[:it]Riflessioni sulla Pace
[:it]Testi dei pensieri sulla Pace
“War is wide-scale murder”
GIAMPAOLO MATTEI It’s like being hit below the belt. That’s the impression you get when you read the book The Futility of War. It sweeps you away with such powerful eloquence that you find yourself with your back against the wall. The experience is even more dramatic when you think that these pages were written exactly 50 years ago. Their author is Igino Giordani (1894-1980), politician, journalist, writer and eminent Italian figure in the Catholic Church and in his country.
Citta’ Nuova publications has reprinted Giordani’s book (Rome 2003, 116 pages) at a moment in time when people are in need of words that ring true, clear and essential. The preface affirms that certain works manage to be constantly timely. Even if their roots lie in specific problems, their teachings cut across existing historical conditions, serving people of every age and in all places. It was based on this very observation that Citta’ Nuova decided to reprint Giordani’s book, originally written in 1953 when geopolitical positions were beginning to freeze, and the division of consciences was crystallizing as a result of the Cold War. Today, this text allows you the benefit of hindsight, as if you were holding in hand, once it’s all over, a piece of the Berlin Wall. It is an experience of enormous historical and political importance. Moreover, in these very difficult times the book hits you hard in the stomach because it demonstrates the futility of war as well as its intrinsic and evident stupidity. Make no mistake: Giordani knows exactly what he’s talking about. He was on the battle front and was awarded a medal for his valor in the catastrophe we know as World War I. He does not speak unwarily, nor out of cowardice, a trait people are usually and ridiculously accused of when they take the side of peace. Come to think of it, the truly courageous are the peacemakers, not those who protect themselves with missiles, cannons, guns and the like. Undergirding his arguments, Giordani clearly affirms that peace is the result of a work knit together with patience and earnestness. It takes much more than a kind word, and it is more than a shield held up to protect hidden interests. Reading these 100 pages is overwhelming precisely because it seems they were written this morning, not 50 years ago. History is a “teacher of life” they say. It’s a pity human beings are such bad students. Giordani’s first sentence is riveting. You immediately reach for a pencil to underline it: “War is wide-scale murder”. And Giordani points his finger at the rhetoric, lies and interests which accompany all conflicts wherever they are fought: “Just as the plague spreads the plague, and hunger can lead to starvation, so does war serve to kill.” Period. You look up from the pages with a sense of pride. Yes, my dear young Catholic, you feel proud to belong to a culture formed by people of such stature. Giordani was no loner. He was neither foolhardy nor a counter-culturalist. He was one of the protagonists of the Catholic world who – though they may have been forgotten today – contributed decisively to promoting the Italian nation with initiatives that gave life and hope. It is fascinating to know the thinking of men who are so close to us and are so spiritually rich that their words are never outdated.
Based on his experience on the battle front, he confirms the futility of war Giordani’s book is so fascinating it’s hard to put it down. After a few pages you have to sharpen your pencil because you’ve worn it out underlining every other sentence. The author is controversial, a born controversialist, and yet he is also a brother to every person, even to those whose thinking is diametrically opposed to his. He does not offend the human person, but having fought on the battle front, he hurls himself against war, anxious to show how futile it is. He is unflinching in this. Giordani has a very personal way of expressing himself, convincing and passionate. Evidently, his style is born out of his desire to communicate ideas. He seems to be on a permanent mission. You find him at the very heart of the Church. He is not simply a writer; he is much much more. He knows the right words to use and, when needed, he invents tantalizing expressions. His language is typical of the mystics and his words echo the Fathers of the Church. His book is a book of history, of life, of prayer. It is a book that refuses attitudes of resignation in the face of decisions made by men of power. Giordani sustains that every person must be on the front lines for peace. “If you want peace, prepare for it”. This is his noble message meant for people of every category. “Only crazy people, or the incurable wish for death”, he writes, “and war is death.” It is not the people’s wanting. It’s the wanting of the minority for whom physical violence grants them the assurance of economic gains or appeals to their baser instincts. Today, more than ever, with its cost, death and disaster, war proves to be “useless slaughter”. “Slaughter, and – worse – a useless one.” These last words are of Pope Benedict XV. Giordani drinks fully of the Church’s magisterium, and throughout the whole book he never loses sight of the accomplishments of Peter’s successors. Giordani affirms that war is always a defeat, even for the victors. The money invested in war could be used to solve such dramatic problems as hunger and poverty, and to find cures for illnesses that plague humanity. It’s a matter of justice. Thus none of the thousand pretexts (they are always the same, anyway) used to justify war are valid. Neither is the promised “swiftness” of military operations a good “excuse”. At this point, Giordani becomes scornful as he recalls how, in Hitler’s opinion, World War II would have been merely a blitzkrieg, and, as Salandra stated, World War I should have been “a walk”. Giordani continues impetuously: “I believe no head of State has ever admitted he was waging war for motives of plunder; everyone held that it was being fought for the most noble of reasons, for altruistic and idealistic purposes, of course. And – just to show how childish hatred can get – greed is a characteristic of the enemy while a friend shows idealism. Overturning the macabre prospective of historiography Logic holds that those who wage war are in the wrong; it solves nothing and – in the end – they are the losers. The people do not want it, and it is a grave mistake to indulge in the biographies of those who have unleashed unspeakable massacres, like Hitler and Stalin, while ignoring the true leaders of humanity such as Cottolengo or Don Orione, Giordani writes. It is our cultural duty to overturn this macabre perspective of historiography. Giordani points to the way of dialogue – at all times and in any situation – as the way to find solutions. He affirms that misery and greed are the principal causes of war, whose roots are in fear. But there does exist a hope and an alternative: it’s called charity, which Christ incarnated, He who also redeemed politics in order to make it function in favor of peace and life. “Enemies are to be loved,” Giordani writes. “If only the politics of charity were to take root. We would discover that it coincides with the most enlightened rationality and, in the economic and social sense, it would prove to be a real bargain.” Giordani defines any war as a crime, be it an act of aggression or prevention. In actuality it is an act against justice because true justice brings forth true peace. He goes on to raise us to sublime spiritual heights with his references to St. Francis and Dante. “For Christians to be worthy of being called ‘children of God’ they have to work for peace”, he states. And this must be done without trepidation, by living out the ministry of reconciliation, breaking down walls of separation, forgiving all those who do us harm, leading those who are far back to the fold of unity. Giordani also cites Max Josef Metzger who was killed by the Nazis in 1944: “We must organize peace as others have organized war”. It is neither serious nor credible to speak of peace while preparing for war. Giordani concludes, “The work of building peace starts from you and from me”. To do away with war it is not enough to eliminate arms; we need to rebuild a consciousness, a culture of peace. It is a most urgent task which people of faith should accompany with a strategy of prayer. This is the mission of Christians today: to bring about the Gospel of Peace.
“War is wide-scale murder”
It’s like being hit below the belt. That’s the impression you get when you read the book The Futility of War. It sweeps you away with such powerful eloquence that you find yourself with your back against the wall. The experience is even more dramatic when you think that these pages were written exactly 50 years ago. Their author is Igino Giordani (1894-1980), politician, journalist, writer and eminent Italian figure in the Catholic Church and in his country.
Citta’ Nuova publications has reprinted Giordani’s book (Rome 2003, 116 pages) at a moment in time when people are in need of words that ring true, clear and essential.
The preface affirms that certain works manage to be constantly timely. Even if their roots lie in specific problems, their teachings cut across existing historical conditions, serving people of every age and in all places. It was based on this very observation that Citta’ Nuova decided to reprint Giordani’s book, originally written in 1953 when geopolitical positions were beginning to freeze, and the division of consciences was crystallizing as a result of the Cold War.
Today, this text allows you the benefit of hindsight, as if you were holding in hand, once it’s all over, a piece of the Berlin Wall. It is an experience of enormous historical and political importance. Moreover, in these very difficult times the book hits you hard in the stomach because it demonstrates the futility of war as well as its intrinsic and evident stupidity. Make no mistake: Giordani knows exactly what he’s talking about. He was on the battle front and was awarded a medal for his valor in the catastrophe we know as World War I. He does not speak unwarily, nor out of cowardice, a trait people are usually and ridiculously accused of when they take the side of peace. Come to think of it, the truly courageous are the peacemakers, not those who protect themselves with missiles, cannons, guns and the like. Undergirding his arguments, Giordani clearly affirms that peace is the result of a work knit together with patience and earnestness. It takes much more than a kind word, and it is more than a shield held up to protect hidden interests.
Reading these 100 pages is overwhelming precisely because it seems they were written this morning, not 50 years ago. History is a “teacher of life” they say. It’s a pity human beings are such bad students. Giordani’s first sentence is riveting. You immediately reach for a pencil to underline it: “War is wide-scale murder”. And Giordani points his finger at the rhetoric, lies and interests which accompany all conflicts wherever they are fought: “Just as the plague spreads the plague, and hunger can lead to starvation, so does war serve to kill.” Period.
You look up from the pages with a sense of pride. Yes, my dear young Catholic, you feel proud to belong to a culture formed by people of such stature. Giordani was no loner. He was neither foolhardy nor a counter-culturalist. He was one of the protagonists of the Catholic world who – though they may have been forgotten today – contributed decisively to promoting the Italian nation with initiatives that gave life and hope. It is fascinating to know the thinking of men who are so close to us and are so spiritually rich that their words are never outdated.
Based on his experience on the battle front, he confirms the futility of war
Giordani’s book is so fascinating it’s hard to put it down. After a few pages you have to sharpen your pencil because you’ve worn it out underlining every other sentence. The author is controversial, a born controversialist, and yet he is also a brother to every person, even to those whose thinking is diametrically opposed to his. He does not offend the human person, but having fought on the battle front, he hurls himself against war, anxious to show how futile it is. He is unflinching in this.
Giordani has a very personal way of expressing himself, convincing and passionate. Evidently, his style is born out of his desire to communicate ideas. He seems to be on a permanent mission. You find him at the very heart of the Church. He is not simply a writer; he is much much more. He knows the right words to use and, when needed, he invents tantalizing expressions. His language is typical of the mystics and his words echo the Fathers of the Church. His book is a book of history, of life, of prayer.
It is a book that refuses attitudes of resignation in the face of decisions made by men of power. Giordani sustains that every person must be on the front lines for peace. “If you want peace, prepare for it”. This is his noble message meant for people of every category. “Only crazy people, or the incurable wish for death”, he writes, “and war is death.” It is not the people’s wanting. It’s the wanting of the minority for whom physical violence grants them the assurance of economic gains or appeals to their baser instincts. Today, more than ever, with its cost, death and disaster, war proves to be “useless slaughter”. “Slaughter, and – worse – a useless one.” These last words are of Pope Benedict XV. Giordani drinks fully of the Church’s magisterium, and throughout the whole book he never loses sight of the accomplishments of Peter’s successors.
Giordani affirms that war is always a defeat, even for the victors. The money invested in war could be used to solve such dramatic problems as hunger and poverty, and to find cures for illnesses that plague humanity. It’s a matter of justice. Thus none of the thousand pretexts (they are always the same, anyway) used to justify war are valid. Neither is the promised “swiftness” of military operations a good “excuse”. At this point, Giordani becomes scornful as he recalls how, in Hitler’s opinion, World War II would have been merely a blitzkrieg, and, as Salandra stated, World War I should have been “a walk”. Giordani continues impetuously: “I believe no head of State has ever admitted he was waging war for motives of plunder; everyone held that it was being fought for the most noble of reasons, for altruistic and idealistic purposes, of course. And – just to show how childish hatred can get – greed is a characteristic of the enemy while a friend shows idealism.
Overturning the macabre prospective of historiography
Logic holds that those who wage war are in the wrong; it solves nothing and – in the end – they are the losers. The people do not want it, and it is a grave mistake to indulge in the biographies of those who have unleashed unspeakable massacres, like Hitler and Stalin, while ignoring the true leaders of humanity such as Cottolengo or Don Orione, Giordani writes. It is our cultural duty to overturn this macabre perspective of historiography.
Giordani points to the way of dialogue – at all times and in any situation – as the way to find solutions. He affirms that misery and greed are the principal causes of war, whose roots are in fear. But there does exist a hope and an alternative: it’s called charity, which Christ incarnated, He who also redeemed politics in order to make it function in favor of peace and life. “Enemies are to be loved,” Giordani writes. “If only the politics of charity were to take root. We would discover that it coincides with the most enlightened rationality and, in the economic and social sense, it would prove to be a real bargain.”
Giordani defines any war as a crime, be it an act of aggression or prevention. In actuality it is an act against justice because true justice brings forth true peace. He goes on to raise us to sublime spiritual heights with his references to St. Francis and Dante. “For Christians to be worthy of being called ‘children of God’ they have to work for peace”, he states. And this must be done without trepidation, by living out the ministry of reconciliation, breaking down walls of separation, forgiving all those who do us harm, leading those who are far back to the fold of unity. Giordani also cites Max Josef Metzger who was killed by the Nazis in 1944: “We must organize peace as others have organized war”. It is neither serious nor credible to speak of peace while preparing for war.
Giordani concludes, “The work of building peace starts from you and from me”. To do away with war it is not enough to eliminate arms; we need to rebuild a consciousness, a culture of peace. It is a most urgent task which people of faith should accompany with a strategy of prayer. This is the mission of Christians today: to bring about the Gospel of Peace.
GIAMPAOLO MATTEI
March 2003
To the crowds who followed him, Jesus spoke of the reign of God . He used simple words, parables taken from every day life, and yet his words had a special fascination. The crowds were spellbound at his teaching because he taught with authority and not like their scribes. Likewise when the temple guards who came to arrest him were asked by the chief priest and pharisees why they did not follow orders to bring him in, they replied: “No man ever spoke like that before”.
The Gospel of John also speaks about the light-filled conversations he had with some people, like Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. Jesus goes even more in depth with his apostles. He speaks openly of the Father and of the things of Heaven, and with them he no longer speaks in veiled language. His words convince them and they do not draw back even when they do not fully understand them or when they seem to be too demanding.
“This sort of talk is hard to endure” , some of his disciples remarked, when they heard him say that he would give them his body to eat and his blood to drink.
Seeing that many of his disciples were breaking away and did not remain in his company any longer, Jesus said to the Twelve Apostles: “Do you want to leave me too?”
Peter, now bound to him forever, and fascinated by the words he spoke on the day he met him, answered on behalf of everyone:
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.»
Peter had understood that the words his Teacher spoke were different from those of other teachers. Words that go from the earth to the earth, belong to and are destined to the earth. Jesus’ words are spirit and life because they come from Heaven: they are like a light that descends from Above and contains a power that comes from Above. His words have a wealth and depth which other words -whether philosophical, political, or poetic – do not have. They are “words of eternal life” because they contain, express and comunicate the fullness of that life that never ends since it is the very life of God.
Jesus is risen and lives, and his words, although said in the past, are not mere memories, but they are words addressed to all of us today and to every person of every epoch and culture: they are universal, eternal words.
The words of Jesus! They must have been his greatest art, so to say. The Word who speaks in human terms: what content, what intensity, what accent, what a voice!
“One day – recounts Basil the Great, for example – almost like waking up from a long sleep, I saw the marvelous light of the truth contained in the Gospel and discovered the vanity in the wisdom of earthly principles.”
In a letter of May 9, 1897 Therese of Lisiuex writes: “At times, when I read certain spiritual treatises… my poor humble spirit tires easily. I close the scholarly book which breaks my head to pieces and dries up my heart, and take hold of the Sacred Scriptures. Then everything lights up, just one word reveals to my soul infinite horizons and reaching perfection appears to be an easy task”
Yes, divine words fill the spirit, which is made for the infinite; they illuminate interiorly not only the mind, but all of one’s being, because they are light, love and life. They give peace – that which Jesus calls his: “my peace” – also in moments of bewilderment and anguish. They give full joy even in the midst of suffering which at times torments the soul. They give strength, especially in the face of dismay and discouragement. They give a sense of freedom because they open the path to Truth.
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.»
The Word of Life this month reminds us that the only Teacher we want to follow is Jesus, even when his words might seem to be hard and too demanding. This means: to be honest at work, to forgive, to put ourselves at the service of the other rather than to think only of ourselves, to remain faithful to our family, to assist a terminally ill person without yielding to the idea of euthanasia…
Many teachers invite us to come up with easy solutions, to make compromises. We want to listen to our Teacher and to follow him, the only one who speaks the truth and who has “words of eternal life”. In this way we too can repeat these words of Peter.
In this Lenten Season in which we are preparing for the big celebration of the Resurrection, we must truly put ourselves at the school of the only Teacher and become his disciples. Also in us an ardent love for the word of God must come to life. Let us be ready to welcome it when it is proclaimed in church, let us read it, study it, meditate on it…
But above all we are called to live it, as Scripture itself teaches: “Act on this word. If all you do is to listen to it, you are deceiving yourselves”. That is why each month we take into consideration one word in particular, allowing it to penetrate into us, to mould us, “to live us”. By living one word of Jesus we live all the Gospel, because in each word of his he gives all of himself, he himself comes to live in us. It is like a divine drop of his wisdom, the wisdom of the Risen One, which slowly penetrates into the depths of our hearts and replaces our way of thinking, wanting, and acting in every circumstance of our life.
Chiara Lubich