Don’t ‘get used to' the scandal of war: Pope urges Christians

Vatican City, 25 February 2014: Pope Francis portrayed a vivid picture of the stark reality of the world when he spoke of the hungry children in refugee camps while arms dealers party. Pope’s imagery came during his homily at Mass he celebrated on Tuesday morning in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican.
The entire homily was an impassioned plea for peace and against war. The Pope said that peace cannot be just a "word" and urged all Christians not to "get used" to the scandal of war.

We see war in the newspapers every day, Pope Francis said, and we’re used to reading about it: the number of its victims is just part of our daily accounts. We hold events to commemorate the centenary of the Great War and everyone is scandalised by the many millions of dead. But today it’s the same, Pope Francis exclaimed: instead of one great war, there are small wars everywhere. When we were children in Sunday School and we were told the story of Cain and Abel, we couldn’t accept that someone would kill their own brother. And yet today millions kill their own brothers and we’re used to it: there are entire peoples divided, killing each other over a piece of land, a racial hatred, an ambition.

Think of the children starving in refugee camps, Pope Francis continued: these are the fruits of war. And then think of the great dining rooms, of the parties held by those who control the arms industry, who produce weapons. Compare a sick, starving child in a refugee camp with the big parties, the good life led by the masters of the arms trade. And remember, the Pope added, that the wars, the hatred, the hostility aren’t products we buy at the market: they’re right here, in our hearts. The Apostle James gives us a simple piece of advice: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” But the spirit of war, which draws us away from God, doesn’t just reside in distant parts of the world: the spirit of war comes from our own hearts.

Let us pray for peace, Pope Francis concluded, for that peace which seems to have been reduced to a word and nothing more. Let us follow James’ advice: “Recognise your misery”. Let us recognise, the Pope prayed, that misery which breeds wars within families, within neighbourhoods, everywhere. How many of us weep when we read the newspapers, when we see the dead on television? This is what Christians should do today, in the face of war: we should weep, we should mourn.Source: VR Sedoc