The odds & ends of getting along with religions
Sounds like they’re getting it right in Africa, and could serve as a role model for the end goal of peace and humanity among people of different religions.
But the government is still terribly at odds with people of faith — that is, any faith not sanctioned by the government — in China.
Pope Benedict has brought a lot of his thinking and trademark clarity to these fundamental issues recently in light of the Middle East war.
So Benedict XVI shows he has no doubts: the specific contribution that the Church can make to peace in the world is not political, but essentially religious.
This comes from Italian journalist Sandro Magister, who has the best reports and analysis on his online journal Chiesa. This one has an account of the Pope’s recent improvised reflections on the day’s Gospel,
The reading was from the Letter to the Ephesians, 2:13-18:Â
and the Pope’s meditation was given to the people of a little mountain village parish near his vacation retreat.
What is striking, against the background of the dramatic situation in the Middle East, is the beauty of the vision illustrated by the apostle Paul: Christ is our peace. He has reconciled us with one another, Jews and gentiles, uniting them in his body. He overcame enmity in his body, upon the cross. With his death he has overcome enmity, and has united us all in his peace.
But what strikes us even more than the beauty of this vision is its contrast with the reality we experience and see. And we can do nothing, at first, but say to the Lord: “But Lord, what does your apostle say to us – ‘We are reconciled’?†We see in reality that we are not reconciled… There is still war among Christians, Muslims, and Jews; and there are others who foment war and are still full of enmity and violence. Where is the efficacy of your sacrifice? Where in history is this peace of which your apostle speaks?
We human beings cannot solve the mystery of history, the mystery of human freedom to say “no†to God’s peace.
Give the full piece a full read. It is compelling insight into the problems of getting along.Â
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