2002

1st January 2002
No Peace without justice; No justice without forgiveness
Today not only marks the beginning of a new year but also a World Day of Peace. An address from Pope John Paul II in anticipation of this global day marks a timely call not only for a celebration of peace, but a chance to remember, reflect and a call to reconcile. As a world we have much to remember in 2001.

In history, the year will be stained with the loss of lives, and the loss of peace - battered by terrorist attacks. As a nation, there is much to reflect on, with the loss of jobs and the loss of sanctuary, as thousands were left redundant, hundreds of refugees were stranded, and many homes, in the wake of the year, were burnt to the ground by fire.

Left hurting by all of this, as communities and individuals, there is a real need to reconcile. In realising this reconciliation, the theme of the Pope's message rings true; there is "no peace without justice and no justice without forgiveness."

Speaking in light of recent global events, the Pope acknowledges the destruction of justice and its meaninglessness in the face of such tragedy, but he challenges that peace will not come and justice will not be restored without forgiveness.

"How can we speak of justice and forgiveness as the source and condition of peace? We can and we must, no matter how difficult this may be."

He ascertains that forgiveness is not forgetting, or overlooking the need to right the wrong, but justice is limited to our own human egos as individuals and as societies, and so it must be accompanied by forgiveness "which heals and rebuilds troubled human relations from their foundations."

"Forgiveness, in fact, always involves an apparent short-term loss for a real long-term gain. Violence is the exact opposite, opting as it does for an apparent short-term gain for a real and permanent loss."

This is true in the case of war but also for our personal trials and deeper hurts. If we cannot see past them and we continue to fight them, we are only doing more damage to our own spirit. All peace begins in the heart of the individual. It can only start in the dwelling place of suffering, and darkness. And surely that is within.

"Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil."

Such a decision echoes that which is the love of God, a God who lifts us high, in spite of our failures. It takes one person to make such a decision to start it spreading.

Forgiveness cannot come in one day, nor in one simple New Year's resolution; it is a journey that will be challenged everyday.

But a new year brings with it remembrance, reflection and therefore a hope of reconciliation.

On this World Day of Peace, may we look to the "afar-reaching resurgence of the human spirit in individual hearts and in relations between peoples of the world."

Rebecca Beisler
Rebecca Beisler is a member of the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle's Commission for Youth. She will graduate this year with a Bachelor of Arts (Communications) from the University of Newcastle.

Back to Media Releases