Double Tragic

Urakami Cathedral, Nagasaki

This coming Sunday marks the 75th anniversary since the dropping of the bomb on Nagasaki, for over 400 years a centre of the Catholic Church in Japan, despite long periods of most violent persecution.  Despite all suffering, this neighbourhood remained over time a vibrant Christian community.  Finally, a Catholic church could be built there in the 1870s by those Christians returning home from the last period of persecution in Japanese history. 

In 1945, the cathedral on this same spot found itself only 500 metres from the hypocentre, so being obliterated with the loss of souls who were at church in preparation for the upcoming celebration of the Assumption of Mary.  As my friend, a young, Japanese Augustinian said, in contemplating the history of tragedy and loss around this one church - "It is just unfathomable.  Too sad."

I had thought - Imagine going to church and ending up in the centre of the world's second ever atomic explosion.  People would not have even known what it was.  It would have been a truly apocalyptic horror.  Just double tragic.  

Such is our world or thus have we made it?  So goes the last line of "The Mission", given by the fiery Jesuit to the political Cardinal.  

We live in an age where there is much hope for needed change in our world but the trap or fear is that too many human beings know only one way which may be labelled as "fight, conquer and survive'.  There is another way for humanity.  We must fight for it but not with bombs and destruction.  Kiasu!