COLUMN: Church Fails to Act on Time

April 29, 2011

COLUMN: Church Fails to Act on Time

By Wadner Pierre

Religion at Loyola

It seems from time to time that the Catholic Church has been deliberately late in addressing the real issues that face God's children on this earth.

As we all know, the Catholic Church in particular has been an instrument for powerful European countries in the past, abandoning its mission to be the voice of the voiceless and to make the poor feel that they belong to the kingdom of God as much as the rich do.

In his Easter Sunday address, the pope urged the world to welcome people who are fleeing their countries because of wars or violence. He said, "May help come from all sides to those fleeing conflict and to refugees from various African countries who have been obliged to leave all that is dear to them."

The pope's Easter Sunday message seemed mostly focused on the ongoing Libyan civil war, supported by Western power under the United Nations umbrella. According to Reuters, Pope Benedict also advocated for a diplomatic approach instead of force in the case of Libya.

The pope's Easter Sunday message, however, came too late because political leaders like those from Russia, China, Venezuela, the African Union and other countries already warned against the use of weapons in Libya.

The Vatican has a representative at the United Nations, but it seems that the Vatican failed to take a position against U.N. resolution 1973. This gave the United States and its NATO allies a legitimate mandate to use their sophisticated weapons instead of their sophisticated and smart diplomats to solve the Libyan political and social problems.

This opinion article is not intended to defend the Libyan regime, but it is to show the failure of the Western church, most importantly the Catholic Church, in taking the position against the use of force where there is war and all types of violence in the world.

Of course, the church has to be part of people's daily struggle for social justice and for the real democracy in all corners of the world. This is the mission of the church.

Jesus, the founder of this church, was always on the side of the poor, the unwanted and the unloved. Jesus was the first to advocate for equality amongst men and women in the kingdom of God, the church.

He was always there to support the struggle of those who sought social justice and equality. Jesus died because he wanted to give those who lived in the war zones hope for peace one day, and those who caused conflicts to see the light of social justice.

The church in our time should follow Jesus' teachings, which include making the kingdom of God known to all, poor or rich. May the church be the first to stand for peaceful resolution where there is war and violence. Amen.

Wadner Pierre is a mass communication sophomore and photo editor for The Maroon and Wolf Magazine and author of the blog : www.wadnerpierre.blogspot.com. He can be reached at

wpierre@loyno.edu