February 24, 2022
This Is Not a War, It Is a Punishment
What we see in Ukraine is not a war; it is a punishment. It is a settling of scores between two half-brothers, a quarrel in which we must not become involved for any reason whatsoever.
Why do I say it is not a war? Because the difference in weight between the two protagonists is so great that one cannot speak of a war, just as one cannot speak of a fight between a grown man and a child of seven. A man does not fight a child… that is not a fight, it is a punishment. Or an abuse… but not a fight.
This is a settling of scores between two countries which, until not long ago, were as brothers, and which have never been our friends.
Neither of them.
Why will it not be a war in the true sense of the word? Because “no NATO soldier will set foot in Ukraine”, as the Pentagon spokesman said only yesterday.
In other words, the superpowers are not risking a world conflict. Not for Ukraine.
Did Russia act rightly? Certainly not.
An aggression is and remains an abuse. A crime. Just as the American aggressions in Yugoslavia were an abuse and a crime. Or in Iraq. Or in Afghanistan. Or in Syria…
A few things must be said:
Romania must not become involved in any way in the Russo-Ukrainian quarrel. I therefore hope that what Iohannis said — that “Romania will not allow itself to be drawn into the military conflict in Ukraine” — will be fully honoured by the Romanian state, which must refrain from anything that might draw us into this war.
I hope that the epithets “independent and sovereign” may be accepted for states that are not being attacked by Russia as well.
And the most important thing for us, as Christians: let us pray for all the victims of this quarrel. The blood and the tears of the innocent are beyond price. Nor can they be repaired by any later understanding or peace treaty. Beyond the lines on maps and the geopolitical commentary, the only things that Count before the Lord are the souls maimed by the pride of the great. For them, for the small ones about whom none of the world’s great care, for our brethren in the Lord, whatever their nationality or ethnicity, we have the duty to pray.
As for Romania… it ought to understand that whatever the neighbour to the east may be called, he will never be more to us than a neighbour… and never a friend.
God help us all.
And if my words could reach the ears of the great, this alone would I say to them:
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
Postscript: below I leave a map showing how much we have lost… and how much the protagonists of today’s quarrel have gained, by whatever name our “Neighbour” has gone through the ages.
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