 | | News > Jean Vanier | | Is any war a just war? Vanier answers Globe journalist Ian Brown | | | L'Arche Canada-Communications | | The exchange of reflective letters continues between Globe and Mail writer Ian Brown and Jean Vanier. |
A Nation Builder in a Broken World. In this article, published on January 3, 2009, Jean Vanier offers a short but powerful reflection on war and peace. As the world goes through an especially grim spate of violence, this exchange of letters with journalist Ian Brown is more than timely.
Jean Vanier here speaks quite frankly about his own idealism as, early in his youth, he himself participated in World War II. Brown's arguments that the cause of peace has never been particularly realistic strikes deep chords within Jean. As one who has witnessed the horrible realities of war, he insists that the most important question is not whether war is inevitable, but how a vision of peace can be transmitted.
We, in L'Arche, may feel alone as we struggle for a way of life which favours peace and wherein every person is seen as valuable, says Vanier. But he notes that the failure of our imagination is met throughout history by the example of men and women such as Jeannette Rankin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Mahatma Gandhi, for each of whom peace was more than just a dream.
The full article will soon be available in The Globe and Mail online |
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