I want to share with the readers of my column the text of my reflection for the Holy Hour before midnight Mass in San Fernando on New Year's. The reflection was on the Message of Pope John Paul II for World Day of Peace.

“I want to offer two statements that will, I hope, help you to appreciate the importance and the practicality of the Holy Father's Message for the World Day of Peace.

Statement No. 1: For people who live in peace and who have lived in peace all their lives, it is very difficult for them to appreciate the experience of those who live in war and under oppression. For people whose rights are respected and who have the ability to vindicate their rights whenever necessary, it is very difficult for them to appreciate the experience of those whose rights are not respected and who can do very little about it.

Statement No. 2: Globalisation confronts us with a world not firmly under our control. It is, therefore, frightening. It has increased the speed of social interaction to such a degree that many people have been overwhelmed by the impact and some have been hopelessly left behind. It is a world driven by the economics of the world market and technology, especially information technology.

It involves perilous risks because it could motivate nationalistic and ethnic forces to resist violently the dissolution of national boundaries and control. It could suppress authentic forms of localism and, possibly, fuel a commitment to reactionary politics.

Human rights, the effects of globalisation, values and peace: Four important social justice issues that lead to two important questions! How do we speak to these issues with a credible voice? How can we communicate our view with a sufficiently universalist perspective?

The Catholic Community uses its voluminous social teaching to speak to the four issues just mentioned that will be addressed by the Holy Father. (Please note: The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church will be available in English in March 2005. It will give direct access to the teaching of the Magisterium on social justice).

It uses the universalist perspective that is rooted in the divine mandate to the Catholic Church to address the entire world. The World Day of Peace Message is itself a part of the social teaching of the Church.

An analysis of the message

In his Message for the World Day of Peace this year, the Holy Father suggests a way to begin addressing the entire world about the four issues in a practical way. His theme is from St Paul 's letter to the Romans: “ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good .” The quotation from Romans (Rom 12: 21 ) sounds very pious and safe. The truth is it is neither pious nor safe. It teaches a profound social message and invites a response of personal and communal involvement.

The nature of evil

What does it teach? It teaches that evil is present. Evil disrespects human rights, it influences globalisation, it erodes values that identify us as human and it undermines peace. The Holy Father shows us that once you accept “the evil for evil dynamic”, there is no way out of the vicious circle. It just becomes more and more vicious and claims more and more victims.

The Holy Father teaches us about the nature of evil. Evil is not some impersonal, deterministic force. It is the result of a misuse of freedom. Freedom distinguishes the human person from every other creature on earth. Evil, the Holy Father says, always has a name and a face. Adam and Eve rebelled against God and Cain killed his brother, Abel. Those actions flowed from moral choices, which affected the relationships of those involved with God, other people and creation itself.

Another way of looking at evil is to understand it as a rejection of love. Moral good is born of love, shows itself as love and is directed toward love. Christian community should be a witness to this teaching. Moral good born of love explains the Christian mandate to love your enemies. The evil for evil dynamic considers this Christian principle of loving your enemies totally unacceptable. It operates off the premise that we must eliminate our enemies.

Conscience formation/education of the young

Moral goodness also guides us about how to deal with the conflicting claims of good and evil. We must live by the moral values given by God. The Holy Father reminds us that what is needed in the world is a great effort to use these moral values to form consciences and to educate the younger generation to goodness.

Note the distinction: forming consciences is a responsibility for everyone. People with properly formed consciences then have the responsibility to educate the young. Learning and living the universal moral law is the foundation for a social, economic and political order respectful of the dignity, freedom and fundamental rights of each person. “ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good .”

Three recommendations

How can individual people begin to address the enormous challenge of so much violence, so much fear, tension and death in society? Do people even realise they are being socially conditioned to respond to evil with violence and to accept the evil for evil dynamic as the only way to survive? The Holy Father recommends three practical responses to the challenge:

1) Consider yourself as a citizen of the world who has a responsibility for the common good.

We are citizens of the world because we are united by a common origin and have a common destiny. The common good means the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily. It rests on three conditions:
1) respect for the dignity of each person;
2) social well being and social development;
3) peace.

All three criteria are important. Why? Because even for the people who are willing to think in terms of the common good, they understand it exclusively in terms of social well being and social development. That is not the view of the Catholic Church.

God is the ultimate goal of all creatures and history journeys toward Christ. The common good must always be understood to include a transcendent dimension – it contains a movement to God.

2) Be able to name the evil that affects your life and society .

Remember the norm: Evil has a name and a face: it may be a person, a place or a social policy or the lack thereof and we must accept the possibility in humility that the person may be ourselves. Naming the evil of the society in which you live may be a bit more complicated.

It requires knowledge of how society functions and, more significantly, it requires a willingness and ability to rise above the “blind spots” that are present in any culture. People tend to think uncritically. One result is that the traditional way of acting and reacting is the only way to continue acting and reacting.

3) Be willing to be an instrument of good to counter the presence of evil .

Moral goodness is our mission and it is a difficult mission because evil can look so good. Moral goodness requires deep faith and eschatological patience. However, moral goodness is the only reality that will make us free and help us to experience peace. Although it is not easy to fulfill, the Holy Father calls us to “a new creativity in charity” in order to spread the Gospel of Hope especially to people who are discouraged.

Conclusion

There is no substitute for reading and reflecting on the Holy Father's Message for the World Day of Peace. It can be downloaded from the Vatican website. It is only seven pages including footnotes. In his Message, the Holy Father lists many of the evils that must be confronted to foster peace.

Responding to them will create a new political culture, new forms of solidarity and a new commitment to authentic humanism. The Holy Father reminds us that redeemed humanity is capable of resisting evil. When goodness overcomes evil, love prevails and where love prevails, there is peace.