End all violence

Thank you for your recent article by Scott Schaeffer-Duffy on rejecting all violence (NCR, Feb. 23). I believe that Benedict could be the pope to challenge all Catholics to reject all violence and follow Jesus in absolute peace. Speak to us, Holy Father. The issue with violence, of course, comes down to "permission." Who gets to kill? Who gets to commit violence? As long as the answer to that question is anything but "God alone," it will be a matter of who the majority this week finds acceptable to kill. The unborn? Iraqis? Jews? If you support any violence, you enable all violence. I pray that Catholics can ultimately be the ones who lead the world in the Gospel's absolute rejection of violence, into real peace--the kind that God prepares for us. Let our hearts be changed!

JAMES BALMER

Ann Arbor, Mich.

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