Waging Peace in an Imperfect Society –
The Best Alternative to War
By Maureen McKew

“Like so many of its other teachings, the Catholic church’s linkage of peace to justice has its roots in the writings of St. Augustine of Hippo on friendship and society. Augustine’s vision of a just society based on friendship, as described in The City of God, is the best, perhaps the only real deterrent to war.

The opening words of one the most famous songs in the world, the one often referred as the “peace song,” are: “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” Jill Jackson and Cy Miller wrote the song nearly 50 years ago. In an interview before her death, Jackson attributed her inspiration to her failed attempt at suicide.

Whether she knew it or not, she also was reflecting the philosophy of St. Augustine of Hippo. He believed fervently and taught that any attempt to achieve peace must begin with the individual. Only a human person has achieved some degree of inner peace, can he or she seek peace with others. In The City of God, he posited two rules for peaceful coexistence: first, do no harm; second, try as much as it is possible to benefit others. That sounds simple enough but like all things Augustine, there is much beneath the surface.

In The City of God, Augustine wrote about two cities: the earthly city and the heavenly one. The peace humankind achieves in the earthly city is fragile because it rests on material values and earthly goods. The communities that people form are based on their concern for their own welfare than that of others. There is no true concord and what passes for justice in the earthly city is based on self-interest rather than respect for the rights of others. The earthly city is afflicted over and over by wars. Everyone wants to be in charge and each wants peace on his or her terms.

The Rev. Donald X. Burt, O.S.A. 53, emeritus professor of Philosophy at Villanova, has written extensively on this topic. In an essay for Augustine Through the Ages (Wm. P. Eerdmans Publishing Co, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1999), Father Burt stated of citizens of the earthly city: “Their victories [in war] are hollow victories because in their very success they become fearful of future failure. They learn the bitter lesson that the power to win a war is not nearly enough power to keep a peace.”

Friendship and society

Augustine based all human relationships on friendship. However, he acknowledged that human beings are, by nature, aggressive and that they suffer from greed or concupiscence. He believed that it control of one’s aggression must begin, like charity, at home with the individual and in the family. A person who lacks tranquility in his domestic life is not likely to be a promoter of peace on the larger scale.

In a Sermon 299D, which Father Burt quotes in his book Friendship and Society, An Introduction to Augustine’s Practical Philosophy ( William P. Eerdmans, 1999) Augustine said: “Friendship begins with one’s spouse and children and from there moves on to strangers.”

Augustine went on to say: “Every human being is a neighbor to every other human being. Ask nature. Is this man unknown? He’s still human. Is this woman an enemy? She’s still human. Is this man a foe? He is still a human being. Is this woman a friend? Let her remain a friend. Is this man an enemy? Let him become a friend.”

Therein lies the problem. How are members of an essentially aggressive species expected to overcome their natural urge to bash one another, and instead, offer a hand of friendship. Augustine is not at all sure such as thing can be accomplished in the earthly city. However, he does claim that it is possible to be at some limited kind of peace.

Do no harm and try to benefit others.

The first of Augustine’s two rules for peaceful co-existence in the earthly city is deceptively simple and not too easy to carry off, given the flawed (or cracked) nature of humankind. We sometimes pursue even the loftiest of ideals with all the grace and restraint of a running back headed for the goal line. Someone always winds up lying flat in the dirt.

If avoiding damage to others is difficult, actively promoting the benefit of others is even more of a challenge. However, there is no lack of signposts on this road to peace, many of them developed over the 100 or so years by the Catholic Church and referred to collectively as “Catholic Social Teaching.”
Beginning with Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum (Of New Things), the Catholic Church has issued a steady stream of exhortations that may be described by one phrase: there can be no peace with justice. In the twentieth century, rapid industrialization and economic growth left large majority of the population behind. Colonial empires gave way to financial empires. Control of the earthly city’s resources and treasures came to be controlled by a few, and the many were left behind. It does not take a doctorate in sociology to figure out that this would lead to wars and strife and the rise of despots, who knew how to cash in on hunger and despair.

As each document of Catholic social teaching was promulgated, it spoke with greater urgency. And each reflected in some way the thought of Augustine, who knew only too well what is was like to live in a collapsing civilization.

Perhaps the most eloquent is Pope John XIII’s Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) which he promulgated in March of 1963, shortly before his death. It reflects Augustine’s own call for an ordered, just society. It is both a bill of rights for the human person as well as a blueprint for establishing justice.

This encyclical and Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World called for the protection of the God-given dignity of the human person. Pope Paul VI, Pope John’s successor established a pontifical commission on peace and justice and promulgated the encyclical, Popularum Progressio, which called for the establishment of a pontifical commission on peace and justice. The pastorals, encyclicals, sermons and exhortations issued by Pope John Paul II during the past 25 years have been relentless in calling for social justice as the only way to achieve peace on earth.

Catholic institutions of higher learning recognized their duty not only to teach the principles of peace but to put them into practice. At Villanova, the words peace and justice became a serious academic program grounded in the teaching of the one who inspired so much of the church’s social teaching: Augustine himself

The Center for Peace and Justice Education is part of the College of Arts and Sciences at Villanova. It offers an interdisciplinary approach to topics of world peace and social justice. The course of study provides students with an opportunity to study the tradition of Catholic social teaching as applied to the complex problems of our time. Courses focus on the components of a moral and just society, reflect on the alternative models for socially responsible resolution of injustice and conflict, and provide opportunities to learn the necessary skills for peacemaking. This concentration can be completed by students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Commerce and Finance.

One of the most interesting aspects of the concentration is the opportunities its faculty members provide for students to observe and take part in “real world” situations and effect change -- even on campus. Under the leadership of Dr. Suzanne Toto, associated professor of theology and religious studies, students have made “fair trade” coffee the brew of choice at campus refreshment areas. “Fair trade” coffee is that which is grown not by huge plantation honors but by small growers who sell their coffee directly to distributors, thereby eliminating profit-gouging “middlemen." This may seem a small matter but to a coffee grower with a large family in Columbia, it means a lot. Villanovans also are exposed to programs like Bread for the World, which attempts to combat starvation around the globe. They also teach in literacy programs while learning first hand the need for better public education. These are not just volunteer activities. They are part of the center’s curriculum of service learning. The point of this hands-on approach to issues is to inspire students to take the values they absorb into the work place and to seek out ways of promoting justice and the dignity of every human.

Dr. William Werpehowski, professor of theology and religious studies and director of the Center for Peace and Justice Education, is fully aware that in some quarters, there is a disdain for the concentration. However, he is not fazed by the old “commies in the basement” tag that the center was given years ago because it was located on the ground floor of Sullivan Hall. He has witnessed more and more students finding their way to the center -- probably as a result of the thorough integration of the program into the curriculum of the two colleges. There is also the fact these students know war and terrorism first hand.

Werpehowski fully appreciates the center’s roots in Augustine’s philosophy and his call of a just earthly society based on friendship rather than domination. Werpehowski also recognizes humankind’s aggressive predispositions. He is bemused by the presumption on the part of some people that to choose diplomacy as a way to settle international disputes is somehow a sign of appeasement, weakness or even unmanliness.

He was asked about this recently. “Well, that depends on your definition of masculinity, doesn’t it?” he answered. “I think that ‘real men’ understand that that war should be waged with horror, never with motives or hatred or revenge for some act. [To make war as a test of masculinity] suggests a false presentation of courage and seems to rely more on control or domination.”

Augustine’s two-fold recommendation for a peaceful society – do no harm and benefit others is a significant challenge to the residents of the earthly city. It is easier and more popular to wage war than to wage peace.. War relies on greed, ambition, a desire to dominate and control other human beings, those dark impulses of our cracked nature. Peacemaking requires thought, compromise, diplomacy and patience

Even when peace does come to the earthly city, it is imperfect at best. Perfect peace is achieved only in the heavenly city, in the perfect union between the Creator and the creature. However, in the meantime, even a flawed peace is preferable to the alternative.

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