Fr. Robert Maloney, CM, former Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity, has written a reflection on peace in today’s troubled world.” I have been asked to write a Vincentian reflection on peace.
The topic is very broad, ranging from the quest for interior peace to the promotion of non-violent relationships among the nations. Here in Vincentiana I have already written on several occasions about gentleness as a characteristic Vincentian virtue and a foundational attitude for peacemaking.[5] At the beginning of the Jubilee Year 2000, I also sent a letter to the members of the Congregation of the Mission, reflecting on reconciliation and on preaching and teaching justice.[6] After the events of September 11, 2001, I addressed an Advent letter to all the members of the Vincentian Family,[7] with peace as its theme.
Having already written about several aspects of this topic, and because of its very broad scope, in this article I will restrict my focus to peace in the sense in which Pope Paul VI once so movingly described it: “No more war! War never again!”[8]
I. St. Vincent and Peace
II. Some Horizon Shifts Since the 17th Century
III. Some Vincentian Reflections on Peace Today
