Vatican's Anemic Call For Peace

The Vatican is asking for prayers and fasting on September 7, at 7 p.m., Rome time. [1]  I hope that it would not be too late or too little to stop the missiles from landing in Syria.  We will all know soon enough.

Even though I criticize the pope for his lack of severe condemnation of the "dramatic developments" [2] that were taking place, i.e., the calls for war against Syria, and for the lack of impassioned pleas for peace, he gets credit, albeit very little, for at least saying something, however feeble, however seemingly reluctantly, and for planning a prayer service.

Why does the voice of Christ sound so diplomatic?  Was he speaking as the head of state?  The Vicar of Christ ought not to assume the role of a politician but instead continue to walk on the ground of sinners carrying their cross.  The suffering and crucifixion of Christ, acts of complete selflessness of God the Father sacrificing a part of the Holy Trinity to redeem us from Adam and Eve's Original Sin (hereafter "Sin"), does not mean the death and eradication of Sin's progeny.  Nor does the resurrection of Christ mean that the path to salvation is free-for-all without any personal accountability.  The off-springs of Sin continues to proliferate.  Therefore, the cross that Christ bore that carried the weight of the Original Sin has been transformed and passed onto Peter and his successors, though no longer bearing the weight of Sin, is now carrying the weight of the multitude of sins that are committed continuously by us on earth, directly and indirectly.  This cross that has been handed down from Peter is not a glamorous ornament to be hung around the neck; it is filthy and disgusting, and it is heavy.  For a pope to gloss over an impending war with diplomatic words or by symbolic deeds is to demean the purpose of Christ's life, to secularize His death and to be indifferent to or to disbelieve in His resurrection.  In a time of looming crisis, one evening of prayer and fasting is not enough and words from the throne of Peter that are not rooted in the foundation of Christ's existence are empty.  



[1] http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-renewed-appeal-for-peace-full-text
[2] http://bigstory.ap.org/article/pope-announces-day-fasting-prayer-syria