Peace the prize

by Editor · Published October 21, 2009 · Updated March 6, 2012

The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama has been greeted with some bemusement, not least by the recipient himself. The truth is that Mr Obama has yet to earn his peacemaking stripes.

It seems likely that the Nobel Peace committee sought not so much to honour Mr Obama (whose ambitions doubtless include peacemaking initiatives), but to repudiate his predecessor, President George W Bush, whose legacy will be defined by the invasion of Iraq. It is also possible that by awarding Mr Obama the peace prize, the committee sought to apply moral pressure. The incumbent US president will now bear a moral obligation to meet the responsibilities of a peace prize laureate.

The Vatican, in a statement, welcomed Mr Obama�s award �in light of the president�s demonstrated commitment to promoting peace on an international level and, in particular, in recently promoting nuclear disarmament�. Mr Obama should now find it difficult to short-change these commitments.

Astute diplomacy though this might be, if indeed this was the Nobel committee�s strategy, it is unfortunate that peace initiatives that have already proven to be fruitful were overlooked.

Many of these initiatives are led by Catholics. It begins with the papacy, which under both Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI has strongly opposed acts of aggression, argued for an equitable solution to the impasse between Israel and Palestinians, sought to build bridges with Islam in part to foster peaceful co-existence between peoples, and warned against threats to peace relating to factors such as poverty and ecological conditions.

The Community of Sant�Egidio, the Rome-based Catholic lay movement, has long been tipped to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (which, as a Catholic movement it probably will never receive) on strength of its peace-building endeavours. These were particularly impressive in the movement�s facilitation of peace in Mozambique.

The Southern African Catholic Bishops� Conference (SACBC), through its Justice and Peace Department and the Denis Hurley Peace Institute, is deeply involved in activities intended to foster peace and its vital ingredient, reconciliation. We reported last week on the impressive efforts by the SACBC in helping Sierra Leone recover from its long, brutal civil war. Another area of particular engagement is in Sudan.

As we report this week, the SACBC proposed to the Second Synod for Africa a new idea which, if decisively implemented, could go far in defusing threats of wars in Africa and beyond. Addressing the synod, Fr Se�n O�Leary of the Denis Hurley Peace Institute suggested that structures be put in place whereby Catholic bishops, clergy, religious and laity � or �Peace Elders�, as he called them � would be trained �to intervene in peace monitoring, peace negotiations and sustaining fragile peace structures� in cooperation with and support of local churches. Such a structure, he suggested, could be coordinated by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

The idea merits serious consideration. Especially in countries where the Catholic Church has a significant presence, it can and must play a role in facilitating peace. As a global network, the Church should apply its breadth of expertise and experience in potential trouble spots in every way it can. The SACBC�s �Peace Elders� proposal could do much to assist peacemaking endeavours in a manner that is more coherent than at present.

It is unlikely that the Nobel Peace committee would award the Catholic Church for its activities in building peace. But their recognition is immaterial. More importantly than attracting public acclaim, the Church seeks to fulfil the mandate of Christ who declared: �Blessed are the peacemakers� (Mt 5:9).