Violating human dignity is root of all conflict, says Vatican official
Giving an interview in L'Osservatore Romano, Jan 1, a top Vatican official, Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has maintained that not respecting human dignity lies at the root of all conflict. While making particular reference to the renewed violence in the Gaza Strip, the prelate observed, "the source of every conflict, not to mention the degradation of the environment and the social and economic injustices is contempt for, neglect of, or only partial agreement with the principle of respect for human dignity."
The prelate's observation must have been borne out of the often-misconstrued notion that religious tensions breed much more violence, conflicts and outright wars than any other factor. According to him, “religious tensions play minor role in fuelling world conflicts; rather, countless economic and social injustices” are what foment violence. Owing to the nature of his office and from the information that are daily gathered from all corners of the world where the office is poised to solving or helping to eradicate injustices of all manner, working in tandem even with political organisations, the cardinal stands at a privileged position to make his comments. Without out rightly canonising his stand, it is only fair to state that the facts are there to see in many countries where violence and conflicts are attributed to religious tensions, that they are not true.
In Nigeria, for example, there is almost every year one or more violent conflicts between the Christians and the Moslems especially in the northern part of the country. But the truth is that a good number of these crises are borne out of political rivalries and conflicts. The most recent that occurred last November 28, 2008 was a clear case of political grudges and banditry. But as has been the case, it came out as a religious crisis with Moslems setting Christian Churches on fire. The fact of tribal misunderstanding and jealousies also contribute to violence and conflicts in the same country more than any religious tension. In fact, it is really hard to put a finger on a particular conflict, violence that is purely base on religious tension. Nigeria is the largest country in African continent. With a population of 150 million, it also accounts for the most multi-religious country in the continent. Its Moslems’ population, could most probably more than that of many other African countries. Even in those countries that are almost entirely Moslems, for example, the North Africans, it is known that there exist much violence, these border on ethnic and political tensions. The prelate therefore cannot be more correct than he is. If human dignity is respected, and injustices addressed, the world will be marching towards a great peace.
Giving an interview in L'Osservatore Romano, Jan 1, a top Vatican official, Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has maintained that not respecting human dignity lies at the root of all conflict. While making particular reference to the renewed violence in the Gaza Strip, the prelate observed, "the source of every conflict, not to mention the degradation of the environment and the social and economic injustices is contempt for, neglect of, or only partial agreement with the principle of respect for human dignity."
The prelate's observation must have been borne out of the often-misconstrued notion that religious tensions breed much more violence, conflicts and outright wars than any other factor. According to him, “religious tensions play minor role in fuelling world conflicts; rather, countless economic and social injustices” are what foment violence. Owing to the nature of his office and from the information that are daily gathered from all corners of the world where the office is poised to solving or helping to eradicate injustices of all manner, working in tandem even with political organisations, the cardinal stands at a privileged position to make his comments. Without out rightly canonising his stand, it is only fair to state that the facts are there to see in many countries where violence and conflicts are attributed to religious tensions, that they are not true.
In Nigeria, for example, there is almost every year one or more violent conflicts between the Christians and the Moslems especially in the northern part of the country. But the truth is that a good number of these crises are borne out of political rivalries and conflicts. The most recent that occurred last November 28, 2008 was a clear case of political grudges and banditry. But as has been the case, it came out as a religious crisis with Moslems setting Christian Churches on fire. The fact of tribal misunderstanding and jealousies also contribute to violence and conflicts in the same country more than any religious tension. In fact, it is really hard to put a finger on a particular conflict, violence that is purely base on religious tension. Nigeria is the largest country in African continent. With a population of 150 million, it also accounts for the most multi-religious country in the continent. Its Moslems’ population, could most probably more than that of many other African countries. Even in those countries that are almost entirely Moslems, for example, the North Africans, it is known that there exist much violence, these border on ethnic and political tensions. The prelate therefore cannot be more correct than he is. If human dignity is respected, and injustices addressed, the world will be marching towards a great peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment