Members of the Catholic Peace Fellowship traveled to Rome recently. John Thavis of CNS reports:

The group was heartened last fall when Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the new Vatican secretary of state, gave his inaugural address to the diplomatic corps and specifically included conscientious objection as one of the "paths to peace" supported by the Vatican.

The three activists dropped off a thank-you letter for Cardinal Bertone in a meeting with a Secretariat of State official, who expressed interest in their campaign. The official made it clear, however, that while the Vatican might address conscientious objection in a general way at the diplomatic level, it’s primarily up to local or national bishops to deal with it as a pastoral issue.

Another request raised by Deacon Cornell, Griffin and Casteel was that the Vatican take a new look at the language of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on war and conscientious objection.

The catechism notes that public authorities should provide for alternative service for those who refuse to bear arms for reasons of conscience. But it says the main responsibility for evaluating the conditions of a just war "belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good."

Griffin said that wording seems to imply that public authorities will be deciding a war’s morality. It gives too little weight to an individual’s responsibility to evaluate the legitimacy of war in his or her own conscience, he said.

The delegation discussed this with U.S. Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, who heads a Vatican office that deals with matters of conscience. They also talked about "selective conscientious objection," which the fellowship considers crucial for Catholics.

At present, the United States grants conscientious objector status only to someone who refuses to participate in any war. But selective conscientious objection, in which a soldier judges the morality of a particular war, is actually a better application of the "discernment of conscience" required of Catholics, Griffin said.

The group also met with members of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the papal preacher. In general, Griffin said, they found the Vatican highly sympathetic to the call of conscience in matters of war, but wary about church leaders telling Catholics not to participate in a war.

The issue of civil disobedience by those who cannot in conscience follow orders of government or military leaders at times sparked lively debate, Griffin said.

Archbishop ready to lead resistance to Mugabe:

Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo says he is ready to lead a national campaign of peaceful resistance to force President Robert Mugabe to step down.

At a news conference yesterday, the archbishop urged Zimbabweans to take to the streets over the rights abuses of Mugabe’s government, reported Reuters. Mugabe’s policies also disrupted the agriculture-based economy, leading to acute shortages of food, hard currency, gasoline, medicines and other essential imports.

"Human rights are God-given. No one has a right to just trample over them," the archbishop was quoted as saying. “People are justified to practice non-violent civil disobedience.”

"Starvation stalks our land and government does nothing to correct our situation,” he reportedly continued.

The archbishop, who has long been a critic of Mugabe, said one of the biggest problems is the cowardice of the Zimbabwean people. "If only Zimbabweans are prepared to stand, so am I prepared to stand … we are not going to be bullied,” he was quoted as saying.

“As for me,” the archbishop proclaimed, “I am ready to stand in front, even of blazing guns!”