Via Crucis for Peace

PORDENONE - MILITARY BASE OF AVIANO
MARCH 16th, 1997

As it's up to us to make it, it's up to us to avoid it. Unluckily we're immerged in a world that prepares, urges, flatters, opens the doors to war, just to have an economic feedback.

Well, Aviano-2000 is the showiest symbol in Europe, and among the most significant in the world, of the mentality of war. Inside it, weapons, the most technologically advanced, nuclear warheads included, increase in number everyday. Aviano has been defined the biggest USA carrier in the Gulf War and in the former Yugoslavia Was. It's ready to sow death and despair where the interests of the Northern world are put in danger, using weapons defined, for their destructive potential, "crimes against mankind".

For this reason, on March 16th, Lent Sunday, from 2.30pm to 6pm, we want to go on a pilgrimage to this "sanctuary" of human arrogance to pray beside this sin of the world, for the sins of the world. Easter is coming and in the penitential way we too will run over the legs of our Lord's Passion again, linking them ideally but also concretely (nothing more concrete than prayers) to the Stations of the Cross that afflicts and strikes today's mankind.

This Via Crucis is not organized against Pilate, nor against Judas, but, exactly on the contrary, in favour of Pilate, Judas, their soldiers and commanders, the politicians and all of us.

We're called to overcome the timid and clumsy pacifism that limits itself to condemn armies, war weapons and wars.

Prayers help us in this quality leap because, by relating ourselves to Jesus' God, we can't hide our fears or cowardices or profits and especially the question made by God at the beginning of mankind: "Where's Abel, your brother?".

Prayer can't but be a judgement upon what is happening to us. Only prayer can do so that in our religious and civil communities the will to ban wars will make its way.

For this reason we want this appeal to reach also all the people who devote their entire lives to pray in monasteries and hermitages of our lands.

Let's all try to ask to Jesus' Father to be workers in this great forge of the world in which "swords and spears" of Aviano Air Base but also of all the world, especially that world that recognizes itself in Jesus, will become "ploughshares and sickles".

BEATI I COSTRUTTORI DI PACE
("Blessed are the peace builders")
Who wants to give support to this initiative can do it by:

Everyone is invited to participate, individuals, associations, local churches, voluntary service groups, associations for peace...

The main problem is that an important decision like the one about Aviano-2000 is being taken "upon the heads" of the citizens of Pordenone, and those who engage themselves so that the complexity of the issue becomes clear and can be democratically discussed, find themselves isolated!!! We need your participation, we need the Aviano-2000 problem to be exposed!!!

To join you can:

• send a simple message in the form you prefer to one of the addresses above; if you're part of an association, of a group... join as a group and discuss about it!!!
• write a text, a comment, a contribution and send it, it will help prayer and meditation!
• participate in the Via Crucis of March 16th, just warn in time if you need "logistics" (food, places where to sleep...)
• spread this text in your church, in your group, talk about it, give it to friends, send it to local newspapers...We need this!!!