PEACE-MAKER
Former Speaker of the House Jose C. De Venecia Jr.
We joined the 1.36 billion Roman Catholics around the world in mourning the passing of the 95-year-old Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who was laid to rest inside the Vatican City grounds three days ago.
Considered as one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century, the late pontiff earlier served for 24 years as prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, a Vatican office that “is responsible for safeguarding Catholic doctrine and evaluating according to canon law the warrant for disciplinary action against clergy.”
He authored hundreds of books, articles, and encyclicals and spoke some 10 languages fluently. He also served as an “expert” at the historic, modernizing Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s.
Indeed, he was a towering intellectual figure in the Roman Catholic church. He was also a musician, who loved playing his favorite Mozart on his piano.
A CNN report said he was “the first Pope to go green, making the Vatican the first country in the world with a zero-carbon footprint, putting solar panels on its rooftops, and bringing in electric vehicles, including a hybrid Pope mobile.”
Pope Benedict was a man of many remarkable talents and outstanding accomplishments.
He made history as the oldest to be elected to the papacy since 1740 and the first pontiff in 600 years to resign his position.
We also remember him for his unwavering commitment in promoting understanding among religions. He reached out to Judaism, Islam, and other Christian churches. He was a believer in interfaith dialogue, seeing it as a path to peace.
Pope Benedict XVI was one of the three popes in 2,000 years who visited a mosque, which is an extraordinary gesture. The others were his predecessor, Pope now Saint John Paul II, and his successor, Pope Francis.
We thank God for giving us these men of peace.
Indeed, we are living in times of upheaval and transformation.
We observed that Asia and the world are at an inflection point in history. There are dark clouds of conflict posing a serious risk to regional and global peace and stability.
We are seeing the signs of the new Cold War. At the core of this new war are the lingering flashpoints in the Korean Peninsula, South Asia, the Middle East, Palestine, and Europe.
We in the 350-member International Conference of Asian Political Parties reiterate “the importance of cooperation over competition, as common challenges require a collective response. Meeting the challenges of the 21st Century requires a conducive environment based on an unwavering commitment to peaceful coexistence, cooperation, and economic and cultural connectivity, with dialogue and negotiations as the only way out for a solution to disputes.
“We express deep concern at the lingering and newly flaring up conflicts throughout our region and the world, and note that the current territorial issues in some parts of the world pose serious potential threats to overall security to all members of the global community due to the ever-increasing interdependence and interconnectivity among the countries.”
As we have repeatedly pointed out, peace may be elusive but not impossible to achieve. We cannot give up on peace as the alternative, which is war, is immeasurably more costly and will make all of us losers.