Thread by @carmelitequotes

.@silviojbaez presented a conference on conflict and dialogue to European religious at the @VidaReligiosa1 symposium in Madrid. We offer a few of his concluding thoughts: "Dialogue is a necessary factor for peace, perhaps not enough, but always essential."
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.@silviojbaez speaking on the topic of conflict and dialogue: "There is no possible reconciliation without a patient, hopeful, self-denying dialogue, flexible in the negotiable and firm in the non-negotiable."
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.@silviojbaez "There's no dialog that denies reality & history, renounces one's identity, ignores the demands of justice. There's also no dialogue that builds a few plans only for a few, promotes accords/deals done under the table by bigwigs behind the back of the majority"
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.@silviojbaez as a scripture scholar points out the biblical wisdom of silence in conflict resolution, indicating that, "sometimes silence is the way." For example, "It makes a lot of sense to be a person of few words and to stay calm." (Prov 17:27) 4/
amzn.to/BAEZbook

.@silviojbaez points out that discernment is necessary when employing silence in conflict resolution: "it has nothing to do with indifference in the face of conflict, with defeatism, or with a false irenicism that ignores the demands of justice" 5/
bit.ly/Irenicism

.@silviojbaez on the topic of conflict and reconciliation: "Opening paths of reconciliation means accepting - both notionally and really (or existentially) - that our perspective is always incomplete." @VidaReligiosa1 6/

.@silviojbaez "Next, we must overcome the interior drama of Cain, who was incapable of mastering the fire that inwardly burns in all of us. It's not a matter of stifling our passions but of mastering our impulses, with sensitivity and respect for our neighbors." 7/

.@silviojbaez "This 'utopia' of a reconciled world is occurring 'already', in a limited and ambiguous way, although 'not yet' in its plenitude." 8/

.@silviojbaez "It is sufficient to walk by the light of Christian faith's basic principles (never losing sight of the ideal): faith in God, who in Jesus has shown partiality to the poor and to victims; the primacy...." 9/

.@silviojbaez "It is sufficient to walk by the light of Christian faith's basic principles... the primacy of charity; the relationship between truth and justice; the ideal of forgiveness asked for and granted, accepted and offered, etc. " 10/

.@silviojbaez "An authentic reconciliation has a historical character. It cannot be carried forward in the abstract. It means first of all to repair the past. We have to remember. To forget the violent, humiliating, or shameful causes of conflict is to repress the past." 11/

.@silviojbaez "In sociopolitical conflicts of a violent nature, where there are victims who have suffered/lost their lives, it's necessary to dig into the roots of past events, not to open wounds, become prisoners of the past or provoke new violence, but to purify the past" 12/

.@silviojbaez "Whoever truly has repented cannot demand forgiveness, but rather asks for it and waits, giving time to those who have suffered aggression or grievance so that they can work through the difficult process of forgiveness" 13/

.@silviojbaez "Regarding God, men and women are offenders, debtors, guilty parties and, on their own accounts cannot be reconciled; it is God himself who decides to reconcile them with himself through Christ...." 14/

.@silviojbaez "... as humans we simply allow ourselves to be reconciled, to respond to the offer of love, to remove obstacles to God and to accept [his forgiveness and reconciliation]." 15/

.@silviojbaez concluded with specific words of advice & counsel to the men & women religious concerning their role in mediation & reconciliation. The Bishop's conference with closed-caption subtitles & translation is available @VidaReligiosa1 @ocdcuria

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