Sr Katrina Alton reponds to today's Strategic Defence Review

Sr Katrina Alton, Chaplain to Pax Christi England and Wales, writes:

How do we build peace and security in our world? Certainly not by colluding with the myth that war is inevitable and throwing billions of pounds into the insatiable war machine.

Yet today's Strategic Defence Review announced by the UK government lacks any real analysis of how to build a just peace from the ground up. Nor does it address the manifold challenges we face, such as, the climate and ecological emergency, health care, economic inequality, education, and housing. All the things we know threaten both national and international stability. Instead, the UK government is handing over billions of pounds to line the pockets of arms dealers and perpetuate the suffering and horrors of war. Why?

In 2015 Pope Francis answered this very question by saying, "Sadly the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood." Isn't this what we have seen repeatedly? Whether in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, or today in Gaza, governments and the arms industry tell us that just one more war, just a bigger missile, a more advanced drone, all of this will solve the conflict. When will, "Never Again" truly mean, "Never Again"?

In contrast to the Strategic Defence Review that is imposing a program of increased military spending from the top down, Pope Leo reminds us that, "Peace takes shape from the ground up." In a meeting with over 300 peace movements in Rome on May 30th, Pope Leo said, "If you want peace, prepare institutions of peace", going on to say that nonviolence, "as a method and a style, must distinguish our decisions, our relationships and our actions."

There is a choice, "War is never inevitable, weapons can and must be silenced, for they do not resolve problems but only increase them." Let us echo Pope Leo's call so that our Church may be an institution of peace, sowing the seeds of nonviolence, that justice may flourish.

LINK

Pax Christi: https://paxchristi.org.uk/