The Church and Self-Defense

The Church and Self-Defense

The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics was an obvious provocation: the desecration of the mass. The Vatican also spoke out on the matter, but this statement took a long time to come, and let’s admit it, it was quite weak. This event brought to the forefront a long-standing debate: What is the relationship of Christians to self-defense?

Turn the Other Cheek

According to the teachings of Jesus, evil must be repaid with good. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other cheek as well. (cf. Mt 5:39) But let’s pause here for a moment! How many times have we said that the dimension of Jesus’ teaching is for individual people? The Master did not speak to social and political organizations, but to individuals. Therefore, the church can act correctly in the issue of when and in what form it should defend itself, if it develops its practice considering the whole teaching and taking into account the signs of the times. And the signs of the times are also carried by the believers.

What the Believers Don’t Understand

Many Catholics are bewildered by the fact that there are many more church manifestations today that are for people of the same sex attraction than those that defend the mass. This raises the question of what means the churches would have to defend themselves.

How Many Divisions Does the Pope Have?

It is well known that during a meeting of the Allies in the Second World War, when Churchill brought up a matter and suggested asking the Pope about it, Stalin said, “How many divisions does the Pope have?”. This shows that the churches do not have any physical self-defense capabilities. And since the Enlightenment, forces calling themselves revolutionary, communist, or progressive have exploited this. There are many reasons why the church does not more firmly oppose them.

Do Not Resist Evil

Priests and ministers like to quote Jesus saying, “Do not resist evil” (Mt 5:39). Yes, indeed, this is what the Savior taught, but let’s notice two things. One is that the sentence is singular, meaning it is a personal teaching. The other is that if we look at the whole revelation, we see that we are in a huge battle. In this struggle, shouldn’t Mary fight as well? Isn’t it up to her to crush the head of the serpent? (cf. Gen 3:15) Isn’t the Book of Revelation about a battle? Then does the Vatican leave Mary to fend for herself?

What Do the Believers See?

I cannot speak in the language of historians, church politicians, or church sociologists. However, I know the feelings of many Christian believers. In order to present these, I would like to recall two pictures that were visible in Hungary in 1990 or 1991. Both images are from the evening of October 23rd. One is of Hungarian dignitaries sitting in the Opera House watching the festive program. The other is of ’56 heroes sitting in a school cafeteria at the same time, having conversations over bread and tea.

This is what we feel. Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear!

Rákóczi Piroska