On Memorial Day, 2012, Pax Christi Houston recognizes the supreme sacrifice that U.S. military personnel have made in Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars have resulted in the deaths of about 6400 U.S. military personnel and caused thousands more to suffer severe injuries. The wars have also caused the death of tens of thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan and caused great suffering in those nations.
While we honor the veterans of these wars, we wish to reiterate our belief that the wars were unnecessary. We hope and pray that in the future the United States will be able to resolve international problems without sending our young men and women to war. We reiterate here the words of Pope John Paul II regarding war:
“War – never again!
No, never again war,
which teaches how to kill,
throws into upheaval even the lives of those who do the killing and
leaves behind a trail of resentment and hatred,
making it all the more difficult to find a just solution to the very problems which provoked the war.
No to war!
War is not always inevitable.
It is always a defeat for humanity.
International law, honest dialogue, solidarity between states,
the noble exercise of diplomacy:
These are methods worthy of individuals and nations in resolving their differences.”
Pax Christi Houston is the local chapter of Pax Christi USA. Pax Christi USA strives to create a world that reflects the peace of Christ by exploring, articulating and witnessing to the call of Christian nonviolence. Pax Christi USA promotes the Gospel imperative of peacemaking as a priority in the Catholic Church in the United States.