January 4, 2004

Confronting culture

If confronting culture to change it is an ongoing goal of faith today (and it is), Cardinal Renato Martino may have gotten more confrontation than he counted on when he said he felt sorry for Saddam Hussein.

Cardinal Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, was speaking at a Dec. 16 Vatican press conference presenting Pope John Paul II’s annual message for the World Day of Peace, which is marked Jan. 1. The pope’s message was consistent with other church efforts to seek and promote peace. It acknowledged necessary defense against terrorism, but warned that unilateral war is a violation of international law. Further, he said, efforts to end terrorism cannot be only military or “limited solely to repressive and punitive operations,” but must recognize and seek to correct the injustices and conditions which lead to terrorism. (For more on the pope’s peace pleas, see story, Page 5. The text of the pope’s Peace Day message is at www.vatican.va)

But speaking in support of the message, days after Saddam’s capture, Cardinal Martino used a metaphor that caused quite a dust-up. He said he had compassion for the Iraqi strongman and that video of him being examined—“like a cow,” the cardinal said—was unfortunate and could have been avoided.

The pope’s peace message did what faith is supposed to do, confront a culture of international violence, both terrorism and war; Cardinal Martino’s comments ran headlong into a culture of revenge.

There’s a letter to the editor (Page 9) taking strong issue with Cardinal Martino’s words, one of many we received. Others were critical of the man, the church, and even God. The letters baldly stated that Saddam got less than he deserved, that the church has no standing to issue any moral judgements at all because of its own struggle with clerical sexual abuse, that national pride somehow trumps any acknowledgement of international values, that calling for peace is a simplistic effort in which people of faith should have no voice.

And all because the cardinal dared show compassion for a hated tyrant who killed many thousands.

Displeasure at Cardinal Martino’s words came even from people who should know better, such as the editor of a well-known Catholic magazine. One letter-writer wanted to insist that the cardinal should simply be ignored, that he had no standing in which to speak for the Vatican. Never mind that the cardinal is a veteran of more than a dozen years as Pope John Paul’s nuncio (representative) to the United Nations, and a firm supporter of the church’s consistent calls for peace.

OK, let’s back up a bit here, because I know this column will toss more fuel on an already smoldering fire.

Cardinal Martino may not have used the best metaphor, but lost somewhat in the scuffle over the treatment of Saddam Hussein was the even more-confrontational statement that Pope John Paul II continues to believe the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was unjust because it lacked support of the U.N.

It’s true that the church’s struggle with scandal has allowed people to challenge its voice in moral issues. But calls for peace, for international efforts to resolve disputes, are a historic part of our Christian faith, despite human lapses.

We should all be sad that war continues to inflict pain and agony on our world. Yes, terrorism continues to be a blight on humankind. But revenge does not wear well for a people who, at Mass, proclaim the “peace of the Lord,” acknowledge that we seek “peace in our day” and even dare to share that peace.

And probably the most culture-confronting sense of all is the recognition that victims and even villains, not victors, need compassion simply because compassion is humanity reflecting God’s love.