The recent intentional murder of helpless and defenceless Christians on both Libyan and Kenyan soil is yet another sign of how the arrogance of war has taken us beyond rationality.
The so-called IS and their masters are organised criminal groups that feed on absence of law, democracy and credible leadership, and the intensification of a profit culture which adores having rather than being. Large amounts of easy funds inflate egos that are desperate for versions of political power couched in the rhetoric of fighting for the Creator by way of getting rid of the most vulnerable victims of a soulless economic world order.
If God is God, then surely God does not need fighting for! The merciless and cowardly acts make the world shudder. The Christian message has become a soft target because it is clear about the uniqueness of each and every human being regardless of creed and status. Human beings are not what they have. We are beloved sons and daughters of the Creator. Authentic Christian messages challenge dehumanisation of any form: political dictatorship, economic oppression and cultural domination.
The absence of the state in several countries is seen through the endless tragedy of sinking boats in the Mediterranean Sea, and in other international water bodies, usually full of desperate but hopeful people in search of a future and dignity.
African governments must awake, unite and hold each other accountable about the quality of leadership. They have to be clear and stand for and by her sons and daughters. Perennialism, divine patriarchy and dynastic forms of rule do not work in these times. They should be discarded. African leaders have to humanise the current social and economic structures by moving away from the politics of the belly to caring for all their citizens. Until these issues are revisited, the African continent will continue to be gripped by fear, paranoia, and, I am afraid, flooded with blood and tears in its vast sands, waters and soils.
Fr Aloysius Beebwa, Ealing, London
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