Author: John Schultz

Today from JP II
WORK AND PRAY SO THAT THERE IS NO MORE WAR
VATICAN CITY, MAR 25, 2003 (VIS) – Made public today was a Message from the
Holy Father to military chaplains who are participating today and tomorrow
in a formation course on human rights in the Vatican, organized by the
Congregation for Bishops and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
“It is precisely when arms are unleashed,” writes the Pope in the Message
dated March 24, “that the need becomes imperative for laws that make
military operations less inhuman. Throughout the centuries, awareness of a
similar need gradually grew, right up to the progressive formation of a real
and proper juridic ‘corpus’, defined as ‘international human rights law.’
This ‘corpus’ has been able to develop thanks to the maturation of
principles inherent to the Christian message.”
John Paul II emphasizes that the military chaplains must bear witness that
“even in the hardest of battles it is always possible, and therefore a duty,
to respect the dignity of the military adversary, the dignity of civilians,
and the indelible dignity of each human being involved in armed conflicts.
In this way, reconciliation necessary for the reestablishment of peace after
the conflict is favored.”
After making reference to the present “difficult hour in history” due to
the outbreak of a new war, the Pope affirms that “thinking of the victims,
the destruction and the suffering caused by armed conflicts always causes
great concern and pain.”
“It should be clear by now that war used as an instrument of resolution of
conflicts between states was rejected, even before the Charter of the United
Nations, by the conscience of the majority of humanity, except in the case
of defense against an aggressor. The vast contemporary movement in favor of
peace – which, according to Vatican Council II, is not reduced to a ‘simple
absence of war’ – demonstrates this conviction of men of every continent and
culture.”
The Holy Father highlighted “the strength of different religions in
sustaining the search for peace is a reason for comfort and hope. In our
view of faith, peace, even if it is the result of political accords and
understanding among individuals and peoples, is a gift from God that we must
constantly invoke with prayer and penance. Without a conversion of the heart
there is no peace! Peace is only achieved through love! Right now we are all
asked to work and pray so that war disappears from the horizon of humanity.”

What to say?
I’ve finally read Pete’s posts and comments. Work and my choir have kept me very busy so I don’t always read the blog every day.
I’ve refrained from posting because I still struggle with the war and the morality of it. On one side, I see a murderous tyrant who, unlike Fidel Castro, is not content with lording over his people and living out his twightlight in relative obscurity but rather one who active seeks the destruction of the West, the expansion of his regime and the construction of and use of weapons of mass destruction. Brutality and evil are personified in him.
(Side note: My biggest disappointment in recent months has been seeing Cardinals on diplomatic missions to the middle east. The likes of Tariq Aziz and Yasser Arafat are shown embracing and smiling with Princes of the Church. What sort of diplomatic campaign is the Church engaged in? What are the intended results? Does anyone really think that the likes of Saddam Hussein, Yasser Arafat and Osama bin Laden can be negotiated with? It’s as if the mission is just a photo op for the tyrants and nothing more.)
On the other side is the horror of war. Regardless of our might, the precision of our weapons and the will of our people – innocents will die. Is Saddam to blame? Ultimately I believe he is. I believe the coalition is doing everything it can, even at greater risk to its own soldiers, to minimize the effects on the civilian population.
Still, the Pope has said this is an immoral war and that it should never have happened. All sides could have spent more time at the table and divised a way to contain the current Iraqi regime, if not overthrow it without war. So I’m afraid I can’t support the war without some reservations – driven mainly by the words of the Pope.
And yet, I believe the ultimate cause is grave and the end will be just: the US will liberate the Iraqi people and as with Germany and Japan, will pours millions into rebuilding the nation. Eric, one of our fellow Catholic Light writers, is a Marine with a unit whose job is to oversee relations with the civilian population in areas the Allies are operating in. He’ll probably be personally delivering food and water to Iraqi children. And his three children wait for him at home, too young to understand why he’s gone or how important his mission is.
I’m sad to see Pete go, even for a while. I appreciate his insight and regret that he feels overwhelmed by events and opinions.
Now is the time for prayer and sacrifice.

Palestrina in the DC Area
Courtesy of David Alexander over at Man With Black Hat.
The Palestrina Choir…
…will present a concert on Sunday, March 23, at 3:00 p.m., at St Patrick’s Catholic Church. The 17-voice a cappella choir, under the direction of Michael Harrison will perform a program entitled “Psalmi Ponitentiales.” The program includes pieces by Renaissance composers Orland de Lassus, Alexander Utendal, and Jacobus Vaet. There is no admission charge; a donation is requested.
Recitation of the seven penitential psalms (6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142) has been a part of Lenten worship since the time of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216). Polyphonic settings of these lengthy texts became popular in the latter part of the Renaissance, particularly among Netherlandish and German composers.
The Palestrina Choir was formed in 1986 to present rarely heard masterpieces of 16th-century liturgical music, with an emphasis on the works of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. In recent years the choir has also begun to give occasional presentations of music from later eras. The Palestrina Choir has been featured on WETA-FM’s Music from Washington and NPR’s Performance Today. The Washington Post has called the Palestrina Choir “one of the finest and most specialized choruses in the choral wonderland of metropolitan Washington.”
St Patrick Church
10th and G Streets, NW
202-347-2713
Benjamin Smedberg, Director of Music & Organist

Chief Moose
Some of you may remember Chief Moose from the DC Sniper news conferences.
Today I found out that Chief Moose is also Major Moose.
I think there’s a kid’s show in here somewhere…
Major Moose Goes to Baghdad
Major Moose Cooks Saddam’s Goose
Major Moose is on the Loose!
Major Moose Won’t Settle for a Truce!

Diplomatic Failure?
If the US can pull this off, I’d say we’ve accomplished diplomacy in an area where it actually had a chance to be successful. The major challenge of international relations in the coming years will be dealing with the crazy, evil dictators who can’t be trusted or negotiated with.
From Foxnews.com: Signs of Surrender