MANILA (LiCAS News): Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David of Kalookan, the Philippines, said that self-centred nationalism and social division are driving modern conflicts, highlighting the ongoing war in the Middle East as a consequence of the breakdown in human communion.
During the Seventh Day Solemn Novena Mass for the Coronation Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag on 19 April, Cardinal David connected global violence with what he called a growing “idolatry of self,” warning that “there is no communion that happens… when our worship is no longer directed to God but to ourselves.”
The cardinal said that the pursuit of power and narrow national interests erodes respect for human dignity and deepens divisions, particularly “when, because of addiction to power, we lose regard and concern for the dignity of every person,” and “when we see as enemies those who are different from us—in thought, in culture, and in religion.”
He added that conflict escalates when “the greatness we seek is only for our own nation, even if other nations suffer for it,” stressing, “this is the root of conflicts that lead to war, such as what continues to happen now in the Middle East.”
Cardinal David said, “Our calling is not just to be Christians, but to be Christ—his living presence in the world.”
The cardinal echoed the message of Pope Leo XIV, who has called on the Church to live out “communion, participation, and mission” as a path towards peace and reconciliation, describing it as “an invitation… to become instruments of peace and reconciliation in a world torn by distrust, violence, and war.”
