The example of Pope Leo offers hope of return to sanity
When asked why he was carrying the picture of a young Muslim boy with him, Pope Leo said that the boy had been on a street in Lebanon holding a “Welcome Pope Leo” sign. Later he learned that this boy was killed by an Israeli air strike.
The pope’s reaction is a sign of kind man with a soft heart. Pope Leo in later communications has proved he is not just soft hearted but has a strong spine in his clear criticism of the current world leaders.
“The world is ravaged by a handful of tyrants” he said.
The use of the word tyrants could not be more explicit and pointed. We have not had a leader who has spoken with this degree of moral clarity in long while. Mandela and Tutu and Martin Luther King and Malcolm X come to mind. He went on to criticize these tyrants as, “those who manipulate religion and the name of God for their own monetary, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.”
He did not name any of these leaders, but it was clear who he was referring to.
My deep disappointment over the past couple of years has been the silence of our community leaders — religious, political and secular — who have chosen to remain silent and studiously avoided taking a stance even when thousands of children and innocents have been killed in ongoing wars. Our world is going through an unfortunate phase, witnessing massive atrocities happening in several countries of the world simultaneously. The leaders that have remained mute have included many who profess to be champions of human rights.
I was particularly saddened by many interfaith groups who have retreated to defending their own ethnic and religious group rather than take a moral stand. Is there any point in having interfaith groups if they cannot take a moral stand on issues as clear as daylight. Pope Leo had no trouble telling right from wrong.
Some prominent Muslim leaders both in the U.S. and abroad rationalized remaining silent in the face of grave injustice against fellow Muslims, professing it as the prudent approach to avoid civil strife. They tend to forget the Islamic teaching that the noblest of actions, Jihad, is standing up to a tyrant by action or word.
Politicians need a special type of courage, to take a moral stand. As JFK pointed out in his book “Profiles in Courage,” quite often it amounts to political suicide. Politicians must read the room and nuance their speech to make sure they don’t lose their electorate. A few recent examples of politicians who showed courage and lost their elections or decided not to contest include Adam Kinzinger who opposed President Trump’s claims of voter fraud and Liz Cheney and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who took contrary positions to their party. These three politicians are a rare exception at the other end of my political spectrum. But if I had a chance, I would vote for them because of their honesty. Having opinions different from mine would not deter my support for them. Differing opinions are a tonic for democracy.
In an unsettling religious divide among Christians in our nation, we are witness to large groups of mostly evangelical leaders cheerleading the current violence. Many of these evangelical leaders’ support for Israel is driven by their belief that their actions will hasten the end times. Paradoxically, it would result in destruction of Israel and rapturing of its non-Christian inhabitants. They believe they are doing their religious duty. God stands for peace and justice, not war and aggression.
It is also disappointing that Pope Leo’s clear stand does not appear to have resonated much in the Catholic communities in the US. There have been no street demonstrations and as far as I know no sermons amplifying his message. No call for action.
We also witnessed the strange spectacle of vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, pontificating that the Pope should stay in his lane and not stray into what Vance thinks is realpolitik. “I think it is very, very important” said Vance, “for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.” The advice that the pope should not talk about theology is like saying the chocolatier should refrain from talking about chocolate.
If there is any hope that the new world chaos can be restored to any degree of sanity, and justice-based law and order, then we need Pope Leo’s message to get traction and succeed.
• Javeed Akhter is a physician and freelance writer from Oak Brook.