Â鶹ԼÅÄ

It’s coming up to two years since Russia’s so-called ‘special operation’ against Ukraine led to one of the biggest conflicts on European soil since the end of WW2. Shocking as that was, it’s been followed by yet more global insecurity. In the Middle East, the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues; meanwhile, some commentators look nervously at China’s threatening position towards Taiwan. At home in Britain there have been dire warnings that we are living in a ‘pre-war era’; and further afield, the Doomsday Clock has been set to merely 90 seconds before midnight and a nuclear holocaust.

For people of faith, making sense of the human propensity for violence has always been challenging. How can we justify pacificism in the face of evil? And contrariwise, how can we justify warfare when we claim to follow the command of Christ to love our enemies? And what does horrendous warfare do to your faith in God and in humanity?

Rosa Hunt talks to four people who have had to think through some of these issues in great depth. In Lviv, Ukraine, Rev. Roman Zaviyskyy is a philosopher and theologian and president of the Ukrainian branch of the European Society of Catholic Theology; in Princetown, Ukrainian theologian Pavlo Smytsnyuk reflects on how life has changed over the last two years. In Israel Elena Volkova – originally from Russia and now and independent scholar after leaving her mother country - offers her perspective. And in Aldershot, retired soldier and lay minister Major General Tim Cross, who served during the Cold War and during peace keeping operations in the Balkans, offers his perspective.