There is no such thing as a good war. War, by its very nature, is a testimony to human failure to resolve differences.
More often than not innocent people, what we call non-combatants, are who pay the price of war —displacement, separation of families, torture, hunger, etc.
To date, more than 1,500 Israeli and over 6,000 Palestinians have been killed — many of them elderly and children.
A first step in resolving the conflicts in Israel and Gaza, as well as Ukraine and Russia, is a cease-fire. This allows for humanitarian aid to come to civilians caught in the middle of the conflict. Both Israel and the United States refuse to support a cease-fire, and thus we directly participate in the destruction of communities and the loss of life.
There is no peace without justice, and justice without mercy is cruelty. A negotiated solution is a humane and moral way to arrive at a solution, both parties participating and recognizing that the solution demands compromise and a fresh look at national life.
Peace takes place when disputing parties truly seek a humane solution to their differences. Each Sunday we pray for peace and the end of violence, we recognize the human cost of these conflicts.
All of this demands a change of heart, a desire for reconciliation, a new way of seeing each other and a willingness to search for the common human good.
It starts with a cease-fire, but that is only the beginning.
Fr. Steve Adrian
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