Faced with the overwhelming violence of war, the astonished people of the world have no choice but to pray and help those who suffer. There is fear and bewilderment at the madness of a conflict that could become much bigger. We cannot remain indifferent.
By Sergio Centofanti
All we can do is pray. In the face of the unprecedented and overwhelming violence of war, in the face of the nightmares of a greater and more devastating conflict, in the face of the madness and irrationality that make the world tremble, there is nothing left but to invoke God. The whole of humanity is in anguish at the news coming out of Ukraine. There is disbelief, fear, bewilderment. Some speak of apocalyptic signs: a pandemic, climate upheaval, war. There are those who recall how the Second World War began: the Anschluss, the Sudetenland, Poland. What can we do in the face of the great mystery of iniquity? Only raise our eyes to heaven and pray.
We can help those who suffer. Caritas is on the front line. We can think of the children, the mothers, the fathers, the grandparents, the men and women of the Ukrainian land, which is now so close to us. They ask for help, for solidarity. With them, we are shocked and appalled. They are suffering today; tomorrow who knows? We cannot remain indifferent. They are our brothers and sisters.
What do they want to occupy? What is to be destroyed? What weapons will be used? Will other countries be attacked? With what stupid and false justifications? We don’t want to believe that there is someone so crazy as to risk devastating the world to add a little more to his power. The power of this world soon passes – and then God’s judgement will come. But history teaches us that in these cases, human judgement often comes first.
Soldiers go to war. They obey. They kill and are killed. For a piece of land that some powerful people want. Will anyone refuse the order to kill innocents? Will anyone rebel against the command to carry out indiscriminate and atrocious bombing? Or will they all take pride in crushing the weak, like giants taking pride in trampling the lowly?
In the face of such events, one feels helpless, speechless. All we can do is pray and lend our help, each in his own way. We must all pray, raising our weak voice to God. Even those who think they are atheists can pray. All it takes is a thought. The Creator hears the cry of all His creatures. We must all be united now, forgetting all divisions, all conflicts, all grudges, so that together we can say: Lord, deliver us from evil.
