In a world of conflict, it is more important than ever to choose love, said Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe OP – one of the most significant voices in the Dominican world – when he addressed senior student leaders from three South Australian schools in the Dominican tradition.

Cardinal Radcliffe spoke via video link to students from Blackfriars Priory School, St Dominic’s Priory College, St Mary’s College and Cabra Dominican College earlier this month.

*Senior students listen to Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe OP during a recent presentation. PHOTO: Blackfriars website*

Speaking from Oxford, Cardinal Timothy called on the students to listen deeply, see others and spread hope.

“You know there are terrible conflicts at the moment in the Middle East, especially in the Holy Land,” Cardinal Timothy told the students, gathered in Frassati Hall for the annual Dominican Leaders Day.

“There is an organisation which I greatly admire … and they take young Jews, young Christians, young Muslims, people of your age, out into the desert. And they have to listen to the silence of the desert and only then they may be able to listen to each other.

“One of the ways, I think, that we prepare ourselves for leadership … is learning the stillness, that silence inside, which enables us to listen deeply to another person.”

As leaders, it was also important to “see” our fellow man, something Cardinal Timothy – a former Master of the Order of Preachers – learned while travelling through Algeria.

“I was driving near the Sahara with another Dominican and we got caught up in a conflict between the local people and the army. And, suddenly, our car was surrounded by people with stones and they looked very threatening,” he said.

“There was this one young man who stood in front of the car about to throw a stone through the windscreen and I thought, this could be the end. And I realised that … I would only have a good chance of living if I could catch his eye, so that I saw him and he saw me. That’s the only way, sometimes, to get beyond violence.”

At first glance, Cardinal Timothy saw an “angry young man”.

“And, briefly, I saw beneath the anger that he was afraid. He was afraid and probably wondering why he was caught up in all of this.

“And then I got a glimpse underneath even the fear. There was a young man who his mother loved, who I could love.

“So, if we really learn to see other people’s faces, see who they are, then we can get beyond hatred and violence.”

He said young leaders needed to see beyond the chaos of the world.

“Today, we desperately need hope. You are at the beginning of your lives and I know that many young people wonder what the future is, with more and more war breaking out, all over the world, the threat of ecological catastrophe.

“So, I think that your leadership will be, most importantly, about giving hope to people. Despite everything, despite all the threats, love is going to win.”

Blackfriars Assistant Principal: Religious Identity and Mission Angela Collins said having Cardinal Timothy address the students was a “very special opportunity”.

She said, as Master of the Order, Cardinal Timothy had carried the Dominican mission across the world – “to preach truth, to listen deeply, to seek wisdom and to speak with courage and compassion”.

This article was published on the website of Blackfriars Priory School.