A Covenant of Hope

Why are we here tonight?
I cannot answer that question on behalf of you... I can only answer it for myself.

I am here tonight - not because I am a Catholic.
I am here tonight - not because I am a Christian.
I am here tonight - not because I am a representative of a particular religious faith.
I am here tonight - not because of the fact that I worship at a synagogue on Fridays.

I am here tonight - because I believe in the universal nature of human beings.

We belong to one undivided humanity - regardless of ethnic background, nationality, religious persuasions, or gender. And, ...seeing you here tonight, I take comfort in the knowledge that so many of us share this vision.

I believe that human beings are basically decent and good at heart. However...often we give in to what divides us...rather than what unites us. We often turn a deaf ear to the sufferings of others.

In the courses I teach at the university, or when I speak as director of the Center for Holcoaust, Genocide & Peace Studies at UNR, I tell my students that to prevent atrocities such as the Holcoaust, each and every one of us needs to become an emissary for peace, tolerance, social justice, and respect for human dignity at home, in our community, and around the world. And I hope that I can live up to what I teach.

When Elie Wiesel received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986, he said: "Peace is not God's gift to human beings, but their gift to one another."

He also said that "the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. The opposite of faith is not arrogance, but indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness but indifference. And the opposite to both peace and war - is indifference to hunger and indifference to persecution."

As we leave tonight, let us also keep Elie Wiesel's words in our hearts and minds and replace indifference with caring. I thank you, Cardinal Cassidy, for speaking to us tonight, and for reminding us of our common human destiny, and for encouraging us to care more and to love more.

Viktoria Hertling
Delivered subsequent to Cardinal Cassidy's address on the Shoah on November 9, 1998.