Faith

Ralph H. Crowley, Sr., Korean War veteran and life-long pacifist, displays his medals to his family for the last time. He taught his children is to ask the big questions.

Propagation of the Faith

Friday, March 6, 2026Faith

My Dad was a pacifist. His firm belief in the need for a diplomatic solution to disagreements of all kinds was rock solid. It grew out of his time spent on the front lines of the Korean Conflict, where he earned, among other medals, a Purple Heart. When he passed away in 2010, I found a news clipping from 1980 tucked in a drawer. It was folded, yellowed, and dog-eared.
The article was published in 'The Boston Globe,' reprinted from 'The Cape Codder' of Orleans, Mass. It's entitled "Life is Short: Why War?" As close as my research can tell, it was written by John A. Ullman, who was the Executive Editor of that broadsheet paper on the Cape. Here's its opening:
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'Look at that dot for a moment. Think of it as the inhabited globe, the earth. Now consider that the rest of this edition [of the paper] is the galaxy, with the tiny dot (•) the spinning planet on which we live. Then think of all the editions of all the papers on any given day as the measurable universe ... and all the papers ever written, in any tongue, as the measurable space we can prove. Now look at that tiny dot again.'
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The author goes on to wax poetically about the beauty of our home, rich in wildlife and nourishing food; a place where we sometimes take for granted the miracle of the sun rising and setting every day. Through God's miracle of creation, we have been gifted with "sight and smell and hearing, taste and imagination and memory..." He then asks: What do we do with this priceless gift?
He lists the various ways we squander it -- we make guns and bombs to use against each other while selling them to other countries who use them against their own citizens and perceived enemies. We pollute our air and water; we teach the young to bully and belittle. Here he stops to point out that, yes, we teach them. They learn by watching those around them.
Finally, he says, "But not always," and goes on to list everyday acts of kindness. These remarkably average actions -- visiting the sick, lonely, and imprisoned; feeding the hungry; helping the homeless find shelter; and caring for our neighbor are foundational to the mission of our Christian life. He calls this the "real miracle" as he ends his beautiful piece and invites us to gaze again upon our temporary home.
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'So small, so insignificant, so briefly ours.
Why war?'

- Maureen Crowley Heil is Director of Programs and Development for the Pontifical Mission Societies, Boston.