By Michelle Martin

Hundreds of people attended Catholic Theological Union’s annual “Blessed are the Peacemakers” dinner April 28, at which the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago was honored for its efforts at forging bonds of friendship and finding grounds for cooperation among the area’s Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities.

The evening included a fine meal, remarks by Chicago journalist Carol Marin, and an introduction by Passionist Father Donald Senior, CTU’s president, about how the need for peacemaking seems more urgent than ever in this time of conflict and war around the world.

After a very nicely framed plaque was presented, Rabbi Ira Youdavin, the interfaith organization’s president, offered a response discussing the need for clergy and the faithful of all denominations to keep religious values in the public square. Values, such as peace with justice, can unify, while religious symbols, such as monuments to the Ten Commandments, often divide people, he said.

As I watched the presentation of the award and listened to the speeches, I thought about another award.

This one isn’t framed. It’s a small slip of paper, maybe 4 by 6 inches, pinned to the bulletin board in our kitchen on top of the report cards and lunch menus and party invitations.

It honors Caroline as a kindergarten peacemaker for the third quarter of school.

She and several classmates received the award for their general efforts to get along with one another, to cooperate, to share.

It’s pretty mundane stuff, really: letting someone else have a turn with a favorite toy, or waiting patiently in line at the water fountain. But in the social world of six-year-olds, sometimes it’s hard to sympathize with instead of laugh at a child who makes a mistake, or to remember to include even the children who aren’t your best friends in your games, or to listen to the teacher and sit still on a spring day when you’re so bursting with energy you nearly bounce out of your seat.

That’s what peacemakers do, and it isn’t always easy, just as it wasn’t easy for members of the Council of Religious Leaders to agree on the wording of a November 2002 letter to President Bush, opposing an invasion of Iraq at that time, under those circumstances. With different beliefs about when war is justified and different religious languages and imagery, with the overtones of Middle East conflict between Christians and Jews and Muslims, finding a way to express their concerns meant everyone had to compromise some, but still remain true to their principles, Youdavin said.

It worked.

“We didn’t think we could stop the war,” he said. “But we got more media calls than we expected in our wildest dreams. And we made people think.”

In addition to the war statement, the group has come together to advocate on local issues, from the death penalty to affordable housing to racial discrimination. They plan to move into more direct service, and work out a strategy to provide spiritual counseling and religious support in the event of a disaster or terrorist attack in the Chicago area.

That’s all a lot more complex than finding a peaceful way to share the dump truck or play together with the blocks, and maybe it’s more noble. But peacemakers, Jesus said, would be called children of God. Maybe it’s the lessons and habits learned as children that can get us there.

Martin is a Catholic New World staff writer.

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