NJPN Blog: Young and old in dialogue for peace

Screenshot from film series 'Chosen'

Fr Rob Esdaile's reflection is based on the World Peace Day Message 2022 of Pope Francis.

It may be no surprise to know that the most frequently chosen Gospel for baptisms in my parish (I ask parents to choose the readings) is the one in which Jesus says: "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs." (Mk 10.13-16)

I suspect most parents don't read much beyond these comforting words. They probably don't even notice Jesus' embarrassing rebuke of his disciples (who regard kids as a nuisance) in the introduction, even though many young parents will unfortunately have had experiences of being unwelcomed in church or simply feeling that they do not 'fit' among congregations of the largely non-young and seemingly non-doubting.

I like to turn the tables on families gathered at the font by focusing on the end of the reading; asking them: Who is the teacher and who the learner here? Jesus warns us: "Anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Our baptismal catechesis has typically focused on the transformation of the infant, unsurprisingly given the nature of the Rite: washing, cleansing, anointing clothing, lighting a flame of faith. Yet it is the adult mind which needs re-making, the adult heart which needs renewing, the adult faith which needs rekindling, says Jesus; by becoming capable again of littleness, of trusting vulnerability and of rediscovering the wonder of the world.

The Pope's message for the 55th World Peace Day (celebrated in England & Wales on Sunday, 16 January) had the title: 'Dialogue Between Generations, Education and Work: Tools For Building Lasting Peace'. It, too, invited us to reimagine the interaction of the young and the not-so-young, seeing this as an essential tool for building lasting peace. In the past, both the Church and our education system operated on the assumption that it was the task of the old to teach the young. A good pupil hoovered up knowledge delivered by the teacher, bringing to the conversation only the readiness to learn. Fortunately, schools have changed: 'explore', 'discover' and 'challenge' are key terms in contemporary pedagogy. Good teachers speak less, rather than more. They offer open-ended questions in class discussion - but without losing sight of their task of imparting to their students both a certain knowledge content and specific techniques for exploring their subject.

The Church community still has a lot to learn from these broader developments in education. But Pope Francis offers us a step forward both in the 'Synodal Path' project (which values listening to the Spirit more than speaking 'our' truth) and in this latest World Peace Day message.

In this he calls for an honest dialogue between the generations ("listening to one another, sharing different views, coming to agreement and walking together") as a necessary step on the road to peace. It implies going beyond the oppositional and opinionated discourse so dominant on social media. Yes, of course, the elderly (including the Pope!) are "the keepers of memory". But it is the young "who move history forward." And it is in their healthy and patient encounter that we can deal both with painful aspects of history and with the need to find hope-filled ways of building the future.

This isn't just an invitation to indulge in soft-hearted 'niceness', nor simply the idealisation of young climate campaigners (whose "restlessness, enthusiasm and most of all sense of responsibility" he salutes) We face tough decisions if we wish to create a hopeful future. Pope Francis brings to the fore the question of inter-generational justice; the fact that we borrow the world from the next generation rather than simply receiving it passively from our ancestors.

That is apparent most clearly when we speak about climate change. But it is true regarding international relations, too. If we are serious about building a hope-filled future then we need radical political change. Pope Francis puts it bluntly: "It is high time that governments develop economic policies aimed at inverting the proportion of public funds spent on education and on weaponry … freeing up financial resources better used for health care, schools, infrastructure, care of the land and so forth."

Unless we become like little children we shall not enter the Kingdom of God. But unless we are ready to learn from the moral indignation and insights of the young the human race may either destroy itself in a nuclear conflagration or slowly bleed to death in a litany of failed states, regional conflicts and refugee flows. "In every age, peace is both a gift from on high and the fruit of a shared commitment," says Pope Francis. Let us set to work together.

Fr Rob Esdaile is parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes, Thames Ditton, Surrey