By Riocard O Tiarnaigh, Irishman & editor of the German magazine schattenblick.de
(Excerpts: full text at:
“In conversation Fr. Berrigan revealed himself to be quite critical of his own order, the Jesuits. In his opinion, while they do good charitable work in the slums, at the same time they help to maintain an unjust and inhuman social order through their educational establishments, which cater to the middle and upper classes. …
“… O Tiarnaigh (Shattenblick ‘SB’): Do you reject the Just War Theory, which the Catholic Church, among others, propounds and, if so, could you tell us why?
“DB: Yes, of course I do. I think the term Just War should be removed from the Christian vocabulary. No modern war can be just, because it’s indiscriminate ….
“SB: If we take it as given, that the majority of the population will reject the message of the prophet – a term used here not just in a metaphorical sense but also with reference to the antiwar activities, in which you and your brother Daniel were involved and which led to the setting up of the Plowshares Movement – what is the point of such a person even engaging with other people and not becoming a recluse? Could it be, that the effort to reach out to his fellow man, by virtue of its very pointlessness, is the right thing for him to do, regardless of what others think or whether he reaches them with his message? (emphasis added)
“DB: We have to reconcile ourselves to the idea, that the peace-making, antiwar cause is bound to be a minority project and is going to require the type of concerted action, which small groups are engaged in currently right across the world, be it through involvement in the protests against the illegal prisoner-of-war camp in Guantánamo Bay or against the planned construction of a new massive base for the South Korean navy on the island of Jeju. The Catholic Church in South Korea is at the forefront of the latter protests and is doing very good work, for which I commend it.
“… unfortunately. It seems to me, that too many people believe, what the media want us to believe, namely that violence is acceptable and that whenever the USA make use of it, it is only as a last resort. We should listen more to the minority voices, who oppose violence and war. It is a matter of integrity, that having taken this position; one then sticks to it, regardless of whether the goal, the ending of war, will be achieved during one’s own lifetime or not. In this way the mercy and the righteousness of the few will bring about the solution to the problem. (emphasis added)
“SB: Could it be, that it is the individual’s striving for material comfort, for security for himself and his progeny along with his fascination with the ephemeral world, which allows evil, destruction, militarism etc. to prevail?
“DB: That’s exactly true. The evil of war continues unimpeded, because the Christian churches, to stay with my own religious tradition, have given up on their own heritage, their own love of life. The non-violence movement in history is the Lives of the Saints, who are invariably opposed to war and the machinations of the violent and powerful. So I don’t have any difficulty with the argument you made in your question, because it’s an old story.
“Every imperial state pronounces itself to be the last word in human evolution and the key to the future of humanity. Yet each one proves to be a deceit, a lie, and is overcome eventually. Those of us opposed to war have to work, as though the path of peace is the truth. We must proclaim, that it is the truth. We must insist, that it is the truth about human life.
“This truth is what our God looks like, is what Jesus looks like. This is what Jesus preached to his church. And if there are those in our church, who are unable to accept this, then they should walk away from it and stop purporting to be Jesus’ disciples.”