Recent Catholic Responses to Genocide in Darfur

Michael Perry reminded us just a few days ago (link) of the ongoing genocide in Darfur in the Sudan, while the world community continues to wring its hands (despite the promise by world governments at the end of World War II to genocide of "never again").

Three recent items may be of interest to those who wonder about the Catholic response to this ongoing crime against humanity. First, in his “State of the World” annual address to the diplomatic corps assigned to the Holy See (link), Pope Benedict XVI in speaking of about peace and forgiveness, referred to “the defenceless people of Darfur, subjected to deplorable violence, with dangerous international repercussions.” While words alone are not enough, we should not underestimate the power of religious witness in awakening conscience, as we saw with the prior Pope and his prophetic words in the face of tyranny and injustice through the world and in his native Poland.

Second, Keith Cardinal O’Brien, the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, is presently on a two week visit to the Sudan, including Darfur. To make clear that he is on a religious mission, he is wearing white robes and cardinal red during the visit. The full story is here and here. We should keep his safety in our prayers, as he also has refused to wear a flak jacket during this trip.

Finally, members of the Catholic Worker movement are planning a demonstration at the Sudan Embassy in Washington, D.C. for March 29, carrying large signs appealing for an end to genocide and displaying the victims in Darfur, with some risking arrest for civil disobedience (link). While I tend to be rather critical of those who break the law, not to protest a law that is unjust in itself (the traditional justification for civil disobedience), but to draw attention through the act of lawbreaking itself, standing against genocide and doing so in a provocative manner when public interest has been too small is about as good an argument for that tactic as I’ve seen.

Greg Sisk