Peacebuilding: a role for religion
.JPG) On Tuesday, October 7, 2008, , the Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See, Archbishop Celestino Migliore and its co-sponsor, the Catholic Peacebuilding Network, invited NGOs and UN delegations to a panel discussion on the role of religion in the peacebuilding processes. The meeting was held in the United Nations building in New York City and SIMN was present.
The panelists included: Prof. Gerard Powers, Coordinator of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network and Director of Policy Studies, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame; Mr. John Katunga, Senior Advisor for Peacebuilding, East Africa Region, Catholic Relief Services and Dr. Maryann Cusimano Love, Associate Professor of International Politics, the Catholic University of America. The panel was moderated by H.E. Ambassador Ismael Abraão Gaspar Martins, Permanent Representative of Angola to the United Nations .
At a time when the UN is giving new attention to peacebuilding, including the role of religion in promoting reconciliation, this panel considered the spectrum of peacebuilding initiatives of the Catholic Church around the world and lessons learned from its peacebuilding work, especially in the Great Lakes region of Africa. The panel also considered what a Catholic perspective can contribute to the wider discussion of religion and peacebuilding at the UN.
In his opening comments, Archbishop Migliore remarked that “a century and a half ago, Karl Marx said that religion was the opium of the peoples, meaning that it can easily be used to control the population, to divert their attention from wanting to start a social revolution by promising them a paradise in the afterlife. Today, on the contrary, religion is said to be the vitamin of the poor. It gives the poor a precise identity, a sense of belonging, to those who otherwise can be left behind on the road to globalization.”
Religion plays a complex role in modern conflicts, serving as an inspiration for violence and a powerful force for peace. A growing number of conflicts around the world involve religious claims and have religiously inspired combatants. Peacebuilding is the creation and nurturing of constructive relationships, at every level of society, across ethnic, religious, class, and racial boundaries, in order to transform the social inequities and structural conditions that generate deadly conflict.
In North America, several Catholic organizations are actively involved in the peacebuilding process, among them:
Catholic Relief services: www.crs.org
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