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Author: Catholic New Times
This edition of the Catholic New Times goes to press on Ash Wednesday, a day that Pope John Paul II has summoned Catholics "to dedicate with special intensity to prayer and fasting for the cause of peace, especially in the Middle East." The pontiff also acknowledged that the ancient practice of fasting is shared with "many brothers and sisters of other religions ... who want to be despoiled of all pride so that we might receive from God, the greatest and most necessary gifts--peace."
As reported here, John Paul II has been indefatigable in his attempts to head off the suicidal war, which US President George W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair seem hell bent on. Blair to his credit had the grace to receive Jim Wallis and his delegation (p.8), acknowledging at least tacitly that his strange moral crusade has been rejected by virtually every serious religious body in the world. Bush, on the other hand, has consistently refused to meet any delegation, trusting his own pipeline to God. Like his predecessor of unhappy memory, Richard Nixon, Bush will find his own court prophet who will bless a war-making tendency, more suitable to Caligula than Jesus Christ.
Mark Vander Vennen (p. 11) in his thoughtful essay lays out for us the Pentagon blueprint for invading Iraq. "Shock and awe", language often used in religious anthropology to describe the Holy, has now, and not for the first time by the US, been appropriated by the deadliest war-machine in history. "Awe," as Rabbi Heschel reminds us, "is the sister of reverence" and "Where reverence is wanting, violence, injustice and war prevail."