27 March. . Human Rights and a Throw-away World. SEE. Zandile and George were veterans of the SA liberation struggle and during this time of the year often spoke of those days. “It is interesting to see how the scripture readings as we approach Holy Week describe violent protests that are building up. The prophet Jeremiah experienced it, and he warned the leaders against their wicked ways and so did Jesus centuries later. Jeremiah however was calling on God for vengeance. With the protests and the wars of our day should we still be looking for vengeance, or for dialogue and reconciliation. St Francis attempted to do so 800 years ago when he travelled to Damietta in Egypt to meet with the Muslim sultan. Right now, already before the start of the Iran war in his message for World Day of Peace on January 1 Pope Leo promoted dialogue and peace.
JUDGE, reflect and share. Scripture:“The Lord is with me as a dread warrior, therefore my persecutors will stumble, they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed. Jer 20:10-13. At that time the Jews took up stones to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father, for which of these do you stone me?” Again they tried to arrest him but he escaped from their hands. John 10:31-42. Pope Francis: Justice and mercy are not two contradictory realities but two dimensions of a single reality that unfolds progressively until it culminates in the fullness of love. Jesus goes beyond the law and affirms that the rule for life must place mercy at the centre. FM 20. We see protests including pro-democracy protests all over the world. Some economic rules have proved effective for growth but not for integral human development, in practice human rights are not equal for all. (FT 21-22) War, terrorist attacks, racial or religious persecution and many other affronts to human dignity are judged differently depending on how convenient it proves for certain, primarily economic, interests. These situations of violence, sad to say, have become so common as to constitute a real “third world war” fought piececemeal. FT25. The harmony which St Francis experiences with all creatures was seen as a healing of that rupture caused by sin. This is a far cry from our situation today where sin is manifest in all its destructive power in wars, violence and abuse, the abandonment of the most vulnerable and attacks on nature. LS 66. Pope Leo: Throughout the world it is to be hoped that “every community become a ‘house of peace,’ where one learns how to defuse hostility through dialogue, where justice is practiced and forgiveness is cherished.” Now more than ever, we must show that peace is not a utopia, by fostering attentive and life-giving pastoral creativity. PM
REFLECT, SHARE, ACT, PRAY. Discuss and share on the topic “Human rights are family rights”in a quest for peace. How can we promote this aspect of rights as a neglected area in our own environment and the wider community? It can apply to nature too, as families in ecosystems rather than individuals and their rights.
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