 |
| Photo by Stan Noffsinger |
| Pope Benedict XVI on the stage at
the World Day of Peace in Assisi, Italy, on Oct. 27, 2011. Church of the
Brethren general secretary Stan Noffsinger was one of the world
religious leaders who took part in the event. The day commemorated the
25th anniversary of a day for peace held in Assisi by Pope John Paul II
in 1986. |
Among religious leaders on the stage
with Pope Benedict XVI at the World Day of Peace in Assisi last week was
Stan Noffsinger, general secretary of the Church of the Brethren. The
main message of the Oct. 27 event was that peace is a human right,
Noffsinger said in an interview on his return from Italy.
The event was held "to discern and
make a statement that peace is a human right for all people, regardless
of their religious affiliation or not," he said. "It is a right for
every human being to live without the threat of violence, war, and
violent death."
Hosted by the Vatican, the day
commemorated the 25th anniversary of a historic peace event led by Pope
John Paul II in Assisi in 1986. The city some 100 miles north of Rome is
known as the home town of St. Francis and is a center for Catholic
peacemaking.
Noffsinger attended as a
representative of the international Brethren movement. The invitation to
a Brethren representative was issued by the Pontifical Council for
Christian Unity and follows several years of heavy Brethren involvement
in the Decade to Overcome Violence.
The Pope read a strong statement of
commitment to peace at the close of ceremonies: "Violence never again!
War never again! Terrorism never again! In the name of God, may every
religion bring upon the earth justice and peace, forgiveness and life,
love!"
Noffsinger's only disappointment in
the event, he said, was lack of formal conversation about peace as a
human right. "But that is offset by the countless number of private
conversations we were able to have," he added. "That's probably more
effective conversation."
There was no formal worship or
prayer, in a deliberate choice made by the Vatican. The Pope has "taken
heat," as Noffsinger put it, from critics both within and outside the
Roman Catholic Church who have made accusations that the event moves
toward religious syncretism. An invitation to nonbeliever guests also
was a deliberate choice made by Pope Benedict XVI to distinguish this
World Day of Peace from that held by the previous Pope, in order to
create "a broader table than before," Noffsinger said.
Noffsinger was one of 59
international guests seated on the stage with the Pope. Some 250
observer participants from around the world were seated at the front of
the crowds that gathered in Assisi. Among those on the stage were
Christian leaders such as World Council of Churches general secretary
Olav Fykse Tveit; Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople,
Ecumenical Patriarch; Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, leader of
the Anglican Communion; Larry Miller, executive secretary, and Danisa
Ndlovu, president of the Mennonite World Conference; Mounib Younan of
the World Lutheran Federation; John Upton of the World Baptist Alliance,
among many other representatives of worldwide Christian movements.
Interfaith representatives included
Rabbi David Rosen of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, and Kyai Haji Hasyim
Muzadi, secretary general of the International Conference of Islamic
Schools, alongside Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, Sikh, and other leaders from
major world religions, a representative of African indigenous
religions, and even leading agnostics and atheists.
The Pope and official guests traveled
by special train from Rome on the morning of Oct. 27, where they were
met by crowds waiting at the train station in Assisi, Noffsinger
reported. Thousands of people lined the motorcade route from the train
station to the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, where a formal
event took place in the morning. More people waited along the route to
the Plaza of San Francesco where an open-air event took place in the
late afternoon. "Most noticeable were the young people who were present
and engaged in all of the event," Noffsinger said. The pilgrimage ended
with a visit to the tomb of St. Francis by the Pope and official guests.
During his trip to Italy, Noffsinger
also had time to visit the Comunita di Sant'Egidio in Rome. Over its
40-plus years of existence, several members of the Church of the
Brethren have spent time with this all-volunteer Christian community
focused on service to the poor. Although Catholic-based, the community
welcomes participation by believers from various traditions, and is
marked by its youthful membership. Noffsinger estimated an average age
of 30 among those who packed a church for the community worship service
he attended.
Noffsinger has come away from Assisi
with a challenge to increase commitment to peacemaking, both personally
and as a church. On a personal level, it "challenged me to ask of
myself, What is it that I will do for the pursuit of peace?'" he said. A
first step he and the other US church leaders who attended will take is
to share their reflections with President Obama, who issued an official
letter to the Vatican commending the event.
The challenge for the Church of the
Brethren is to ask, "What are we willing to surrender to be a community
at peace?" Noffsinger said. He noted that the Assisi event adds impetus
for the denomination to build on its work during the Decade to Overcome
Violence, and to take seriously the call to "just peace" coming out of
the recent International Ecumenical Peace Convocation. In 2013, the
Brethren will have an opportunity to be part of worldwide Christian
consideration of "just peace" at the next assembly of the World Council
of Churches.
In the meantime, the challenge is "to
re-evaluate what we are as a church, and if the manner of our living
rightly reflects advocacy for God's peace and justice that all may
simply live," Noffsinger said. "At the very heart of who we are as the
Church of the Brethren is this core understanding of the two great
commandments of Jesus. There are no qualifications of who the neighbor
may or may not be. God calls us to love our neighbor."
The Assisi event was webcast live by the Vatican Television Center. View a recording at
http://player.rv.va/vaticanplayer.asp?language=it&tic=VA_N2GDSIOH.
Source:11/2/2011 Newsline
