The Bishop Writes

(From the January 17, 2002 edition of the Inland Register)

The strains from the hymn "Prayer of St. Francis" - "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace" - is very familiar to us. This past year has been unusual as the beginning of the new millennium. Sept. 11 will certainly be a historic moment. The world community now seems to be focusing on how to make the world more peaceful. Some countries have experienced terrorism and violence for decades, but all of a sudden that reality has hit us hard here at home with dramatic impact. We search for peace.

Pope John Paul II in his World Day of Peace message on Jan. 1 called for justice and forgiveness in our world as a basis for peace ("World Day of Peace 2002: ‘No Peace Without Justice, No Justice Without Forgiveness,’" IR 12/20/01). He has invited the leaders of the world’s religions to gather at Assisi, Italy, Jan. 24 for a day of fasting and prayer for peace. In mid-December he asked the Church to offer up a day of prayer and fast for the success of this meeting. I would encourage all of us on Jan. 23 to do the same again. Actually, the conclusion of our day here would be the morning of the gathering in Assisi.

The Catholic Church has a unique presence in the world community with our parishes and institutions, with our tradition and social teaching, with our call for the respect and reverence for the human person from the moment of conception until natural death. We also have had our unfortunate experiences of allowing too closely the mingling of our life of Church with the political reality of the day. We have something to say about that as we observe in certain parts of our world the close alignment of the religious and political realms. Very often suppression of religious freedom becomes a consequence of such an arrangement. There will be no peace amongst nations and in the human heart until such suppression ceases.

Internally within the Church, we have much work to do in building peace amongst ourselves. Frequently less important values supersede more important ones as ideologies become battlegrounds and reasons for breaking off relationships. Our sacred memory of the dignity and respect for the human person is grounded in God’s Word and in the teaching tradition of the Church. That sacred memory constantly calls us to conversion of heart and renewal of lifestyle.

Jesus gives us the gift of peace, and as responsible stewards, we must not squander that gift. As Pope Paul VI reminded us, "If you want peace, work for justice." The Church in more recent times has increased dramatically the body of her social teaching. Matthew 25 and the First Letter of John in the New Testament are just a couple of texts which provide a rich examination of conscience as we are called to build up relationships and justice.

Each of us as a "Christ-bearer" should be a peacemaker. As we reflect on this role of peacemaking and the responsibility for it, we remind ourselves of the unique opportunities each of us has in our respective vocations in life to be instruments of peace. Pope John Paul II lives out that vocation in a remarkable and inspiring way. He calls for respect amongst nations and religions. Again and again, he strongly speaks out about the need for social justice that must undergird human relationships. He seeks forgiveness from those whom the Church has hurt and reminds us of the need to ask for forgiveness. His witness is a powerful example of how God uses a unique vocation to serve the Church and, in a very real way, all of humanity.

During this time of the year we also think about our respective vocations in life and the need for all of us in the Church community to be mindful of those amongst us who are called to serve the Church as a member of a Religious community, a deacon, or a priest. We recall great examples of people ministering here in the diocese who had tremendous impact. I hesitate to mention names, but we can think of people like Mother Joseph of the Sisters of Providence, Father Cataldo of the Jesuits, and Spokane’s Bishop Bernard Topel. There have been and are countless men and women who have lived out their lives in great holiness. They wonderfully have done so in context of a faith community.

That responsibility continues for us today. We all share a common charge to be responsible for the Church and be in solidarity with the human family worldwide. Servants within the Church have an unusual opportunity to spread the good news of God’s Word and to be peacemakers in people’s hearts and in their lives.

We pray for peace. We pray that God will continue to raise up in our midst servants who will be effective builders of peace and of relationships within the Church and in our world. We pray that Jesus will make all of us channels of his peace.

And finally, we are not people without hope, for we truly believe in the transforming power of the Savior - the Savior who can transform the world.

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