Hope the curfews are over in JK. Let there be peace and harmony. Let there be reconciliation and tolerance. Let there be unity and oneness! PEACE AND HARMONY An Appeal to the People of Jammu and Kashmir Bishop Peter Celestine Ofm Cap. My dear People of Jammu and Kashmir, I have been working in this beautiful State of Jammu and Kashmir for the last 40 years. The people of Jammu in the city of Temples, the people of colourful Valley of Kashmir, and the people of wonderful mountains of Ladakh – all these loving people I have known, I have related to and I have enjoyed the oneness and unity of all without any discrimination of caste, religion or culture. All welcomed me into their homes with joy, and especially in the last 14 years as the Bishop of Jammu-Srinagar – I felt myself as one of your elder or younger brother united in the name of humanity. In the wake of the unfortunate incidents of violence in our State, tensions are created at times among the communities. Tension destroys our peace. Curfews are imposed. Normal life is disturbed. It disturbs me. It disturbs everyone. Without peace, it is difficult to live. We need peace. We need harmony. Peace and harmony are not only gifts of God, but also we need to work out for ourselves. For that, we need forgiveness and reconciliation. We have to forgive the mistakes of others and seek forgiveness for our own mistakes. We tolerate our own siblings at home. We forgive them. We need tolerance to accept each other. We need tolerance to respect different ideas, views and beliefs. Violence cannot bring us solutions. Solutions are always peaceful. We cannot achieve peace through violence. Peace is our path. Peace is the only way. Peace is our destination. This is possible only when we are in harmony. United we stand and divided we fall. The humanity needs peace, harmony that is what I appeal to you. I plead to you for calmness, peacefulness and non-violence, which our Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi practiced. In the recent document on „Lumen Fidei“, Light of Faith, Pope Francis speaks that faith is a light to dispel darkness of evils in the world. Light of faith is unique and illumines every aspect of human existence. The historical journey of humanity shows how the people of faith are protected by God Himself. Truth and love are external expressions of faith within. Those who stand for truth will love everyone without distinction on worldly differences. We have faith in One God, who guides the whole humanity. In Him, we are all sons and daughters. We are brothers and sisters of a single humanity. As we should not turn away from God, we should also not turn away or turn against our brothers and sisters. They are all our own. Let not our different beliefs divide us, rather the faith in God join us together. Let there be peace, harmony and unity among us. I pray for you. May God bless you.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 22:25:17 +0000
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