Reflection with Fr Augusto Zampini Davies: How should we respond to terror?

Fr Augusto Zampini Davies theological advisor at CAFOD gave the following homily on Sunday, 25 June 2017 at Holy Apostles, Pimlico in central London.

The images of the inferno at the Grenfell Tower in London will remain with us for a long time. It was 'terrifying' - truly horrible. London will not be the same after that disaster.

Also, (it feels like) terror by extremists of all sorts is threatening our desire to live in peace everywhere. It is also horrible. Can we keep living as before after the London Bridge and Westminster Bridge attacks in our city, and after the recent terrorist attack in Manchester? Can people in Tehran, Iran's capital, keep living as before after the multiple terrorist attacks that took place this month? Can Muslims worship God in peace after the attack to one of their mosques last week in London? Can Muslims in Mosul, Iraq, continue praying after a terrorist attack destroyed the ancient Great mosque of al-Huri, in that city, during the Ramadan?

"Terror from every side!", people were disparaging at Jeremiah centuries before Christ. People are disparaging today the same phrase: "terror from every side!"

How should we respond to terror? We can change certain things in the short-term. People, indeed, are demanding more security, more policing, more regulations and control in buildings, etc. And rightly so. For example, London bridges now have new special protection for pedestrians to avoid anyone to run over them. And this is fine. But are more fences and police enough? Can we remain on the surface, responding to the symptoms only? Or should we rather delve deep into the roots of terror, and 'terror-ism'?

The Gospel tells us that there is one crucial thing that can help to tackle fear or terror: to move from secrecy to openness, from darkness to light; as simple as that… as difficult as that, because it means to be more transparent, as individuals and as a community. The more we know of other groups, the calmer we can be that they are not a threat to us. The more secrets we hold as a group, as a Church, or as a nation, the more others will distrust us. And fear or terror cannot be fought without trust, but trust is build up with openness and transparency.

You might be thinking that there are certain things that need to remain private, secret. Fair enough. But how many? And despite the number of 'needed' secrets, what is our prevailing attitude? Is the one coherent with Jesus's disciples? Jesus chided his friends for trying to keep the children away from him (Mt 19: 13-15), because he didn't want to create the impression that he was trying to hide anything (at his time families used to send their children to spy on other families).

Let me give you an excellent example of openness, of proper Christian attitude, that occurred in our parish. The Muslim community next door was praying and breaking fast during the Ramadan in our Parish Hall. One day they invited a group of us to break fast with them. It was such a wonderful experience! Witnessing how they pray, how they were willing to serve us, to make us feel at home, to share their meals with us, and to chat, face to face, was a truly transforming experience. Their generosity and openness has helped many of us (me included), to have no longer fear when I see Muslims praying in London. That experience also helped me to understand why the terrorists want to attack them too, because most of them are people of faith and love. What a lesson!

Another example of moving from secrecy to openness, to darkness towards light, is the one given by the fire fighters, health care services, and priests, who were at Grenfell Tower while the horror was taking place. Some were rescuing, other treating, others giving comfort and spiritual strength to people. None of them was hiding from fear, but bringing light, even if it was a little light, into such a darkness.

Yet the fire at Grenfell Tower brings also challenges about the roots of the inferno. The fire took place in London's richest borough, and claimed at least 80 lives of its poorest residents. This is not a coincidence; it has to do with austerity programmes. To tackle fear, it is necessary to take some time for honesty, for transparency in the public arena. Nothing should be hidden.

I'm not talking only about the past, about who was responsible for the fire, or about which politician is to be blamed the most. That is all important. But most importantly, I am referring to the future. All cities and countries, but especially London and Britain today, need to have an honest public debate about the balance between taxes and public services, about how we want to organise our cities, about how regulations (e.g. building or financial regulations), whilst protecting all, should take special consideration for the more disadvantaged, the ones who need more protection than others. Sustainable and secure buildings should not be for rich people only. Jesus tells us that every person is worth it, and that we should protect everyone, but especially those lacking protection.

In times where we hear that terror is everywhere, we need to hear more attentively than ever the encouraging words of the Gospel of peace and openness. Jesus tells us that we don't have to fear only those who kill the body, but also those who kill the soul, or the spirit of community.

So, hurrah for those who protect us and rescue us from those who want to bring terror into our lives, such as the police, fire fighters, nurses, or doctors. But hurrah also for those who bring light in the midst of darkness, who protects us from desperation, which corrupts our souls, such as priests, peace-builders, or our neighbour Muslims who want to share their faith and meal with us, Christians. And lastly, hurrah for those who want to bring transparency into the public arena, for those brave politicians (especially the ones recently elected) seeking for the roots of fear and terror.

We not only salute them, but we pray that we can imitate them, and, each of us according to his/her own talents, can build up peace, can strengthen the bond of communion, by being more open and humble, and serving especially those in need.

Listen to the Audio Homily by Fr Augusto 25th June 2017 on MP3 here: www.holyapostlespimlico.org/?p=8358