Peace through Non-Violence

As one Church we must show the way of justice and love, in solidarity with all but particularly the poor and the weak, in the building of peace. The Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus is not a Kingdom to be imposed by the force of arms. It is a Kingdom to be built by love, the love of the suffering servant. Love bears peace by way of peace. Peace cannot be equated with the absence of war nor with a certain balance of power. It is a harmony in the human heart and in the social order brought about justice, requiring respect for human dignity and human rights, the promotion of the common good by one and all, and the constant practice of solidarity. Peace is likewise "the fruit of love which goes beyond what justice can provide." In the final analysis, the real peace we must seek is the Lord's  because He himself is our peace.

The context of our socio-economic and political situation today is partly one of violence and counter-violence, institutionalized or otherwise. In such a context it is easy to succumb to the temptation to use conflict as the means to liberation. But history teaches that "there are sources of progress other than conflict namely LOVE and RIGHT. This priority of love in history draws Christian to prefer the way of non-violent  action... Non-violence is a quality of love of Jesus Christ. So radically new was his love that he obliged his followers: "Love your Enemies."

Peaceful but persuasive rallies, assemblies, marches, demonstrations, strikes and acts of "passive resistance" to unjust laws can be very effective even if non-violent. A strategy of non-violence requires solidarity of spirit as well as of action. "The road to total liberation is not the way of love, class struggle or hate; it is the way of love, brotherhood and peaceful solidarity."

To remove social ills, active non-violence is our moral countersign to the ideologies of today that espouse armed violence to change status quo. It is likewise our moral countersign to the ideologies that institutionalize violence in order to preserve the status quo. We consider the peaceful alternative as a mandate of evangelical discipleship.

Sources: Acts and Decrees, 2nd Plenary Council of the Philippines( 1991)

QUITE SIMPLY, I ASK: Is PEACE means ABSENCE of War?

The Philippines have suffered enough from the continuing armed and violent confrontations in many parts of our country.

From 1973 to 1992, the death toll reached 55, 471 – soldiers, government officials, rebels and innocent civilians. About 33, 709 have been wounded. And 1, 832 are missing.

Some 1.5 Million people have experienced displacement in the course of more than two decades of armed conflict. They were ordinary peasants, tribal and marginal Filipinos who were all the more deprived of their sources of livelihood; children, who died of diseases, were orphaned, and deprived of education because of fighting.
Damage to crops and properties since 1982 and has already been estimated P1.38 Billion.

Furthermore, the government has had to spend billions in operations to maintain peace and order throughout the country under the environment of armed internal conflicts. Perhaps, if only half of this could have been spent on the development and livelihood programs, our country might in a much better state today.

We could have already paid our debts.

We could have built more schools and health concerns.

We could have had more funds for land reform and mass housing. Our government employees and workers could have had more decent pay. We could have set up more power generators and would not have had to endure long brownouts, more farms to market roads, more school buildings especially to remote areas in the Philippines, and could have built infrastructure to prevent pestering floods during heavy typhoons and natural disasters.

Today, a rifle bullet costs average of P25 or higher. The cost of a 25 bullets could thus be enough for a day’s budget for 2 average families.
As the armed confrontations rage on, attaining progress becomes an ever more difficult task. Our country will be doomed to poverty, and will forever be at the tail-end of our fast-developing Asian neighbors.

The contending parties claim they are fighting for the sake of our country and people. Yet, it is our country and people as a whole who eventually suffer the most as the conflict goes on.

For so long time we have longed and aspired for peace. But even if there are many difficult obstacles, our dream of a genuine, just and lasting peace is not unattainable. If we are united, nothing is impossible. The peace that we all desire is within reach.

Our people’s involvement is the key to the attainment of a genuine, just and lasting peace. Those involved in the conflict agree that the peace process cannot prosper unless it is anchored on the involvement and participation of all sectors of society.

A peace process should be community-based, reflecting the sentiments, values and principles important to all Filipinos. It shall not be defined by government alone, nor by the contending armed groups, but by all Filipinos as one community.
It is the goal of the peace process to establish a just, equitable, humane and pluralistic society. It is aimed at peacefully resolving and ending the armed conflict, with neither blame nor surrender but with dignity for all concerned.
Come then and let us march on the road to peace. Let us start now. Let us all participate. Let us enlighten ourselves on the issues, and realize how we can contribute towards the attainment of PEACE.