THEME:
RESTORING THE CULTURE OF PEACE BASED ON MUTUAL TRUST NOT DECEPTION AND MISINFORMATION
Since
1st January, 1967, the Catholic Church has observed World Day of Peace every
New Year’s Day to promote peace throughout the world and address ongoing
conflicts, wars, crimes, and injustice against humanity. In accordance with
this tradition, the Diocese of Banjul also observes World Day of Peace on this
first day of January, 2020. The Catholic Church, therefore, celebrates both the
feast of Mary, Mother of God and World Day of Peace on New Year’s Day. This
year is the 53rd World Day of Peace and the title of Pope Francis’ message is
“A Journey of Hope, Dialogue, Reconciliation, and Ecological Conversion.” The Church observes World Day of Peace on New
Year’s Day because it marks the end of a period and cycle of events. At the
same time, it begins a new era full of hopes and higher expectations. New
Year’s Day is also when individuals, groups, associations, and Governments
renew and recommit themselves to all the promises, decisions, and plans they
could not fulfill in the past. The observance of World Day of Peace is,
therefore, intended to awaken our collective memory, conscience, dignity, and
decency as human beings and motivate us to work towards true and stable peace
in societies and nations around the world.
On
this day we observe the 53rd anniversary of World Day of Peace, my message to
you my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, our fellow Muslim neighbors,
relatives, and friends, believers of other faiths, and all Gambians at home and
abroad is for us to restore the culture of peace in The Gambia that is based on
mutual trust and not deception and misinformation. As Gambians, the concept of
a culture of peace may not be too strange and new for most of us. For a culture
of peace has until recently prevailed in the cordial and respectful relations
of Gambians regardless of their religious, tribal, political, and social
background. The Gambia was renowned in the sub-region and around the world as a
peaceful nation where the Muslim majority and Christian minority coexist in
harmony; where there were no tribal, political, and religious conflicts because
there was a prevailing culture of peace and respect for all. Another reason why
the concept of a culture of peace may not be foreign to many Gambians is
because the United Nations General Assembly declared the year 2000 as the
International Year for the Culture of Peace. The United Nations also declared
2001 to 2010 as the decade for the Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the
Children of the World. Most of us, therefore, have some sense and understanding
of the culture of peace.
Nevertheless,
for the sake of clarity and for the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with
the idea of a culture of peace, I would briefly indicate its meaning in our
context. A culture is generally a way and manner of life that is informed by
the goods, practices, and values of one’s ethnic, historical, and sociological
origins. Vatican II would, therefore, define culture in Gaudium et Spes nos. 53
as “all those things which go to refining, developing, and [educating]
humanity’s diverse mental and physical endowments.” A culture of peace is,
therefore, a heritage, lifestyle, mindset, and outlook in life that generates
and creates an atmosphere of cordial and mutual relationship among different
peoples and neighbors living and working in communities and nations. This was
what existed in The Gambia in past years. Unfortunately in recent times, the
atmosphere of cordial and mutual relationship among our diverse peoples and
religions is now affected as a result of deception, misinformation, and
mistrust. It is, therefore, timely and appropriate as we begin the New Year of
2020 for us to restore the culture of peace that once prevailed in our land.
After twenty years since the United Nations’ declaration of the International
Year for the Culture of Peace and after another decade since the end of the
first decade of the Culture of Peace, we should seriously examine ourselves and
see how we Gambians have maintained and promoted our own historical culture of
peace in our dear Motherland.
Since
the year 2000, many organizations and Governments projected 2020 as the year
they will fulfill their humanitarian, economic, political, and developmental
visions and goals. We are now in 2020 so the burden is on them to determine
whether they succeeded in attaining their vision and goals. But as noble and
desirous these goals are, the restoration of our culture of peace that made us
very prominent among the community of nations should be our common vision and
priority. We surely cannot compare these estimated goals and visions with our
national peace or even achieve them at the expense of our invaluable peace and
unity as a country. For in the words of Pope Francis in his 2020 message for
World Day of Peace, “peace is a great and precious value, the object of our
hope and the aspirations of the entire human family.” We must jealously
safeguard this gift of peace because it forms the core pillar and foundation of
our society on which our very existence, survival, and progress depends. For
the sake of peace, our own good, and the stability of our nation, we should
withstand and reject those who seek to deceive, misinform, and mislead us from
the truth concerning our ethnic, religious, and political affiliations and
identity as Gambians. They simply want to create mistrust and misunderstanding
among us instead of cultivating a culture of peace and unity based on mutual
trust and respect for one another.
From
the proceedings and evidence that the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparation
Commission (TRRC) so far obtained and the grave concerns expressed about the
omissions and provisions in the draft Constitution of the Constitutional Review
Commission (CRC), it is very clear that the culture of peace, unity, and mutual
coexistence that existed in The Gambia before is not only at stake but increasingly
at risk. We should, therefore, take concrete and practical steps in this New
Year to ensure that this undesirable situation we never experienced before is
properly and amicably addressed to avoid the unintended consequences of
disunity, disorder, and insecurity. Pope Francis recommends some steps or
measures for us in his message on World Day of Peace. He said, “how, then, do
we undertake a journey of peace and mutual respect? How do we break the
unhealthy mentality of threats and fear? How do we break the current dynamic of
distrust? We need to pursue a genuine fraternity based on our common origin
from God and exercised in dialogue and mutual trust. [For], the desire for
peace lies deep within the human heart, and we should not resign ourselves to
seeking anything less than this.” Our efforts to restore the culture of peace
and mutual coexistence should be purely based on mutual trust and respect and
not deceit and misinformation.
The
reason we are alive and present at the beginning of another New Year is because
of God’s goodness, love, mercy, and protection on us throughout last year. We
should, therefore, thank God for his care, guidance, and blessings and commend
ourselves, our efforts, hopes, and future into his hands. For there is nothing praiseworthy
we can do without God’s intervention, assistance, and blessings because our
success and wellbeing depends on God. As the psalmist rightly said in Ps.
127:1-2, unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless
the Lord watches over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil. He said,
in vain is your earlier rising and going later to rest you who toil for the
bread you eat when God pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber.” These
words should motivate and guide us throughout this New Year as we pray and
endeavor to restore the culture of peace in our country based on mutual trust
and not on deception and misinformation. As the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese
of Banjul, I pray that God will grant all Gambians at home and abroad a
peaceful, successful, healthy, and progressive New Year. May God continue to
preserve our country and all true believers in The Gambia from the forces and
agents of evil who are against peace, unity, cooperation, mutual respect, and
coexistence. May God bless and protect all of you throughout this year of 2020.
Yours in Christ,
+Most
Rev. Dr. Gabriel Mendy C.S.Sp.
Catholic
Bishop of the Diocese of Banjul, The Gambia.
