"There is no such thing as innocent gossip," says Pope Francis.

Conspiracy thinking is a public expression of gossip. It is the belief that an organisation made up of individuals or groups was or is acting secretly to achieve some malevolent end.

Conspiracy theories are concerned about the struggle between good and evil, the conflict between villains acting in secret to manipulate the unsuspecting masses, and the few who, having seen through their plot, are doing their utmost to thwart it.

Significant political, economic, and cultural crises have encouraged conspiracy theories to emerge throughout history.

The theories seek to explain that these crises are caused by secretive, evil plots comprising many actors: a mysterious "them" who manipulate life against us.

The theories then give "us" a reason to scapegoat "them."

Hitler claimed that Jews were poisoning the German Aryan blood and Aryan soul, thus holding back Germany from becoming a dominant nation; they had to be eliminated.

Conspiracy Theories Give False Comfort

Conspiracy beliefs may satisfy people's needs for certainty, security, and a positive self-image in a world they feel is disintegrating.

When the comforting securities of cultures crumble, paranoia makes sense.

The beliefs offer an artificial simplification of the vast unknowable forces that people feel are manipulating national and global societies.

They respond to a real need for persons and cultures that cannot maintain their self-esteem unless they perceive themselves to be victims of intrigue.

An inability to live with uncertainty and ambiguity draws people to conspiracy theories when they validate their apprehensions.

One story answers all their fears.

Thus, the anarchists who invaded the Capitol in Washington, DC in 2021 stormed the buildings with absolute certitude that the elections had been rigged.

In conspiracies, trust, truth, and objectivity lose out.

As long as the group is protected from the assumed source of evil, nothing else is important, no matter what moral or physical violence the innocent experience.

The preservation or the restoration of the status quo must be achieved at all costs. As conspiracy theories provide their devotees with a much-needed sense of identity and security in the midst of chaos, they are not easily discredited by the rational presentation of facts.

Conspiracy theories cause harm

Conspiracy theories are ubiquitous and can cause immense harm to people, influencing political policy decisions and social behaviours, including medical choices.

People are marginalised because they are assumed to be causing harm to individuals and groups; by transferring the blame for their afflictions onto others, people can distract themselves from the real causes.

In Britain, lockdown restrictions to control the spread of Covid-19 evoked destructive riots.

Many protestors endorsed conspiracy theories that assumed the government had nefarious motives, such as exaggerating the perils of the virus to suppress the people or imposing forced vaccinations with mysterious substances that facilitate mind control.

Anti-vaccine conspiracy theories poison the minds and endanger the bodies of many citizens.

Sociologist Michael Butter lists three foremost ways why conspiracy theories were particularly dangerous during the Covid-19 pandemic: they led to radicalisation and violence; they encouraged people to disregard medical knowledge and, as a consequence, endangered themselves and others; and they helped to undermine trust in elected politicians and the democratic process as such.

Vulnerable peoples, such as migrants, minority groups, and people who are poor, were in constant danger of being wrongfully blamed, stigmatised, and further marginalised for falsely causing the virus and its consequences.

For example, in India, the Muslim minority has become a scapegoat for Covid-19.

In Russia, Vladimir Putin blamed a Western conspiracy to humiliate Russia by propagating "false" statistics about the number of Covid-19 virus victims there.

Pastoral response

Conspiracy theorising is one of the most problematic subjects for researchers and others to expose.

Devotees apply so much intellectual and emotional energy to their conspiracy theories that it is nearly impossible to keep track of what they are saying and argue against them. Although a dialogue is theoretically possible, it will not usually have the desired effect.

However, if people are not entirely convinced of a theory, there is a greater chance that they will accept that the theory lacks objective truth.

A sensitive low-key approach is necessary, and people need to be listened to and invited to give the sources of a conspiracy theory.

In a calm atmosphere, the challenger is then able to show that a theory has no foundation in reality. Though education reduces the susceptibility of people to conspiracy theories, we require educators who are skilled for the task.

Scriptures and conspiracy beliefs

Trust, that conspiracy theories destroy, includes an expectation of honesty, the assumption that others will do their best to meet their commitments because they have the appropriate knowledge, skill, or ability.

Lying is any deliberate deceptive message.

Truthfulness in communication first demands avoiding lies and deceiving people directly and intentionally. Otherwise, communication becomes a violent manipulation of people.

Truthfulness, however, is much more than not telling lies or deceiving; it necessitates disclosing information to those who have a right to it.

Not lying is ethically essential for any human communication; to knowingly create or foster conspiracy beliefs is to falsify truth.

In the Scriptures, truthfulness is listed among the premier values.

History is a battle between divine Truth and Satan and his followers.

In the Old Testament, the commandment, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour" (Exod 20:16) defends God's people from evil and harmful untruths and infidelities.

Lying violently opposes the covenant that unites the people of God and evokes fidelity and reliability.

The thankful reaction to the gift of the covenant is fidelity and truthfulness before God and towards each other.

St Peter warns his readers against leaders who aim to exploit their fears; he writes to reassure Christians whose faith has been disturbed because the predictions of Christ's second coming have not been confirmed.

They must carefully assess the credentials of leaders before accepting what they are saying: "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who secretly bring in destructive opinions" (2 Peter 2:1).

The same wisdom is needed today lest deceitful people twist reality by their conspiracy theories to suit their malicious intentions.

Conclusion

The potential for gossip and conspiracy theorising accompanied by scapegoating of innocent people is within every human heart.

These behaviours are often closely linked with feelings of fear, uncertainty or being out of control; commonly personal and/or cultural crises encourage such reactions.

Scapegoating falsely focuses on an external cause of problems thus negating or lessening the guilt of the agent; it also makes people feel bonded as they unite with others to scapegoat the victims.

Yet the commandment "Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbour" (Deut 5:20) applies to all forms of scapegoating.

Just as Adam, in the Genesis myth, tries to blame Eve for what has happened rather than admit his own role in the incident, every person has the capacity to blame others for their afflictions and to ignore their own role in causing them.

Jesus condemns this process of shifting the blame onto others: "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour's eye" (Matt 7:5).

Gossip, conspiracy thinking, and scapegoating ultimately killed Jesus.

• Gerald A. Arbuckle, SM, MA(Cam), Ph.D., Cultural Anthropologist, New South Wales, Australia.
• A summary of an article by the author: "From Gossip to Conspiracy Thinking: Analysis and Scriptural Evaluations," Australasian Catholic Record, vol. 99, no. 2 (2021).
• First published in Today's Marists, 2023 Vol. 7, Issue 3. Republished with permission.

Those who have been hurt or broken in life often respond by striking out and hurting or harming the people who are near them.

• Many abusers are victims of abuse.
• Many bullies are victims of bullying.
• These pain patterns get passed on generation after generation.

Elisha is Jeered

… Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. "Get out of here, baldy!" they shouted. "Get out of here, baldy!. He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria. (2 Kings 2:23-25)

The passage from Scripture above forces us to evaluate everything we know about God, and what we know about God will influence everything we know about being human: sin, Satan, grace, mercy, salvation, heaven, hell, and redemption.

If there is any passage in Scripture that will challenge our consistent understanding of God it is 2 Kings 2.

Here we have the prophet Elisha at the beginning of his ministry.

His mentor, Elijah, has just ascended into heaven in a fiery chariot, but before he ascends, Elijah grants Elisha a double portion of his spirit.

Israel has newly appointed Elisha as Elijah's successor.

On his journey to Bethel, Elisha performs a miracle, then he is suddenly ambushed by a group of boys who hurl humiliating insults at him. Before the boys could humiliate him any further, Elisha cursed them in the name of the Lord. And on that day, two bears killed 42 of the boys.

Then the prophet, without hesitation, continued his journey.

Elisha's choice to express himself violently is not a coincidence.

In 1 Kings:19, Elisha first meets Elijah and becomes enamoured of him.

Elijah went up to [Elisha] and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah.

"Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye," he said, "and then I will come with you." "Go back," Elijah replied. "What have I done to you?" So Elisha left him and went back. [Elisha] took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment and gave the cooked food to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant. (1 Kings 19:20-21)

It is my interpretation that someone had to teach the young man Elisha how to be mercilessly violent.

Further examination shows that Elisha was born into an environment where indoctrination into a tradition of violence was typical.

So the prophet was a product of his social location, a culture where people automatically tolerated men who acted out in a feral manner, especially if the victims were women and children.

The ancient world normally expects such behaviour from men.

Sadly, these men were never exposed to other options in their lives.

It is reasonable to conclude that you cannot expect someone to give you something they have never received nor to act in a manner they have never witnessed.

Elisha felt disrespected and reacted in the way other men in his social location would have reacted.

He was born into patriarchy, which explains his instinct for feeling disrespected.

Unfortunately, patriarchy has not gone anywhere since antiquity.

Patriarchy as a system does not allow men to express the full range of their emotions, and as a result, men have conditioned themselves to bottle up their feelings.

Often men express themselves either through silence, violence, or indulging in vices and these forms of expression are socially acceptable today.

These false walls of insulation are meant to protect us from hearing "you're soft," "man up" and "men don't cry."

This defence mechanism is experienced when we screw the top onto our bottled-up hurt, and life begins shaking us.

Before we know it, when we finally open up, we explode.

Consequently, those around us receive the residue from what was in us the entire time.

I believe the tragic first passage of scripture serves as a prophetic message to us that there are consequences when we do not do the necessary heart work.

Hurt people hurt people. That's how pain patterns get passed on, generation after generation after generation.

Break the chain today.

Meet anger with sympathy, contempt with compassion, cruelty with kindness.

Greet grimaces with smiles.

Forgive and forget about finding fault.

Love is the weapon of the future. (Tweet from Yehuda Berg, August 22, 2013).

At this moment, when our own pride, image, or feelings come under attack, we have a choice: we can retaliate like the world or, we can look up for help. Prepare Love Praise (R) Ministries NFP.

From Jeremiah's message to the house of David to Paul in his letter to the Romans, the scriptures are replete with instructions for nonviolence.

This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. (Jeremiah 22:3)

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. I

f possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."

To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21)

In a real sense, we are lovers and fighters.

As God's beloved, we fight for our integrity, character and purpose in this world.

Some people, who don't walk in the daily reality of God's love, fight for other things.

Some people are fighting to get approval from others.

Some are fighting for positions of influence, power and control.

Others are fighting to overcome the fear that would otherwise paralyse them.

When we enter the reality of being beloved by God, however, we begin to recognize God's weapon of choice - the power of love.

We must begin by loving ourselves as God loves us, and in turn we begin to love others as God loves them.

Jesus referred to this as the second great commandment: "You shall love your neighbour as yourself." (Matthew 22:39).

We cannot love our neighbours without loving ourselves first.

God loves us so much that He made a way for us to be transformed and empowered by His love. No matter the situation the circumstances, we find that God's love empowers us to choose nonviolence.

The ultimate expression of God's love for us is Christ Jesus.

Hurt people hurt people but for the power of love!

• Aaron T. Hill, Sr is Director of Inclusion and Diversity, Marist School, Atlanta, Georgia.
• First published in Today's Marists, 2023 Vol. 7, Issue 3.

He said the conflicts reminded him of the World War II Allied military landings at Normandy, France.

"It was the beginning of the fall of Nazism, it's true.

"But how many boys were left on the beaches in Normandy?

"They say, 30,000. …

"Who thinks of those boys?

"War sows all of this.

"That is why you, who are journalists, please be pacifists, speak out against wars, fight against war. I ask you as a brother. Thank you."

Pope Francis' heartfelt request to journalists to be pacifists touched my heart.

Many years ago, as a young man, I found myself in U.S. military basic combat training at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

While firing my M-16 weapon at life-like pop-up targets, it occurred to me the army was not training me to hit targets, but instead to kill some poor guy like me in a far-off country who got caught up in the propaganda of his own country's war machine.

I came to fully realize this was all wrong. And I knew that in my desire to imitate the nonviolent Jesus, I could kill no one.

I spoke to my drill sergeant about my deep anti-war feelings and my desire to apply for conscientious objector status.

He urged me to wait until I completed basic combat training and apply for CO status when I arrived at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis, for Advanced Individual Training.

I'd previously trained as a journalist, and at Fort Harrison, I was receiving additional training as a broadcaster for Armed Forces Radio in Germany. But that exciting future did not deter me from seeking CO status.

My broadcast instructors tried to convince me that the chances of my having to shoot someone from a radio station were extremely remote. However, I knew my role as a military journalist and radio disc jockey would be to boost the morale of those who would be pulling the triggers and dropping the bombs.

I knew that I could have nothing to do with this unholy enterprise.

Although the Holy Father's inflight press conference plea, "You who are journalists, please be pacifists, speak out against wars, fight against war," was on that occasion directed to journalists, it is reasonable to believe that his pacifism plea is also extended to all people of goodwill.

And it is important to clarify that pacifism does not mean lying down and allowing brutal aggressors to kill and destroy.

Quite the contrary!

Pacifism, or the preferred terms "nonviolent resistance" and "active nonviolence", is courageously committed to using the numerous nonviolent, highly effective tools available to limit and even stop armed aggression.

For example, please see Pax Christi International's Catholic Nonviolence Initiative and The Nonviolent Peaceforce.

The late preeminent theologian and biblical scholar, Fr John McKenzie said, "If Jesus does not reject violence for any reason, we do not know anything about Jesus. Jesus taught us not how to kill but how to die."

On September 7, 2013, countless believers across the globe and over 100,000 people in St Peter's Square prayed with Pope Francis for peace in Syria and throughout the world.

During the four-hour prayer service at St Peter's, the Holy Father said, "We bring about the rebirth of Cain in every act of violence and in every war. … We have perfected our weapons, [while] our conscience has fallen asleep, and we have sharpened our ideas to justify ourselves. As if it were normal, we continue to sow destruction, pain, death!

"Violence and war lead only to death; they speak of death!

"Violence and war are the language of death."

• Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated Catholic social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings. Tony can be reached at tmag6@comcast.net.

According to FBC News, people who started fake news stories likely intended to hurt the country "economically and politically" by creating panic and shutting down work.

Fiji's religious leaders acted promptly to calm, instruct and stabilize the population, which is largely Protestant, Hindu, Roman Catholic and Muslim.

"Because of the 1987, 2000, and 2006 coups," said Catholic Archbishop Peter Loy Chong, "Fiji has been labelled as a country with a coup culture. Read more

The interfaith celebration was organised by the Catholic Bhopal Archdiocese, based in the capital of Madhya Pradesh state. The march culminated in an inter-religious prayer gathering.

The event marked the 148th anniversary of Gandhi's birth. He led India's struggle for freedom from British rule while advocating non-violent methods. Read more

Both Jesus and Buddha promoted non-violence and were peacemakers, says Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who is the Council president.

In a letter marking the Buddhist religious festival of Vesakh addressed to "Buddhist friends", the Council urged a unified approach from both religions to help create a peaceful world.

Tauran says the letter notes while Catholicism and Buddhism are unique religions, both agree "violence comes from the human heart, and personal evils lead to structural evils".

If Catholics and Buddhists werre to teach all people the benefits of living a non-violent life, it would involve working together to prevent conflicts and to rebuild broken societies, the letter says.

It would also include urging the media "to avoid and counter hate speech and biased and provocative reporting".

Ways Catholics and Buddhists can respond to the Council's invitation include studying the causes of violence and teaching other Catholics and Buddhists to counter a range of factors that prevent peace and non-violence from flourishing.

The letter includes quotes from both Pope Francis's message for this year's World Day of Peace, and from the Buddhist Dhammapada.

Francis, whose papacy has emphasised disarmament, peacemaking and Christ's teachings about non-violence is quoted as saying:

"He walked that path [of nonviolence] to the very end, to the cross, whereby he became our peace and put an end to hostility," he said.

The Buddhist Dhammapada quote says Buddha "also heralded a message of nonviolence and peace.

"[Buddha] encouraged all to overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth," it says.

Source

• National Catholic Reporter
• Lion's Roar
• Catholic Herald
• Image: The Tibet Post

Pope Francis has talked about the worrisome surge of violence that has taken over the world. On his trip to Poland in July he said the world is in a "piecemeal World War."

That is why he wishes that this 50th World Day of Peace, the fourth of his pontificate, be a beacon of diplomacy and good will. The Pope wants to underline the prevalence of law in international affairs as a way to ensure a peaceful future. Read more

"This is not a booklet just about Parihaka's history," said Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand Director Julianne Hickey, "but a justice and peace resource that enables us to reflect on the impact of injustice today, in communities across the country - and strive for peace in the future."

Parihaka - on the western slopes of Mount Taranaki in New Zealand - became a centre for non-violent resistance under the leadership of Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi from 1865. It continues today to inspire discussion and a collective response to injustice.

Regular meetings to discuss the issues of the day - both local and national - have taken place on the 18^th and 19^th of each month at Parihaka since the 1870s. They were only interrupted during the village's occupation by government forces in the 1880s, following a destructive invasion to remove the community's leaders and most of its men.

Copies can be ordered from the Caritas office, or downloaded from the Caritas website www.caritas.org.nz

Source

• Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
• Image: Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
  

Parihaka is a community approximately 55 Kilometres southwest of New Plymouth. In the 1870s and 80s, under the leadership of Tohu and Te Whiti, they resisted the Crown's confiscation of their customary lands with non-violent protest, which included ploughing lands taken to pay for the land wars, replacing or changing their fences moved by the army and removing survey pegs.

In 1866 Te Whiti orders weapons to be put aside, never to be seen again. In 1879 Maori Ploughmen were sent to plow confiscated lands to reassert rights to the land. Te Whiti calls for no violence or fighting. Ploughmen are arrested but do not resist.

1881 - 5 November - Troops invade Parihaka. Tohu, Te Whiti and all Parihaka men are arrested for leaving Parihaka in response to a Govt proclamation. Houses and cultivations are destroyed and livestock slaughtered or confiscated.

Many were arrested for their actions and imprisoned for many years without trial. In the present day, the people of Parihaka continue to restore Tohu and Te Whiti's legacy and seek healing of historic injustices. They strive to keep alive ideals of community empowerment, self-sufficiency and peaceful action of their ancestors.

Source:

• Caritas
• Image: NZ History Online

Under the cover of night, in the first act of violence by a disciple, Judas kisses Jesus and betrays him, and the soldiers move in for the arrest. In the second act of violence by a disciple of Jesus, Peter himself takes out a sword, strikes at a soldier and cuts off his ear. Jesus will have none of it.

"Put back your sword, for those who take up the sword will surely perish by the sword." These are the last words of Jesus to the church before he was executed, and it's the first time they recognize the depth of his nonviolence. What do they do? They all run away. Read more

Sources

• John Dear SJ in National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Bible People

"There is no way to peace; peace is the way" is perhaps the most famous statement by this idealist. "The way of peace is a seamless garment that must cover the whole of life and must be applied in all its relationships," he wrote. During the 1960s, Muste was a key organizer in a broad anti-war movement in response to the Vietnam War.

Once a reporter asked him, "Do you really think you are going to change the policies of this country by standing out here alone at night in front of the White House with a candle?" A.J. Muste replied softly: "Oh I don't do this to change the country. I do this so the country won't change me."

For him freedom of conscience was a determining factor in the quality of life. His most famous quotation is — "There is no way to peace, peace itself being the way." Read more

Sources

• Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
• Image: Peacemonger