Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Maryann Cusimano LoveJanuary 02, 2012

My uncle, Francis J. Cusimano, was a member of the New York Province of the Jesuits. Pedro Arrupe, at the time superior general of the order, sent him to Nigeria, where he spent 20 years building schools and parishes before his too-early death over a decade ago. I miss him. He was one of the influences that attracted me to my vocation in Catholic education.

My uncle once led off a homily with the old Jesuit joke: A Franciscan, a Dominican and a Jesuit came upon the Holy Family in the stable. The Franciscan was awed that God was born into poverty among the animals. The Dominican was captivated by the Incarnation. The Jesuit pulled Mary aside and asked her, “Have you thought about where you are going to send him to school?” Uncle Frannie then asked, “Where are you going to school?” Every day the world schools our hearts with lessons in violence, selfishness, greed, materialism—in the false gods of what Blessed Pope John Paul II described as the culture of death. Are we Catholics, then, schooling our hearts instead in God’s call to justice and peace?

It is a challenging question, one that Pope Benedict XVI took as his theme for the celebration of the 45th World Day of Peace on Jan. 1, 2012: “Educating Young People in Justice and Peace.” The Jasmine Revolutions and the birth of the new South Sudan underscore the pope’s message. “Young persons must labor for justice and peace in a complex and globalized world,” said a Vatican statement announcing the theme, and we all share responsibility for preparing future generations.

The good news is that peace is breaking out. Internationally, the number of major armed conflicts has decreased by half over the past 20 years. The waning of war creates a challenge: how to keep the guns silent. Sustaining peace in regions torn by decades of violence requires going back to school. Children in war zones have learned more than anyone ought to know of violence. How can people learn peace who have never known peace?

Solidarity with the wider church helps in peace education around the world. In Sudan, the Philippines, Palestine, Colombia and elsewhere, Catholic Relief Services partners with local dioceses, parishes and nongovernmental organizations to integrate peace education into the curricula and methods of schools and madrasas. Teachers are trained in “paths to peace,” which include: dismantling the culture of war; building intercultural respect, reconciliation and solidarity; promoting human rights and responsibilities; and cultivating inner peace. Interactive exercises help students and teachers learn how to “do” peace, how to resolve conflict nonviolently.

Peace education is hard in places like South Sudan, where the armed forces of Sudan still bomb civilians in refugee camps in the south. The church in Sudan uses Peace Radio broadcasts to reach people outside school and parish settings. Likewise, Jesuit Refugee Service and local partners educate refugees. Solidarity with South Sudan and pressure by the U.S. government helped bring about a largely peaceful independence for South Sudan last year. International attention and solidarity are still needed to build sustainable peace.

Peace education is also challenging in the United States. In a country at war for over a decade, the word peace is treated as suspect. Many dioceses and parishes have renamed their Justice and Peace offices with generic titles like Community Outreach. I understand the political polarization that gives rise to such changes, but I worry: What does it mean if we cannot even name ourselves as followers of the Prince of Peace.

At home, peace education gets personal. Like Ralphie in the movie “The Christmas Story,” our pre-school-age son is obsessed with toy guns. We wake each morning to the sounds of hunters killing duck and deer along the Chesapeake Bay. Our three children, all born after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have only known their country at war, with military deployments of friends and family, and heavily armed men in the capital. Raising children to “Go in peace to love and serve the world” is very much a countercultural stance.

My uncle’s question, “Where are we going to school?” is no joke. As the pope notes, we all need to step up to the challenges of educating for peace and justice.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
E.Patrick Mosman
12 years 3 months ago
While Professor Love writes "The good news is that peace is breaking out.",terrorism against Christians is increasing daily as documented in the following article posted on the Powerline website:
Posted on December 25, 2011 by John Hinderaker

A Month of Christian Persecution
 "This morning, I wrote about my family’s enjoyment of the Christmas holiday. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, Christians cannot celebrate Christmas safely. In Nigeria, Islamic terrorists bombed three churches on Christmas day, killing at least 40 worshippers. But that was only the latest of many outrages. Persecution of Christians has reached new heights this year.
At the Middle East Forum, Raymond Ibrahim sums up acts of anti-Christian persecution that occurred during the month of November. One really can’t get the impact without reading the whole thing, so I am taking the liberty of reproducing the whole article, leaving out the links which you can follow in the original:

The so-called “Arab Spring” continues to transition into a “Christian Winter,” including in those nations undergoing democratic change, such as Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis dominated the elections—unsurprisingly so, considering the Obama administration has actually been training Islamists for elections.

Arab regimes not overthrown by the “Arab Spring” are under mounting international pressure; these include the secular Assad regime of Syria, where Christians, who comprise some 10% of the population, are fearful of the future, having seen the effects of democracy in neighboring nations such as Iraq, where, since the fall of the Saddam regime, Christians have been all but decimated.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that “Christians are being refused refugee status [in the U.S.] and face persecution and many times certain death for their religious beliefs under Sharia, while whole Muslim communities are entering the U.S. by the tens of thousands per month despite the fact that they face no religious persecution.”

Categorized by theme, November’s batch of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed according to theme and in alphabetical order by country, not necessarily severity."

For the details refer to
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2011/12/a-month-of-christian-persecution.php

Obviously peace education is not part of the Islamic education system.


James Collins
12 years 3 months ago
Our theologians need to develop a better theology about war than the "just war theory" that was developed years ago. War used to be only made by nations. Now it can be started by terrorist organizations like al queda or ideological organizations. It used to take a long time to mount a war, massing armies on borders, etc. Today a missile with a nuclear warhead can be sent and destroy huge populations in an hour. Given today's technology we need a new theology about pre-emptive strikes. For example do we hit Iran first or wait until they have annihilated Isreal.

The latest from america

A Homily for Easter Sunday, by Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinMarch 27, 2024
As Catholics around the world observe Holy Week, the hosts of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell, take a look at Pope Francis’ Holy Week plans.
Inside the VaticanMarch 27, 2024
A Reflection for Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, by Sam Sawyer, S.J.
Sam Sawyer, S.J.March 27, 2024
Catholics: Think twice before you bury poor St. Joseph upside down in your front lawn when trying to sell your house.
Simcha FisherMarch 27, 2024