The Prize of Peace

The Nobel Peace Prize medal has taken on some tarnish this year as Aung San Suu Kyi, a past winner, has appeared to turn a blind eye to terrible persecution of the Rohingya peoples of Burma. However, the prize was awarded again this year --today-- with the recipients chosen from a considerable long-list (318 candidates, including Donald Trump!) and an intriguing short-list.

In the end the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).   ICAN is a coalition of non-governmental organizations from around 100 different countries around the globe, which advocates prohibition of nuclear weapons under international law. The organizations work is worthy of the prize, it seems to me, even though it has difficulty getting traction in our "might makes right" world. It is particularly appropriate and timely given the ridiculous nuclear posturing of "Rocket Man" and the "Dotard in Chief." And despite the encouragement of Trump's advisors to stick with the international "carrot and stick" agreement with Iran to mothball it's nuclear program he announced that he would decertify the program, almost as the Peace Prize was being announced.


I was grateful that one of the nominees, Pope Francis, did not win. If you have been a regular reader of this blog you'll know that I'm admirer of Francis on a number of fronts, including the encyclical Laudato Si which addresses the environment and how we care for Creation. During this Creation Time, soon to conclude,  Francis has made some bold statements about those who deny climate change, including world leaders such as Trump.

Francis did not deserve the award because the Vatican has been disturbingly slow to address the abuse of children by priests of the Roman Catholic church through many decades. While Francis acknowledges the horror of this abuse we are not hearing enough about how the systemic institutional denial could go on for so long and why victims were and still are treated so poorly. There is no peace for untold thousands of those victims, so how could the spiritual head of the church receive a prize for this sinful history? Peace Prize candidates, as with saints of the church, have clay feet, but before Francis could be worthy of the honour much must change.

Now, I was hoping that the White Helmets of Syria, those who respond to bombing within the country with tremendous courage and dedication might win.

What are your thoughts about the recipients this year? Do you think my reservations about Pope Francis are valid? Did you pay much attention to the nominees?

Oh yes, congratulations to the winners!