Teach in peace: where can kids hear the countercultural message against war, if not in Catholic schools?

A SHORT WHILE BACK, MY DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED an article on a visit to a parish grammar school by a local marine, recently returned from Iraq. An accompanying photo showed him dressed to impress, his uniform crisply ironed and adorned with medals and other military insignia.

Comments from teachers told of how excited and attentive the children were and how proud they felt to meet a "real hero," who is "supporting our country" and "setting a good example." The soldier spoke about his experiences in Iraq and thanked the students for their prayers and care packages. The assembly ended with the singing of "God Bless America."

This article and a similar one I saw in another diocesan newspaper puzzle me. Why, I ask myself, are Catholic schools acting as cheerleaders for the U.S. war in Iraq by inviting soldiers to speak in our schools? Do we not have a rich tradition of Catholic social thought that leads to different conclusions about war and militarism? Didn't Jesus bless those who work for peace, calling them children of God?

Lest we forget, going to war in Iraq was strongly opposed by a wide range of Catholic voices. Pope John Paul II took the lead, calling the war "unjust" and a "defeat for humanity." Here at home, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and all our peace and justice organizations voiced their opposition.

So I'm left wondering: If we wouldn't invite speakers who contest our leadership's instructions on other moral issues, why do so when it comes to war? Why aren't our schools instead paying tribute to peace activists, conscientious objectors, or other emissaries of nonviolence and hope?

It's time for Catholic school educators to shelve the jingoism and begin ensuring that our children are conversant in Catholic social teaching. The "consistent ethic of life" articulated by the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago would be an ideal place to start.

Bernardin gave us a moral framework to see that all life issues are connected. If we are trying to instill a prolife ethic in our children, one that values life from beginning to end, we won't be successful if at the same time we're lauding the making of war.

Rather than promoting the armed forces, Catholic schools should be promoting peacemaking. Classes and workshops are needed that present nonviolence, conflict resolution, and community building as essential skills to be learned and practiced in all facets of our lives. Students need to understand that violence in any form--war, abortion, the death penalty, environmental destruction, poverty--violates Christian principles.

Teaching the Catholic peace tradition would include introducing students to men and women who have devoted their lives to social justice. Our church has plenty of heroes. Some are "superstars" like Dorothy Day, the Berrigan brothers, Thomas Merton, Eileen Egan, Cesar Chavez, Father Roy Bourgeois, and Sister Helen Prejean. Many others are lesser-known, though they do remarkable and courageous work.

If it's stories of the ultimate sacrifice we're looking for, our church also has more than its share. Our children should know who our martyrs are and the price they paid for devoting their lives to the gospel. We could begin with Archbishop Oscar Romero and the Jesuit priests and religious and lay women of El Salvador in the 1980s. In the 1990s we have the Trappist monks of Algeria. This past February Sister Dorothy Stang was martyred in Brazil for defending the landless.

AS PARENTS, EDUCATORS, AND CHURCH LEADERS, IT behooves us to consider carefully the messages we're giving our children about war and patriotism. By extolling the actions of our military in Iraq, we negate our teaching on the sanctity of human life and love of neighbor. War is granted our implicit approval. Violence is presented as the way to resolve conflict. Warriors become our children's heroes. We're essentially putting patriotism before the tenets of our faith. The result will be schools and students that look and sound more nationalistic than Catholic.

MARK GRACEFFO, a librarian at St. Peter's College in Jersey City, New Jersey and a Benedictine oblate novice at the Newark Abbey.