ethnic origin, color, or sex. It also shows itself through respect for the equality of citizens, especially as exercised by civil administrators. Peace is Not a Negative Concept Peace is therefore not a negative concept. It is no mere absence of war. It is much more than that. If a country spends heavily on its army and on instruments of war, piles up sophisticated weapons including nuclear arms, and then turns around and tells us that it is doing all this in order to preserve peace in the world, we are really being presented with another understanding of peace. What the country really means is that it is piling up weapons of destruction in order to discourage or even defeat or damage severely any other country perceived as a competitor, a threat, or a danger. This is the same as saying that by a buildup of terror, its aim is to frighten any other country away from the idea of attacking it. If that country behaves in a similar way, we have a perfect case of a balance of terror. This is not peace. The ancient Romans had a proverb: "If you want peace, prepare for war." That may look wise in the face of an apparently incurable human propensity to resort to arms as one of the most primitive ways to try to settle a conflict. But to accept this thesis as inevitable would be to regard human society as a terrible jungle full of wild animals in which the stronger attack and eat the weaker. But a more careful consideration of the moral, religious, and cultural heights to which human beings can rise, advises us that a more optimistic view of human nature is viable. There is another state of tension, sometimes called "the war of nerves." It does not consist necessarily in the imminent explosion of armaments, but in a constant fear of this that eventually wrecks the nerves of the parties concerned. Obviously the existence of such a war of nerves is not a situation of peace. Even the mere absence of such a state of fear would not be enCardinal Francis Arinze is the author of 'Religions for Peace: A Call for Solidarity to the Religions of the World', published 2002 under ISBN 9780385504607 and ISBN 0385504608.