U.N. General Assembly President Decries War at St. John the Divine

Gripping the pulpit tightly in front of the congregation of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann delivered a sermon in which he warned of “the extinction of human species” and condemned “the sociology of just war.”

Brockmann, Journalism ’62, is president of the United Nations General Assembly, senior foreign adviser to Nicaragua, and a Catholic priest. He came to Morningside Heights to speak at U.N. Sunday, an event held annually at St. John’s on the Sunday following the opening of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

For more than two decades, General Assembly presidents—regardless of personal religious affiliation— have spoken at St John’s. In the spirit of the United Nations, welcome brochures in 10 languages were offered at the entrance, and murmurs of French, Japanese, Korean, Italian, German, and Spanish mingled in the air before the service began.

“One does not need to be really hysterical to worry about the extinction of the human species,” Brockmann said during his sermon. Quoting an unnamed text suggesting that the extinction of humankind was “a real possibility,” Brockmann warned of the dangers of war.

“Let us be totally against war, any kind of war, let us forget about just war,” Brockmann said. He added that he took solace from the Book of Revelation, because a reading of the apocalypse indicated that God would be victorious against the apocalypse beast of many heads.

Brockmann also peppered his speech with lighter elements. He reminisced about his 1962 graduation ceremony—held at St. John’s—from the Columbia School of Journalism, calling Sunday’s visit “a kind of homecoming day.”

He also called himself “the oldest and the most decrepit” president of the General Assembly, which prompted Reverend James A. Kowalski to respond, “Decrepit? When I grow old, I want to be decrepit like you,” as the congregation rippled with laughter.

The deacon offered prayers for the people of Uganda, Sudan, Iraq, Louisiana, and Haiti who have suffered from war, genocide, and natural disasters, and asked the congregation to pray for world peace.

Congregant Edith Tavon said she found the sermon especially profound because Brockmann discussed the Book of Revelation.

“People don’t like to discuss it because it is so dark,” Tavon said. She added that she thought “the possibility of humans extinguishing is very real,” and called Brockmann “very loveable.”

Event organizer Reverend Thomas Miller said that St. John’s was eager to help with the United Nations’ humanitarian efforts, particularly the Millennium Development Goals, which he saw as emblematic of the church’s social mission.

“U.N. Sunday is symbolic of who we are as a cathedral,” Miller said. “We are open to people of all religion and no religion.”

Next Sunday, St. John’s will host the Feast of St. Francis, where people will bring a variety of animals—from dogs to giraffes—to be blessed.

seohee.im@columbiaspectator.com