Scottish Catholic Observer

ONE hundred thousand dead. Millions forced from their homes, with no idea of what horrors tomorrow will bring. A country choking on its own blood. This is Syria today. A horrible, insoluble mess that each day slowly claws away any hope of peace.

Around the world, politicians and generals mumble and mutter, knowing that they have only bad options. Perhaps airstrikes, perhaps not. Perhaps peace talks, perhaps not. The only things that seem certain are that no one seems to really believe that anything will stop the violence and every day that violence is killing more people.

Except the Holy Father, Pope Francis. He has been resolute in his message; no more violence, no more war.

As he said on Sunday: “The campaign goes on: we must continue with prayer and with calls for peace. I invite you to keep on praying so that the violence and devastation in Syria stops and so that people work with renewed commitment for a just solution to this fratricidal conflict.”

Alone he has told the world, this simple truth—the violence must stop.

This is the power of a Pope and the beauty of Catholicism. We live in a grey, compromised age, but the fundamentals of Church teaching remain shining great monuments of how to behave.  They are universal and the more we cling to them, the better the world will be.

Pope Francis understands this and he is determined the rest of the world will too. And we must follow him. It is easy to be disheartened, to doubt our Faith. Many in the Scottish Church will have felt those emotions all too often of late. But when you come back to the fundamentals they are irresistible. Do not hurt each other, do not lie to each other, love one another and love the lord.

All of us fail in these. We are far from perfect. Yet these are the beacons that will save the world. Maybe not today, or for many days after. As Pope Francis says: “The search for peace is a long one and it requires much patience and perseverance.”

The more each of us follows Pope Francis’ example and cries out for peace, around the world and in our own lives, the sooner that day will come.