Catholic Peacemaking

The World Day of Peace Messages, 1968-2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. II. Introduction Summary

III. Themes of Peace A. Peace B. Peace through Superior Firepower 1. 2. 3. 4. Truth and Freedom Dialogue and Prayer One Human Family Learning Peace

C. No More War 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Peace is Possible Peace is a Duty Violence is a Lie The Sanctity of Life Swords into Ploughshares

D. Merciful Justice 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Justice and Law Mercy and Reconciliation Wealth and Poverty Creation The Family

IV. The World Day of Peace Messages 1968: The First World Day of Peace 1969: The Promotion of Human Rights, the Road to Peace 1970: Education for Peace Through Reconciliation 1971: Every Man is My Brother 1972: If You Want Peace, Work for Justice 1973: Peace is Possible 1974: Peace Depends on You Too 1975: Reconciliation, The Way to Peace 1976: The Real Weapons of Peace 1977: If You Want Peace, Defend Life 1978: No to Violence, Yes to Peace

1979: To Reach Peace, Teach Peace 1980: Truth, the Power of Peace 1981: To Serve Peace, Respect Freedom 1982: Peace: A Gift of God Entrusted to Us! 1983: Dialogue for Peace, A Challenge for Our Time 1984: From a New Heart, Peace is Born 1985: Peace and Youth Go Forward Together 1986: Peace is a Value with No Frontiers North-South, East-West 1987: Development and Solidarity: Two Keys to Peace 1988: Religious Freedom, Condition for Peace 1989: To Build Peace, Respect Minorities 1990: Peace with God the Creator, Peace with All of Creation 1991: If You Want Peace, Respect the Conscience of Every Person 1992: Believers United in Building Peace 1993: If You Want Peace, Reach Out to the Poor 1994: The Family Creates the Peace of the Human Family 1995: Women: Teachers of Peace 1996: Let Us Give Children a Future of Peace 1997: Offer Forgiveness and Receive Peace 1998: From the Justice of Each Comes Peace for All 1999: Respect for Human Rights: The Secret of True Peace 2000: Peace on Earth to Those Whom God Loves! 2001: Dialogue Between Cultures for a Civilization of Love and Peace 2002: No Peace Without Justice, No Justice Without Peace 2003: Pacem in Terris: A Permanent Commitment 2004: An Ever Timely Commitment: Teaching Peace 2005: Do Not Be Overcome by Evil, But Overcome Evil with Good 2006: In Truth, Peace 2007: The Human Person, The Heart of Peace 2008: The Human Family: A Community of Peace 2009: Fighting Poverty to Build Peace V. Appendix

I. INTRODUCTION
When I enlisted into the Army at age twenty, I embarked upon a journey that would change my life forever. I joined after a disheartening college experience that shamed my parentsboth of whom were officers in the Air Force. And so I tried to follow in their footsteps, thinking that I could do some good in the Army while making my parents proud, and perhaps improve my lot in life. I became a Forward Observer, graduating as the Distinguished Honor Graduate. Then I became an Airborne Rangerone of the most elite infantry units in the world. Finally I went to West Point, where I would finish my first year ranked fourth in my class. I wanted to be the best, and I wanted to be good. I wanted to join the Special Forcesthe Green Berets, whose motto was To Free the Oppressed. In an evil world, where might made right, being good also meant being strong, being powerful, being deadly. If you were weak, evil would kill not only you, but everyone you loved. If you were weak, evil would win. And so I had become a warrior. I would kill and destroy until evil had been vanquished and the good protected. But then everything changed. The dark forces that ruined my college experience had never left my heart, but had only grown larger, more powerful, and depravedforces that made me do things I hated, and that made me hate myself. Then 9-11 happened. And I turned inward. What was wrong with us? Why was the world so horrible? Was there even a God? In sorrow and hatred and spiritual darkness, I started to pray. Almost immediately, a fellow cadet invited me to mass. I found an old bible, and began reading the Gospels. Gods presence intruded into my soul. Something was happening to me, or rather, someone. I discovered that Jesus Christ was real, and that he has a message for me. And in three words, he changed my life forever: love your enemies. Whatever the Church might teach, whatever the Church might have done in the past, whatever the philosophers and the theologians might write, Jesus put his hand on my heart and his mouth to my ear, and whispered, love your enemies. Later, after making my first confession since childhood (having been raised in a nominally Catholic family), after listening to Pope John Paul II speak out against the impending war with Iraq, and after reading Tolstoys brilliant book, The Kingdom of God is Within You, I applied for discharge from the military as a conscientious objector. My parents warned me that I would not receive it, that I would be dishonorably discharged, that I would even go to prison. And I could see that they were ashamed of me, again. But I was faced with the truththat I could not kill those that Christ commanded me to love. And I had to follow that truth. The military designated an officer to investigate my claim, and I was called into his office for a hearing, where I would be interrogated, where they would test my beliefs and my faith. Yet when I entered the low-lit office, I recognized the face of the officer who would decide the fate of my life: he was a fellow Catholic, a man who I had seen every morning at daily mass but had
3

never talked to. He nodded his head and smiled in recognition, and then proceeded to tell me something startling: I read what youve written, (over fifty pages of journals and reflections), and Ive been listening to the Pope too . . . and you know what . . . I think youre right. But I have four children. What do you think I should do? Looking back, I wish I had given him a better answer. I only told him to follow his conscience. I should have addedbut form your conscience first. I eventually received an honorable discharge from the Army as a conscientious objector, and have spent the last six years forming my conscience not only upon the words and example of Christ, but upon the Churchs doctrines and teachings. Today, we face a corpus of doctrine that is seems to support war-making and violence, yet upon closer examination does not. While the words just-war and legitimate defense are invoked by countless Catholics to support state policies of warfare, the Popes and Bishops speak out relentlessly against war. How is it that one fourth of those soldiers who invaded Iraq were Catholic, even as their Popes, Cardinals, and Bishops remained opposed to the war? This disconnect is not simply based on disagreements of a prudential nature, but are rooted in something deeper. The Churchs understanding of war and peace is undergoing a transition, one that began with the World Wars, and was explicitly proposed at the Second Vatican council. The clearest formulations of this transition are found within the Papal World Day of Peace messages, and if our consciences are to be formed correctly, we should begin our study with these messages. Historically, priests and religious were canonically forbidden from killing or shedding blood. But today, in light of the Universal Call to Holiness, the Church now understands that all are called to renounce violence. Nonviolence is not a special vocation within the Church, but the special vocation of the Church. For the Church has discerned that love of enemy is not simply an admonition for monks and nuns, but is the call of everyone baptized into Christ, and in the words of Pope Benedict XVI, forms the nucleus of the Christian revolution. While violence is a duty for a fallen world untouched by salvation, nonviolence is a duty for a redeemed Church set ablaze by the Holy Spirit. While a fallen world has the duty to destroy evildoers, a redeemed Church has the duty to save evildoers. While a fallen world must wage just-wars, a redeemed Church must love its enemies, and like Christ, be prepared to die for them. We must turn away from the legitimate duties of a fallen world, and embrace the supernatural graces of Christs kingdoma kingdom that grows not through war, but through sacrificial love for those who hate us. We may always kill as sinners in a fallen world. But as men and women on the journey to sainthood, as bearers of the Kingdom of God, we are called to something betternot to kill, but to love. And it is precisely this love that saves the world. May God bless us all with the courage and passion to embrace this call.

Nathaniel C. Wildermuth
4

II. SUMMARY
A common military phrase is Peace through Superior Firepower, meaning peace through the application of overwhelming destructiveness: bullets, tanks, bombers, and cold sharp steel. In contrast, the Word Day of Peace messages teach about the true Superior Firepowerthe fire of the Holy Spirit and the power of God. This power is not mysterious or inaccessible, but is found in the deepest place of man. This power is quite simply love. Love is the key to peace. Love is the Superior Firepower. Love is the only force capable of directing the course of history in the way of goodness and peace (2005). But we must recall that love is not a fleeting emotion, but an intense and enduring moral force which seeks the good of others, even at the cost of selfsacrifice (1994). Love is power, because love strikes at the root of evil that originates in human hearts, because war has its origin in the human heart, because it is man who kills and not his sword (1984). To use a popular slogan of those who oppose gun-control: guns dont kill people, people kill people. Peace always starts with the grace that touches and changes people from killers into lovers. In Christs death and resurrection . . . we are saved from evil and enabled to do good (2005). Through the power of love and prayer, we convert hearts to peace. Through our complete trust in Gods power, we believe in what might appear to be sheer follythe real possibility of redemption and reconciliation among enemies (1997). Our hope in peace rests upon the truth about Man and Goda truth accessible by the conscience of every person, and capable of being lived in true freedom. Peace is destroyed by lies, and the first lie, the basic falsehood, is to refuse to believe in man, which leads us to despair of our opponents (1980). Every person is redeemable; every person is capable of rejecting violence. In Christ, we find the truth that sets us freefree to love one another in peace. But as much as peace is a gift that starts in the heart, peace flows also from decisive human action, particular in the fostering of dialogue among peoples. Dialogue is quite simply the search for what is good by peaceful means . . . the search for what is true, good, and just for every person, for every group, and every society (1983). In dialogue, cultures and societies discover the truth about one another, and about themselves, and work together to build a civilization of love. We become what we already areone human family. We will learn to see the face of a brother or sister in every human being and to recognize that What unites us is so much more than what separates us (1987). We all have one Father, and we are all brothers and sisters. Accordingly, the world must be educated to love Peace, to build it up and defend it, (1968). We ourselves, especially as Christians, must undertake an extensive process of education (2006) with open hearts and open minds, so that we may be purified to trust and accept the Superior Firepower of the Holy Spirit.
5

The education and purification of heart is not easy, for it requires a radical change of the ideas that govern the worldideas that we may accept without question (1970). War, according to the world, works. But war, according to the Church, according to Christs chosen teachers, does not work. Instead, we are asked to understand that war is absurd (1969), that war destroys and does not build up and is a failure (1999). The world proclaims that violence will always be necessary and that war will always exist, but the Church raises its voice to make this contrary call: Let us all unite to fight every kind of violence and to conquer war, (1996). War can end; War must end. Peace is possible; Peace is a duty. Any yet the world continues to instill in us the skeptical conviction that, in practice, Peace is impossible, and that organized society cannot do without force (1974). Ironically, it is precisely this war mentality which aggravates tensions (1984), it is within the despair of peace that peace is lost. Peace is not some self-generating and permanent utopia, however. Peace, rather, has to be continually generated (1975) by each person in each moment. Peace cannot be established forever, but peace can be established today. For Peace must be willed. Peace must be produced . . . Peace is a duty (1969). While the world looks upon peace as the nave task of idealistic dreamers, the faithful know the real truth about peace. The faithful have faith in the power of the Holy Spirit to destroy hatred and violence. Indeed, all Catholics in every part of the world must embrace the duty to proclaim and embody ever more fully the Gospel of Peace (2006). We say No to Violence, Yes to Peace (1978). We resist the deceptive seductions of rapid progress obtained by violence, for violence and war promise us freedom, truth, and peace, yet always fail to deliver. Violence is a lie, for it goes against the truth of our faith, the truth of our humanity (1980). One cannot trust in the power of violence, in the power of killing. For bloodshed destroys what it claims to defend: the dignity, the life, the freedom of human beings (2005). Peace and Life always reign together, and yet the world tries to obtain peace by destroying life. Peace is sought and won through conflict, like a sad doom necessary for self-defence . . . [as if] peace could be imposed as the sad triumph of death (1977). Yet life is sacred, and every human being must be protected and defendedfrom the unborn to the elderly, from the friend to the enemy. If we refuse to compromise the life of any human being, even of our most dangerous enemies, then war is virtually disqualified as a method of peacemaking (1977). Is this possible? Is it possible to live without hating and without killing, to fight with weapons different from those destined to kill and exterminate mankind, to fulfill Isaiahs messianic prophecy of hammering swords into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks, to follow in the footsteps of Peace armed only with an olive branch (1976)? Only if we believe that it is necessary to give everything in order to avoid war (1983). Only if we become convinced that war is in itself irrational (1984). Only if we see that the use of force produces the bitter fruit of hatred and division (1986). Only if we realize once and for all, that war
6

never helps the human community (1993). Only if, while acknowledging the basic duty to defend the innocent, we also acknowledge that the most faithful disciples of Christ have been builders of peace, to the point of forgiving their enemies, sometimes even to the point of giving their lives for them, (1979). Within the victory of truth and love, and not within the defeat of war, can nations and peoples replace the grievous weight of murderous military weaponry with the strength of human reason and divine love (1976). But war will not end overnight, and our love for life forces one to maintain the principle of legitimate defence (1984). Accordingly, peoples have a right and even a duty to protect their existence and freedom, (1982). Swords will never be beaten into ploughshares simply by wishing for it. We must pray, we must act, and we must do both with patient endurance. The demilitarization of the world will remain an unfulfilled dream until courageous political initiatives [remove] threats to peace by attacking the roots of injustice (1980). For war springs up and grows to maturity where the inalienable rights of man are violated (1981). Persons have God-given rightsto life, to religious freedom, to a family, to basic necessities such as food, shelter, health, and education. But wherever these rights are violated, whether by poverty or politics, what comes is war, which causes other still graver violations (1999). The protection of rights, the protection of the weak from the powerful, requires the establishment and enforcement of Law. International humanitarian law, in particular, ought to be considered as one of the finest and most effective expressions . . . of peace (2006). Yet Law cannot by itself forge peace. Too often, a limited understanding of justice excludes mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation, without which justice can even betray itself (2004). Justice that is separated from merciful love becomes cold and cutting (1998). In fact, there is no justice without forgiveness, just as surely as there is no peace without justice (2002). No imposition of law can unite us as brothers and sisters. Only the willingness to forgive, to start over, and to repent, can unite enemies. Forgiveness requires the grace of God, hope in Man, and heroic moral strength. We must come to understand that evil is never defeated by evil, and that peace is only won when evil is defeated by good (2005). Underlying much of the tension in the world is the injustice of poverty, which violates the dignity and rights of all who are oppressed by it. The rich nations and peoples devote massive sums of wealth to weapons of mass-destructionthey seek to secure their wealth rather than sharing their hoarded riches with the desperate. The Churchs demands are clear: money ought not to be used for war, nor for destroying and killing, but for defending the dignity of man, for improving his life and for building a truly open, free, and harmonious society (1993). Among all the threats to peace and life in our modern world, poverty stands as a prime injustice (1998). Let it be repeated: the one issue which most challenges our human and Christian consciences is the poverty of countless millions of men and women (2000). Only by embracing a new lifestyle of simplicity and generosity, and by investing resources into the poor, will the world move toward a new age of peace.
7

As the poor are saved, so will the earth be rescued from the dramatic threat of ecological breakdown (1990). Nature is a gift of God to all, and the misuse and destruction of its resources is a moral failingtraceable not only to greed, but also to an inhuman concept of development (2007) that treats human beings as just another commodity. Everywhere, the most weak and vulnerable suffer from the tyranny of the strong. Children are killed even in the womb, which is one of the most disturbing signs of the breakdown of all respect for human life (1996). Among those children that survive abortion, many are killed by poverty and war, or are even forced to wage war themselves. The memory of the millions of children who have been killed, and the sad faces of so many others who are suffering compel us to take every possible measure to safeguard or re-establish peace, and to bring conflicts and wars to an end (1996). For the sake of the children, the poor, the vulnerable, of all our brothers and sisters, and of the earth itself, justice must be fought for, reconciliation must be achieved, and all men and women must join together to abolish war and establish peace, through the transforming love of Christ which renews hearts and societies, for the Glory of God, forever, Amen!

A. PEACE
Where does peace come from? What is peace? Why should we want peace? On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, Peace be with you (Jn 20:19). [Peace] is a Messianic phase. (1969) Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the opposite of conflict. Peace is not people leaving each other alone, but people living with and for other people. Peace is not the lonely hermit alone in his cabin, but a joyful family celebrating life with the feast of creation. Peace is, in the words of the ancient prophet Isaiah: Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down the kid; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the cobras den, and the child lay his hand on the adders lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain (Is 11:6-9). Peace is the perfect life of complete harmony, where nothing is wrong and everything is right. Peace is salvation. And if peace is salvation, peace requires a savior. Peace requires a Messiah, someone who can save us from not only one another, but from ourselves. He worked with human hands, he thought with a human mind. He acted with a human will, and with a human heart he loved. Born of the Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like to us in all things except sin. As an innocent lamb he merited life for us by his blood which he freely shed. In him God reconciled us to himself and to one another, freeing us from the bondage of the devil and of sin, so that each one of us could say with the apostle: the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 22). Jesus the Messiah is our salvation and our peace. The world tries to convince us otherwise. Salvation, the world says, is impossible. Men will always kill men and snakes will always bite children and Jesus of Nazareth can only make us wait patiently for death by fooling us with dreams of pie in the sky. The world teaches us that Jesus might save us after we die, but certainly not before we die. Until then, we must accept the world as it is, we must accept ourselves as we arebroken, damaged and hopeless. We must accept that the poor will starve, that families will break, that wars will rage, and that nothing can ever heal human nature. Yet Pope Benedict XVI, in his encyclical Saved in Hope, rejects this despair. He rejects any perversion of the Gospel that makes faith private, that disarms faith by turning the Gospel into a narrowly individualist and selfish search for salvation (Spe Salvi, 16). Real faith in Jesus

Christ doesnt simply draw us into heaven. Faith in Jesus Christ draws heaven into us, and into the world: Faith draws the future into the present (Spe Salvi, 7). the Gospel is not merely a communication of things that can be knownit is one that makes things happen and is life-changing. The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life. (Spe Salvi , 2) Jesus the savior, and the Church as his faithful witness, teach that healing is possible. The poor can eat, families can flourish, human beings can be reborn, and war itself can be conquered. Peace is possible. His Peace. The Peace of the Kingdom of God.

10

B. SUPERIOR FIREPOWER
The man or woman reborn in Jesus Christ is the greatest weapon for peace. Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel (Mk 1:15). Amen, Amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above (Jn 3:3). Rebirth, repentance, metanoia, conversion, transformationall these words describe a persons complete devotion to the King of Gods Kingdom. This transformation isnt saying one prayer, it isnt being baptized once (or twice) it isnt going to Church or wearing a cross. This transformation is the total purification of heart, body, soul, and mind. It is the transformation into the very image of Jesus. The salvation of the messiah is to change us into himself, by which we can call ourselves the very body of Christ by which we can say with St. Paul, I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20). The world says that human nature cannot change, that humanity will always hate and kill. But this is a lie. Conversion and transformation are real, and necessary. Jesus calls to conversion . . . a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart . . . a new heart. (CCC 1427, 1431, 1432) Conversion is not easy and it is not quick. It begins in sacraments, grows in prayer, and manifests in action. It is the full transformation of the full person - both the spirit and the body, both the interior life and the exterior life, both our relationship with God and our relationship with Man. For either the whole person is saved, or not at all. And saving a whole person takes an entire lifetime. Salvation and peace will not come overnight to the person or overnight to the world. It will take the whole of history to establish a permanent peace. It will take the conversion of the world, one person at a time, culminating in the return of Jesus Christ. On the journey of transformation, of conformation to Jesus, we discover how Christ brings peace and how Christ defeats evil. We learn from the insidefrom the heart, and become like Jesus. We become partners of salvation with him, as ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor 5:20). For Jesus is the source of our thoughts, words, and actions. His Holy Spirit is our spirit. Faced with a choice, not only do we ask, What would Jesus do? but also, What would Jesus think? What would Jesus feel? What would Jesus desire? And within those questions, within the Spirit of Christ living within us, giving us a new heart and a new life, we discover an answer. We discover the way of peace and salvation. We discover love. The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends. Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope, or for action, the Love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect
11

Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective than to arrive at love (CCC 25). If I have not love, I am nothing (1 Cor 13:3). I give you a new commandment: love one another, as I have loved you (Jn 13:34). The practical and daily love of Jesus Christ is what lives inside the reborn Christian. It is this love that transforms us by flowing from his heart to our heart, to our mind to our mouth to our words to our deeds and to the whole world. The peace of the world hinges upon the love that flows not from politics, economics, or social institutions, but from the hearts of those transformed by God. Indeed, the heart of man must be renewed, in order to renew systems, institutions and methods. Christian faith has a word for this fundamental change of heart: it is conversion (1984). The real weapon of peace, the real source of our salvation, is the love of Christ that first changes us, and then through us, changes the world. But let us admit that love can mean anything or nothing, if we do not remember that this is not any particular kind of love, but the very love of Christ. We must not simply love, but love as Christ loves, as Christ is. And what kind of love is this? Christs love is not fleeting emotion, but an intense and enduring moral force which seeks the good of others, even at the cost of selfsacrifice (1994). This sacrificial love is the only force capable of bringing fulfillment to persons and societies (2005). Christs love overcomes evil with good (2005). This sacrificial love of all others, which is not an idealistic intention, but an effective action for another persons good, holds the key to peace and salvation. Doing good, even when it hurts, is the new love of Jesus Christ, and is the one hope for peace. One may be tempted to ask, But who is my neighbor? Who am I to do good to? Everyone? Fellow citizens? Even strangers? Even my enemies? But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you . . . For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same . . . love your enemies and do good to them . . . then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked (Lk 6:27-35). Jesus not only taught this kind of love, but lived it, and died for it upon the cross. And Christs most faithful disciples . . . have been builders of peace, to the point of forgiving their enemies, sometimes even to the point of giving their lives for them (1979). This kind of sacrifice is not a secondary or marginal aspect of Christs love, an aspect better left to saints, priests, and religious, but is rather the very epitome of Christs love. It is the love of the cross, the force for
12

good that redeems sinners from evil. Pope Benedict XVI, speaking of Christian nonviolence, teaches us that love of ones enemies constitutes the nucleus of the Christian revolution (http://www.zenit.org/article-18951?l=english). The love that changes the world is enemy-love, the love that knows no limits and no fearChrists love. The real weapon of peace is the love of Christthe love that loves the unlovable, even at the cost of ones own life. In our transformation and conversion to enemy-love, we not only discover peace in our own hearts, but share this peace with those who need it the most. The centurion who helped to murder Jesus was defeated, was touched and pierced to the heart, and upon Christs death proclaimed, Truly this man was the Son of God! (Mk 15:39). In loving those who hate us by doing good to them, we allow Gods love to touch, break, and heal their enslaved hearts. Love begets love, and love never fails (1 Cor 13:8). Is sacrificing ourselves for the good of those who hate us a nave dream, an unrealistic illusion? The world says so. But for those of us who trust in Christ, for those who believe in his victory over death, we embrace the hope to face even the most difficult situations with the weapons of peace and reconciliation, (1997) for we know that, in spite of everything, peace is possible, because it is part of the original divine plan (1994). No matter how bleak the situation, no matter how great the evils one faces, Christians are called to trust in the love of Christ, for if the Church dares to proclaim what, from a human standpoint, might appear to be sheer folly, it is precisely because of her unshakeable confidence in the infinite love of God (1997). With the unconditional goodness of Christ living inside us and flowing from us, everyone can defeat evil with good (2005). Evil can never defeat love. Jesus is truly the Messiah, the savior, the one who brings peace by transforming the world one person at a time. In him, Christians nourish an invincible hope, the hope of the world (2005). What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it is written: For your sake we are being slain all the day; we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor power, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 8:35-39).

13

1. Truth and Freedom

What stands in the way of Christ, in the way of his reborn peacemakers, if not what first led all of mankind into rebellion against Godlies. Jesus calls Satan the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning (Jn 8:44). Satans lies kill and destroy, using and perverting men and women, setting us against God and then against each other. Lies turn brothers and sisters into enemies, destroying them from the inside. The first lie, the basic falsehood, is to refuse to believe in man, with all his capacity for greatness but as the same time with his need to be redeemed from the evil and sin within him (1980). The basic falsehood says that conversion is either impossible or unneeded. The basic falsehood either makes man into a beast or makes man into a god. When we are seduced into blind despair or absurd optimism, we lose our primary weapon of peaceconversion. We begin to think that love is either powerless or irrelevant. We let the lie de-convert us, and are soon drawn into conflict with one another. We become slaves to war and violence. If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. They answered him, We are descendents of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone . . . Jesus said to them, If you were Abrahams children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. But now you are trying to kill me . . . You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your fathers desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth (Jn 8:31-44). In turning to God, in emulating and integrating the love of Christ, we are freed from the lies of the world. We are armed with truth, the serene and powerful driving force of peace (1980). Only in the truth can evil be recognized and confronted. Only in the truth can a world of gray be perceived as a battleground of black lies and white truth. For the man of peace is able to detect the portion of truth existing in every undertaking as well as identifying the real causes of evil and injustice (1980). Only a man of truth can see that no human being is ever completely corrupted, that some good always remains possible even within the darkest souls. While the man of truth looks at evils squarely [and] calls them by their proper name, the truth about mans capacity for redemption never allow[s] us to despair of our opponents (1980). Like Jesus, we realize that forgiveness and reconciliation are constitutive elements of the truth and that to refuse forgiveness and reconciliation is for us to lie (1980). Only a man of truth is capable of crying out, Father, forgive them, as he is nailed to a cross (Lk 23:34). Only a man of truth is capable of crying out, Lord, do not hold this sin against them as he is stoned to death (Acts 7:60). But the world teaches us differently. We are taught to despair of our enemies, that reconciliation is impossible, that what counts is force and violence. But let us not accept violence as the way to peace (1981), let us not shut human beings into categories in opposition to each other (1984), let us instead free history from the false paths it is pursuing [by being] people with a
14

deep trust in man (1985), a trust founded upon the truth about manthat we all need and are all capable of redemption and conversion. The Church prays that no one should be lost . . . The Church prays for all men to be saved . . . it is also true that God desires all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:4), and that for him all things are possible (Mt 19:26) . . . (CCC 1821, 1058). The world must be taught this truth. This truth brings peace wherever it is heard and accepted. Yet no one can be forced to see the truth, for truth imposes itself solely by the force of its own truth (1991). Human freedom resists any imposition of truth, and God cannot heal any human heart against a persons own free choice. Truth must always be accompanied by freedom, and freedom always follows from truth. The world often seeks to impose truth or conceal truth, rather than respecting the freedom of human hearts. Governments, peoples, and cultures can conspire to hide the truth, to oppress the truth, or to even deny the freedom to seek the truth. While some ideological systems attack truth and freedom outright, Western ideologies often attack truth by presenting false materialistic and individualistic notions of freedom. Freedom, in such a context, comes to mean following ones own truth which is relative to all other truths, thereby destroying the possibility of grasping truth itself. In such subtle deceptions the very reality of God is questioned, or worse, abandoned. And when God dies in the conscience of the human person, there inevitably follows the death of man, the image of God (1985). They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions . . . and since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper (Rom 1:25, 28). While the world claims to be free, many remain trapped and enslaved by deceptions they cannot even see. They are enslaved by the Father of Lies who was a murderer from the beginning, and have been drafted into rebellion against God and one another. They have been seduced by systems that present a global vision of humanity that is exclusive and almost Manichean making struggle against others (1984), whether socially, economically, or politically, the basis of their lives. The truth does not lead men and women to enter into endless conflicts with one another. The truth does not make man the enemy, or any man an enemy. The truth makes evil itself, with all its lies, the enemy. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in
15

truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feed shod in readiness for the gospel of peace (Eph 6:12-15). The man of peace, compelled by the love of Christ and guided by the truth about man, battles not flesh and blood, but the world rulers of wickednessthe lies that enslave man in a war against man. The greatest good we can do for one another is to be agents of redemption by being instruments of truth, forgiveness, and freedom, just as Christ did for us.

16

2. Dialogue and Prayer

The discovery of truth is achieved through the dialogue of persons, cultures, and religions. Dialogue isnt negotiation, and doesnt necessarily involve committees, debates, or even words. Rather, true dialogue is the search for what is good and presupposes the search for what is true, good, and just for every person, for every group and society (1983). Dialogue rests upon the truth that all human beings are always capable of reason, and that reason, and not might, must decide the destinies of peoples (1969). Thus dialogue, as a central and essential element of ethical thinking (1983) is not only necessary for true peace, but is always possible (1984)even in the darkest situations. Just as every person is capable of embarking upon the way of redemption, every person and society is capable of dialogue. Dialogue occurs whenever a person truly communicates with another person. The exemplary form of dialogue is prayer. For prayer comes from the heart . . . the place of decision . . . the place of truth, where we choose life or death . . . the place of encounter (CCC 2562-3). In that encounter with God, true prayer brings us into union with God. Such is the goal of dialogue true communication, community, and communion. For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy (St. Therese of Lisieux). Dialogue is not a simple exchange of words, but an exchange of heartan exchange of soul that leads to unity and oneness. Accordingly, dialogue is blocked by an a priori decision to concede nothing, to refuse to listen, by a claim to beoneself and only oneselfthe measure of justice (1983). Dialogue only occurs when both sides open their hearts to one another. Only a person redeemed by truth can find the courage to open themselves up to their enemies, to make themselves vulnerable in the face of attack. But the truth convinces us that every heart is capable of redemption, love, freedom, and hence, dialogue. Moreover, we know that conversion is a process and a journeythat just as we must continue to pray for healing of heartno matter how far we have comethat we must also continue to enter into dialogue with all of man. Just as prayer removes obstacles to communion with God, dialogue removes obstacles to communion with humanity. Dialogue is not for the self-righteous, but for the sinner who seeks sainthood, knowing that life is a pilgrimage of discovery: the discovery of who you are . . . a voyage that never ends (1985). Dialogue is precisely this path of discoveries and the more we discover one another, the more we can replace the tensions of the past with bonds of peace (1986). Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling! (Lk 13:34).

17

The invitation to dialogue is not always accepted, as Jesus found in the people of Israel. God invited his people to come to him over and over again, even as they rejected him over and over again. What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost on until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy . . . there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance (Lk 15:4-7). Christs use of images and parables not only teaches about Gods unyielding desire to draw all into communion with himselfgiving of himself even to the crossbut the very nature of the parables reveals something of the essence of dialogue. When asked by his disciples why he spoke to the crowds in parables, Jesus replied that knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you, but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand (Lk 8:10). Far from implying Christs rejection of the crowds, the parables mysterious nature invites the crowds to enter into Christs community of disciples. Only by saying yes to Christ, only by accepting the invitation to dialogue, only by moving from the edges of the crowd to the foot of the Savior, can one begin to truly understand Christ. One does not enter into dialogue because both sides are perfect, but because both sides are imperfect and need one another to find true healing. In opening ourselves up to the truth, we discover that no person or culture is perfect, and that peoples can and must work together to purify one another of all elements contrary to love, life, and truth. The culture of death is not bound by a continent or a hemisphere. The culture of death, a culture premised upon lies about God and Man, influences every nation and every people. For precisely this reason, dialogue between cultures and traditions . . . is the obligatory path to the building of a reconciled world (2001). The good that exists within the variety of the earths people must be drawn forth and shared. Such goods can be particularly seen in the achievements of science and art. The sharing of cultural gifts helps to foster the openness and trust that is required for real dialogue. Indeed, the beautiful works of culture are an anticipation of the emergence of a universal peaceful society (1982). All too often, men and women only see the worst in one another, instead of seeing the divine image and the face of Christ. Moreover, we often fail to see our own failings. Prayer again serves as a useful measure of true dialogue. The man who enters into a self-righteous dialogue with God speaks only to himself, and does not receive Gods mercyfor the man never even asks for mercy. Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, O God,
18

I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanitygreedy, dishonest, adulterousor even like this tax collector . . . But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayer, O God, be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former (Lk 18:14) Because prayer is the ultimate form of dialogue, ecumenical prayer among the different religions is a powerful force for peace in the world. Religion itself points man to his transcendent identity and destiny. Although we must always be fully aware of the differences between religions, the seekers of transcendent truth can enter into an effective dialogue with one anotherprecisely through lifting their hearts up to God together. We must engage in intense, humble, confident and persevering prayer, if the world is finally to become a dwelling-place of peace, for Prayer is par excellence the power needed to implore that peace and obtain it (1998). This dialogue of joint prayer will help to ensure that the many painful wounds inflicted over the course of centuries will not be repeated (1992) and that all religions can unite in speaking out against war and bravely facing the consequent risks (1997). Once peoples and nations can pray together, once they commit themselves to resolutely facing the truth and lies that permeate the cultures of the world, once they accept the invitation to join one another in following the path of peace, nothing will be able to stop them. Through dialogue and prayer, people will be led to a new understanding of their human condition, that fosters the sincere gift of themselves culminating in their complete fellowship with other human beings (1998). For in opening themselves to truth, wherever it may be found, humanity opens itself up to love, wherever it may be found: The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men (Declaration on the Relation of the Church to non-Christian religions, 2). We must all seek out and find the rays of truth, no matter how slight, for the truth cannot help but further the salvation of Jesus Christ and the redemption of all mankind. We have nothing to fear, nothing to lose, much to learn, and everything to gain. We must have bold confidence in the power of God to unite enemies, precisely by uniting us with himin the dialogue of Man and God, and the dialogue of men and women. Then, together, as brothers and sisters and children of the Most High, we can discover the path to salvation and peace. And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him (Lk 11:9-13).
19

20

3. One Human Family

In his fatherly care for all of us, God desires that all men should form one family and deal with each other in a spirit of brotherhood. All, in fact, are destined to the very same end, namely God himself, since they have been created in the likeness of God (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 24) Every man is my brother (1971) and every woman is my sister, because God is the Father of all. And yet because lies lead my brothers and sisters to live without ever experiencing the love of the Father and without ever seeing the face of Christ. Lies make brothers and sisters into strangers, and even enemies. Though we are one human family (1987), we kill one another. We wage war. We destroy. We starve. We despair. Cain said to his brother Abel, Let us go out in the field. When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord asked Cain, where is your brother Abel? He answered, I do not know. Am I my brothers keeper? (Gen 4:8-9). Though brother continues to kill brother, the Church continues to remind us that Yes, every man is his brothers keeper, because God entrusts us to one another (Evangelium Vitae, 19). Yet we are brothers and family armed to the teeth against one another. We pursue peace through the firing of a gun or a launching of a missilethrough bloodshed. And yet God tells us again: Listen! Your brothers blood cries out to me from the soil! (Gen 4:10). We must remember our common humanity, our common heritage, and our common destiny. Even in death, our unity does not end. Our lives are involved with one another, through innumerable interactions they are linked together. No one lives alone. No one sins alone. No one is saved alone. The lives of others continually spill over into mine: in what I think, say, do and achieve. And conversely, my life spills over into that of others: for better and for worse . . . It is never too late to touch the heart of another, nor is it ever in vain. (Spe Salvi, 48) In the grace of conversion, in the prayerful dialogue of truth, we receive a new heart [that] seeks to banish the fear and psychosis of war [and] replaces the axiom which holds that peace results from the balance of arms with the principle that true peace can be built up only in mutual trust (1984). For true peace cannot be ensured until a security based on arms is gradually replaced with a security based on the solidarity of the human family (1987). Indeed, the goal which believers must put before themselves is that of establishing community relationships among people (CSDC 392). This communion will not come through negotiation, but only through the sacrifice of enemy-love. If the world opens itself to our common humanity, if the world puts trust in humanitys capacity for goodness and reason, if the consciousness of universal brotherhood truly penetrates into the
21

hearts of men, will they still need to arm themselves to the point of becoming blind and fanatic killers of their brethren (1976)? The answer is clear if the truth is acknowledged. We are all family. We need simply to accept it, and act upon it. What we do to one man, we do to all of man, and to the Son of Man himself, who teaches us that what you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me (Mt 25:40). Christ reveals to us the final destiny and goal of existenceto be united with one another and with God, forever.

22

4. Learning Peace
Can a blind person lead a blind person? Will not both fall into the pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher, but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher (Lk 6:39-40). The path to peace is not easy, for it requires realizing that though you may think that you already know everything about Peace in the world, you and I and all of us still have much to learn (1976). In a secularized world, where peace means material abundance amidst historical pockets of cease-fire, the word peace has been stained. The slogan Peace and Justice has become the rally-cry of men and women who even deny God, or hate God outright. Peace must be redeemed from secular forces, and the world must be educated to love peacetrue peace (1968). The World Day of Peace messages, if received with prayerful and earnest hearts, provide a true science of peace [that] is easy to understand . . . but at the same time quite demanding (2004). They are demanding because they are a new ideological education, education for peace (1970). The World Days of Peace are particularly intense moments of prayer for peace and for the commitment to build a world of peace . . . these annual occasions represent a rich source for the renewal and development of the Churchs social doctrine (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 520). We must reflect together on the priceless treasure of peace (1987). For we Christians see the commitment to educate ourselves and other to peace as something at the very heart of our religion (2004). The Churchs own reflection upon peace in the modern era began in earnest with the Second Vatican Council. Following the horrors of World War II and the terrors of the Cold War, the Fathers of the Council began a systematic reflection upon peace that has not ended, and whose fruits have yet to fully ripen. The development of armaments by modern science has immeasurably magnified the horrors and wickedness of war. Warfare conducted with these weapons can inflict immense and indiscriminate havoc which goes far beyond the bounds of legitimate defense . . . All these factors force us to undertake a completely fresh appraisal of war. Men of this generation should realize that they will have to render an account of their warlike behavior (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 80). The love of Christ compels us to join the Church on its completely fresh appraisal of war, a journey that takes us straight to the World Day of Peace messages. Moreover, we are forced to look beyond the worlds ideologies and the worlds heroes, to the Churchs truth and the Churchs heroes. We are called to enter into a deeply prayerful study of peace, following in the footsteps of Christ and Christs greatest saints. All of us must learn the history of peace and not
23

simply the history of victory and defeat in war (1996). Moreover, Every community should undertake an extensive process of education and witness aimed at making everyone more aware of the need for a fuller appreciation of the truth of peace (2006). In doing so, we will discover the true face of the Prince of Peace, and his true image within us.

24

C. WAR NO MORE!
The reborn person who draws close to Christ and is transformed by Christs love discovers that violence is a lie and that wareven defensive waris in itself evil. We discover that war in Gods name is never acceptable! (2007). We discover that war is the failure of all true humanism (1999), and that war is quite simply absurd (1969). The idea that war is anything but an evil consequence of sin, that war could ever be a force for freedom, happiness, truth, and love, is simply absurd. The Magisterium condemns the savagery of war and asks that war be considered in a new way. In fact, it is hardly possible to image that in an atomic era, war could be used as an instrument of justice. War is a scourge and is never an appropriate way to resolve problems that arise between nations, it has never been and it will never be, because it creates new and still more complicated conflicts. When it erupts, war becomes an unnecessary massacre, an adventure without return that compromises humanitys present and threatens its future. Nothing is lost by peace; everything may be lost by war. The damage caused by an armed conflict is not only material but also moral. In the end, war is the failure of all true humanism, it is always a defeat for humanity: never again some peoples against others, never again! . . . no more war, no more war! (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 497). Yet the world teaches us that war saves, and that peace comes through superior firepower. But this abhorrent logic of war (1993) is worthy of total condemnation. War is a useless slaughter (2006) of brother killing brother, of son killing father, of mother killing daughter. No one ever wins a war. Rather, everyone loses. Jesus Christ and his Apostles teach us to reject the senseless violence of arms (1993) and to unite to fight every kind of violence and to conquer war (1996). War must be conquered because war is evil: Providence urgently demands of us that we free ourselves from the age-old slavery of war (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 82). Killing another person is the ultimate act of despair, for Peace and violence cannot dwell together, and where there is violence, God cannot be present (CSDC 488). David said to Solomon: My Son, it was my purpose to build a house myself for the honor of the Lord, my God. But this word of the Lord came to me: You have shed much blood, and you have waged great wars. You may not build a house in my honor, because you have shed too much blood upon the earth in my sight (1 Chr 22:8). War is a curse of sin, and for ages man remained enslaved to both sin and war. King David endured the betrayal and rebellion of his own son, and had nowhere to turn but violence and war. The victory of David occurred through the death of the very son he loved.

25

The king was shaken, and went up to the room over the city gate to weep. He said as he wept, My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son! (1 Sam 19:1) King Davids tears reveal the real nature of war. War is never victory. War is always the triumph of evil. Yet evil has been conquered in Jesus Christevil in our hearts, and evil in our world. War does not have the last word. What David could not do, the Son of David would do. What David could not build, the Son of David would builda house and a Kingdom that would storm the very gates of hell. Jesus Christ has freed us with his love, the love he pours into our hearts in the Holy Spirit, in the ever-loving presence of the Father. Therefore do not be afraid of them . . . do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Fathers knowledge. Even all the hairs in your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows (Mt 26-31). In Jesus Christ, in the sacrifice of enemy-love, in dying for sinners, we discover freedom. We discover faith, hope, and love. We discover the victory of the martyrsthe true warriors for peace. Dying for another person, dying for sinners, as Christ taught and lived, is the ultimate profession of faith, hope, and love. Yet in our world, martyrs are forgotten and warriors are etched into our currency and our monuments. What has led to this terrible distortion that makes war into peace and warriors into saints? War, of course, has not ceased to be part of the human scene. As long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defence, once all peace efforts have failed (Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, 79). Lawful self-defense can be a duty for those still enslaved by the evil of war. The Church sets strict limits to such self-defense, according to the just-war theoryoriginally a doctrine proposed by the pagan Cicero and adopted by Saints Augustine and Aquinas. Paradoxically, the Church condemns the evil of war, while maintaining that war is a necessary response under certain conditions. The slavery of war still reigns over much of the world, just as the slavery of sin still reigns so many human hearts. Though redemption is real, and conversion possible, much of the world remains in darkness. In such darkness, violence remains the only response to violence. In such darkness, horror rules. In this darkness, many are tempted to despair of peace. Many are tempted to baptize violence as the salvation of the world. Many, blinded by mans fallen nature, are tempted to make war holy, and warriors saints. Some maintain that Jesus never condemns war or warriors, that the Gospel
26

and the bible resolutely support war as a positive force for good in the world. They point to the story of the Centurion, whose faith Jesus praises as the greatest he had found in all of Israel. This same Centurion, a slave-owner, has also been the favorite story of those who once supported slavery. Have not Christians waged war and owned slaves throughout history? Have not even Popes and Saints killed and owned men? Yes, Popes have killed their brothers. Saints have owned their brothers. And it was a Centurion that nailed the Son of God to a piece of wood. Sin has been with us from the beginning, and no man or woman is immune from itno matter how strong their faith, no matter how deep their love. Today, the philosophies of just-slavery have been dismissed. Today, the philosophy of just-war is being questioned. For these doctrines are rooted in all too-fallible human reason, and have failed to integrate the enemy-love of Christ. The just-war theory is under considerable review in light of humanitys experience of total war in the 20 th century. Mans experience of war had been local and limited up to that point, but with two World Wars, we have seen the real face of violence. In theory, the just war theory is rational. But in practice, war is always irrational. In practice, the just-war theory fails. We have discovered the hard way that war destroys [and] does not build up, (1999) that war weakens the moral foundations of society and creates further divisions and long-lasting tensions (1999). Killing, in short, solves nothing. The just-war theory has tempted many to claim that war is good, when the just-war theory makes no such claim. In the medieval ages, Saint Basil required soldiers who killed in war to undergo years of penance before receiving the Eucharist. War was limited on holy days and seasonsfor how could brother kill brother on Christmas? In World War I, on Christmas night, the French and German soldiers spontaneously laid down their weapons to celebrate with one another, crossing lines, and embracing one another as brothers. Historically, the Church has always attempted to limit or even ban violence, and its greatest saints have renounced war. Saint Francis forbid his lay third orderthe Secular Franciscansfrom bearing arms. With tens of thousands of lay men and women joining Francis third order, war-making decreased simply from the lack of soldiers. Even entire classes of weapons were banned, with the crossbow being declared anathema at the Second Lateran council. Even as Popes have owned slaves and waged war and entire peoples were drawn into the Crusades, violence has never been decisively approved as a good by the Church. In past times, cruel practices were commonly used by legitimate governments to maintain law and order, often without protest from the Pastors of the Church, who themselves adopted in their own tribunals the prescriptions of Roman law concerning torture. Regrettable as these facts are, the Church always taught the duty of clemency and mercy. She forbade clerics to shed blood (CCC 2298). Along with torture and the death penalty, violence and war has increasingly been rejected in their entirety. Pope Benedict XVI, as Cardinal Ratzinger in 2003, said, today we should be asking ourselves if it is still licit to admit the very existence of a just war
27

(http://www.zenit.org/article-7161?l=english). Today, the disciples of Christ are uniting to finally and fully embrace the way of peace. While wars of limited defense will always be philosophically legitimate, the Gospel compels us to conquer war itself, and to recall that even legitimate wars are the evil fruit of sin, and a failure of Christian love. The words of Abraham Lincolns Second Inaugural Address are appropriate, both in their truth, and in their tragedy: Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." War is a useless slaughter that must never be glorified, not even when made legitimate in limited self-defense. He who can kill another child of God without weeping is one who has not understood the love of Christ on the cross. He who can award medals and order war without tears has not seen the face of Christ in the enemy, has not trusted in the power of love, has even lost hope in the peace of Christ. War is a tragedy that must not continue. War is the pinnacle of human sin. War is the collective groan of human despair. War is hell. The hell of war must end. War No More!

28

1. Peace is Possible
Because war is good, the world teaches, war will never and should never end. A world of real peace, it is thought, is impossible. Here on the contrary is our message, your message too, men of good will, the message of all mankind: peace is possible (1973). For the first word of the risen Christ to his disciples was, Peace, the peace of the New Covenant. Bow and sword and war I will destroy from the land, and I will let them take their rest in security. I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy (Hosea 2:20-21). What gives us hope that war can give way to peace? For without this hope, peace will never be attempted, never realized. The despair of peace is the destruction of peace. At root, what compromises the stability of Peace is the skeptical conviction that, in practice, Peace is impossible (1974). People think peace is a wonderful idea, but then dismiss peace as a poetic dream and a utopian fallacy that is like an intoxicating drug (1974). The world regards peace as impossible, mistakenly believing that what matters is force, that organized society cannot do without force (1974). But the ancient prophet Isaiah saw a different vision a Kingdom of God, ruled by the Prince of Peace: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before as at the harvest as men make merry when dividing spoils. For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames. For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him WonderCounselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful (Is 9:1-6). Christ is the Messiah, and his peace he has left us. Peace I leave with you , my peace I give to you (Jn 14:27) Christ has said to us. This divine promise fills us with the hope, indeed the certainty of divine hope, that peace is possible, because nothing is impossible with God. (1992) He is the Prince of Peace who will defeat the powers that enslave ussin, death, and yes, even violence and warfor every combat boot will be burned, and every armor plate broken. The Christ will defeat evil as on the day of Midianthe Old Testament battleground that epitomizes the power and substance of Christs victory.
2

The LORD said to Gideon, The troops with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand. Israel would only take the credit away from me, saying, My own hand has delivered me. . . . 19 So Gideon and the hundred who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set
29

the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20So the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars, holding in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow; and they cried, A sword for the LORD and for Gideon! 21Every man stood in his place all around the camp, and all the men in camp ran; they cried out and fled. 22When they blew the three hundred trumpets, the LORD set every mans sword against his fellow and against all the army; and the army fled (Jgs 7:2,19-21). The Old Testaments greatest victories occurred not through the power of Israel, not even through the power of human weaponry, but through the might and power of God . For The Lord crushes warfare (Jud 9:8), and David reveals that it is not by the sword or spear that the Lord saves (1 Sm 17:47). The history of Gods people reveals how fallacious it is to trust in the bow or shield, spear or sword, horse or chariot, for the power of God defeats Pharaohs armies, tears down Jerichos walls, and defends his people from certain defeat. Faith in God and faithfulness to Gods commands leads to certain victory over evil: Fear not! Stand your ground . . . the Lord himself will fight for you; you only have to keep still (Ex 14:13-14). No matter how powerful the enemy might seem, simple fidelity opens us to the immense and unstoppable power of God. The essence of this power, however, is not to be found in material combat, but rather in spiritual combatin the battle for human hearts, where sin, evil, violence, and war originate. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world (Jn 16:33). Jesus contemporaries, and even his disciples, expected the victory of God to be accomplished through divine military power. They asked to call down fire on the inhospitable Samaritan town. They refused to believe that their Christ would be crucified. They even carried swords, and used them. But Christ did not come to bring victory in a war. Christ came to bring victory over war, over evil, over the powers of hell and death: upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Mt 16:18). The failure to believe in peace is the failure to believe in Christ. Some deny that Christ really has brought peace. And yet since Christ rose from the dead, peace has been growing like a mustard seedflourishing with each newly reborn human heart. This communion exists; these "islands of peace" exist in the Body of Christ. They exist. And forces of peace exist in the world. If we look at history, we can see the great saints of charity who have created "oases" of this peace of God in the world, who have again lit their light, and have been able to reconcile and to create peace again. The martyrs exist who suffered with Christ; they have given this witness of peace, of love, which puts a limit to violence (Pope Benedict XVI, http://www.zenit.org/article-16679?l=english).

30

Peace is possible, because the Prince of Peace still livesin, through, and with us, his body. Swords, spears, chariots, tanks, bombers, and bullets cannot build the peace of Christ. Violence and bloodshed cannot build the body of Christ. Only love, Christs love, can do that. Peace, let us repeat at once, is not a purely ideal dream, nor is it an attractive but fruitless and unattainable utopia. It is, and must be, a reality - a dynamic reality and one to be generated at every stage of civilization, like the bread on which we live, the fruit of the earth and of divine Providence but also the product of human work (1978).

31

2. Peace is a duty
Peace is a duty (1969), the Church teaches, not only for all men and women, but especially for those who follow the Prince of Peace, and the source of Peace, Jesus Christ: Working for peace can never be separated from announcing the Gospel, which is in fact the good news of peace (Acts 10:36; cf. Eph 6:15) addressed to all men and women. At the centre of the gospel of peace (Eph 6:15) remains the mystery of the cross, because peace is born of Christ's sacrifice (cf. Is 53:5) Upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we were healed. The crucified Jesus has overcome divisions, re-establishing peace and reconciliation, precisely through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end (Eph 2:16) and bringing the salvation of the Resurrection to mankind (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 493). Just as God saved humanity through a humanhis SonGods gift of peace is accomplished through persons living in Christ. Peace is both gift and task (2007). God chose to bring Christ into the world through a human being, and through human beings Christ continues to save the worldthrough his living Body, the Church. God's gift of peace is therefore also at all times a human conquest and achievement, since it is offered to us in order that we may accept it freely and put it progressively into operation by our creative will (1982). Peace, then, must not only be embraced as our destiny, but must be won by those whom Peace has already conquered (1984). Peace conquers hearts and draws hearts into itself, transforming men and women into the peacemakers of Jesus Christ. Peace is not a duty of obligation stamped on to disciples against their own will, but peace flows from hearts reborn and set on fire for love of God and man. Just as the battle for hearts on earth is never complete, just as conversion is a life-long process of temptation and perseverance, Peace requires the active and continual cooperation of men and women. Peace must be built by every generation: it is always in a process of continuous and progressive realization (1974), it is is always coming to be, always incomplete, always fragile, always under attack (1969). In a world of darkness, the peacemakers must fight with intelligence and living courage (1978). Everyone is called to fight for peace, no matter their vocation, no matter their state in life. Peace is a duty for all, requiring the best of each. No one can claim exemption (1998), not least Christians, who have as their guide and master the Prince of Peace (1992). Indeed, for the Catholic faithful, the commitment to build peace and justice is not secondary, but essential (2000). What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill, and yet you do not supply their
32

bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead (James 2:14-17). Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I tell you? (Lk 6:46). The works of the faithful are clear: the end of war and the era of peacenot a perfect or permanent utopia, but a dynamic harmony that lives moment to moment in the love of men and women. The command to love is our duty of peace, and the reconciliation of friend and foe and man and God is the peace Christ promises to those who love him.

33

3. Violence is a lie
Many good men and women have been captivated and seduced by the lie of violence. Some believe that economic progress requires war. Some believe that social progress requires war. Some believe that the best solution to any problem is at the point of a blade. Some believe that war is the answer, the only answer to war. Yet the preacher of the Papal Household believes and teaches otherwise. Capuchin friar Raniero Cantalamessa has preached to the Popes and Cardinals for more than three decadesfrom 1980 until now, and his words on violence are revealing: Nor is it possible to justify violence in the name of progress. "Violence," someone has said, "is the midwife of history" (Marx and Engels). To some extent that is true. It is true that new and more just social orders are sometimes the outcome of revolutions and wars, but the contrary is also true: What results from them is injustice and evils worse than before . . . Violence is only midwife of further violence (http://www.zenit.org/article9864?l=english). While war does seem to jump-start dead economies, while war does seem to draw forces of unity and energy and even nobility, while war can seem like a harsh but necessary cure, the Church resolutely says no. War never makes the world a better place. The shedding of blood creates worse injustices, worse evilseven if such evils cannot immediately be seen. Indeed, how false was the Peace imposed only by the superiority of power and force (1972). The apparent success of war is one of violences greatest lies. The peacemaker must resist the deceptive solutions of rapid progress obtained by violence, convinced that such gains would bring with them the poisonous seeds of fresh conflicts (1979). And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons. 23And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand (Mk 3:23-25). Evil cannot drive out evil. Violence cannot solve violence. War is bloodshed and man killing manthe very destruction of the image of Godnot only in victim, but even in victor. The heart made capable of killing is a heart estranged from the divine image of love within. In his book, On Killing, Lt. Col. David Grossman reveals that killing violates a deep part of mans heart, and destroys even those who kill in self-defense: I was just absolutely gripped by the fear that this man would expect me and would shoot me. But as it turned out he was in a sniper harness and couldn't turn around fast enough. He was entangled in the harness so I shout him with a .45... I can remember whispering

34

foolishly 'I'm sorry' and then just throwing up... I threw up all over myself. It was a betrayal of what I'd been taught since a child. And I froze, 'cos it was a boy, I would say between the ages of twelve and fourteen. When he turned at me and looked, all of a sudden he turned his whole body and pointed his automatic weapon at me, I just opened up, fired the whole twenty rounds right at the kid, and he just laid there. I dropped my weapon and cried Those who have killed understand the lie of violence. And yet so many continue to accept death as a solution to life. Yet the Church continues to teach that it is not permissible to kill in order to impose a solution (1979). For Peace requires a clear and conscious acknowledgement that violence is an unacceptable evil and that it never solves problems (2005). No, let us not accept violence as the way to peace (1981), for violence cannot obtain true justice for you or for anyone else (1987). What reverberates in the heart also resounds in truththe destruction of our brothers and sisters never solves any problem, never makes the world a better place, and never fosters true peace. The peace that violence creates is the false peace of might and power, not of brotherhood and love. Moreover, within the false peace of violence, hearts and bodies are subjected to powerful forces that will eventually unleash new and more terrible violence. Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. 51Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 52Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? (Mt 26:50-53). Jesus puts it simply: Violence destroys those who believe in it. Thought it might appear that just-wars lead to peace or justice, war and violence never have and never will be a source of lovethe real foundation of peace and justice. Instead, factors of life and progress that may have been found even in wars and revolutions were derived from aspirations of an order other than that of violence: aspirations of a spiritual nature (1979). Wars are often fought out of noble motivationslove of family, love of country, love of life and truth. It is this love that prevents war from destroying everything, and that restores civilization. Yet these aspirations of a spiritual nature must be liberated from the means of violence. Satan must not be used to drive out Satan, and war cannot be used to end war. Violence cannot save us. Only lovenot only for our selves, but especially for our enemies, can bring peace. Violence is a lie, for it goes against the truth of our faith, the truth of our humanity ... do not believe in violence; do not support violence. It is not the Christian way. It is not the way of the Catholic Church. Believe in peace and forgiveness and love; for they are of Christ (1980). Jesus carried a cross, not a sword, and he taught us how to respond to violence:

35

You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 39But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also (Mt 5:38-39. This practical love of enemy forms what Pope Benedict XVI calls the magna carta of Christian non-violence [that] does not consist in succumbing to evil, as a false interpretation of "turning the other cheek" claims, but in responding to evil with good (cf. Rom 12:17-21) and thereby breaking the chain of injustice (http://www.zenit.org/article-18951?l=english). The false interpretation of turning the other cheek is based on a limited understanding and often narrow translation of Do not resist an evildoer. N.T. Wright, the Anglican Bishop and Biblical Scholar, reveals a better translation of this famous passage, one that corresponds with Pope Benedicts insights: Do not resist evil (5.39) is not to be taken simply to refer to personal hostilities or village-level animosity. The word resist is antistenai, almost a technical term for revolutionary resistance of a specifically military variety (Jesus and the Victory of God, 291). In the Old Testament, the Greek word antistenai is primarily used in a militant or violent sense: no one will be able to stand against you, until you have destroyed them (Dt 7:24). For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us (2 Chr 20:12). We will overwhelm them; their mountains will be drunk with their blood, and their fields will be full of their dead. Not even their footprints will survive our attack; they will utterly perish (Jd 6:4). They all come for violence, with faces pressing forward; he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with his drawn sword in his hand (Nm 22:31) Walter Wink, a protestant biblical scholar, summarizes the issue with startling clarity: "Do not resist one who is evil, or do not resist the evil person," is not accurately translated. It's not wrong - the word antistenai - anti means "against" and stenai means "stand" - means to stand against somebody or offer resistance. But what was overlooked by the translators is that antistenai is a technical term for "warfare." It refers to the marching up of two armies in solid ranks until they collide in this deafening cacophony of steel against steel, and they suddenly stand there and disembowel each other until one side has had all it can take and they break and run. Antistenai is the word that describes that bloody encounter. And so when Jesus says, "Do not antistenai the evil people," he's not just saying, "Don't resist them." Of course you resist those who are evil. Jesus always resisted evil. Can anyone name me a single time Jesus doesn't resist evil? But he's saying
36

don't resist evil violently (Walter Wink, Nonviolence for the Violent, http://www.witherspoonsociety.org/walter_wink.htm). Where does Jesus forbid the use of violence? Not only in his revelation about the futility of the sword, but more precisely in the best translation of Do not resist evil: Do not violently resist evil (Mt 5:39). Yes, resist evil, but not with military force, not with wars, not with revolutions of bloodshed. Instead, resist evil with the revolution of love. Christ's proposal is realistic because it takes into account that in the world there is too much violence, too much injustice, and therefore that this situation cannot be overcome except by countering it with more love, with more goodness . . . for Christians, nonviolence is not merely tactical behaviour but a person's way of being, the attitude of one who is so convinced of God's love and power that he is not afraid to tackle evil with the weapons of love and truth alone (Pope Benedict XVI, On the Revolution of Love, http://www.zenit.org/article-18951?l=english). Peace is possible, but not through violence. Peace is possible only through the love that rejects the lie of violence, through the very love of Jesus Christ.

37

4. The Sanctity of Life

The rejection of violence carries a paradox and a question: how else are we to defend the lives of the innocent? If Jesus forbids resisting evil with violence, how are we to defend life? In recognition of this paradox, and of the grave duty to defend life, the Church has traditionally made allowances for limited defense using violencea necessary evil that carries no guilt. Unfortunately it happens that the need to render the aggressor incapable of causing harm sometimes involves taking his life. In this case, the fatal outcome is attributable to the aggressor whose action brought it about, even though he may not be morally responsible because of a lack of the use of reason (Evangelium Vitae, 55). In a wicked and dark world that has succumbed to the lies of violence, Jesus rejection of bloodshed seems like a form of cowardice and defeatism. And yet Christs admonition reveals the truth: that if we truly value life, if we truly seek to defend life, we must not only defend the lives of the innocent, but also the lives of the guilty. While it is certainly just to defend the lives of the innocent, it is Christ-like to defend the lives of the guilty. Therein lies the contradiction all life is sacred, yet to defend life we often resort to taking life. In this paradox, many have forgotten that violence, no matter how necessary, is still evil. The Prince of Peaces solution to this dilemma is in making necessary evil unnecessary. By the grace of Jesus Christ, we can free humanity from the slavery of necessary evil. Indeed we must, for the violence which so many individuals and peoples continue to experience, the wars which still cause bloodshed in many areas of the world . . . can no longer be tolerated (1995). The necessary evil of legitimate war can no longer be tolerated. The mass acceptance of mass violence, far from making life a supreme value, has destroyed our love of life. The guilt of legitimate bloodshed does not simply vanish, but seeps into the very soul of civilization. Life has been made cheap by our toleration of war. And because life has been de-sacralized, we have come to believe the lie of violencethat war is a solution and that bloodshed is peace. What does it mean to defend life, to choose life? To choose life involves rejecting every form of violence (1999). One cannot simultaneously defend life while using the means of death. If we based the logic of our activity on the sacredness of life, war is virtually disqualified (1977). Yet today, life is sought through death and peace is sought through war, as if peace could be secured through the destruction of life: Peace is sought and won through conflict, like a sad doom necessary for self-defense (1977). In the words of Tacitusthey make a desert, and call it peace. They destroy villages, towns, cities, and entire countries, and call it peace. They even rip babies from wombs, and call it peace. They light incense and kneel beside alters, and offer up sacrifices to God, even as they choose war or choose abortion, and they call it peace.
13

Bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me.

38

New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. 14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, (Isaiah 1:13-16). May our love for lifeall life, even and especially the lives of sinnershelp us to realize that we are all called to do everything possible to banish from society not only the tragedy of war, but every violation of the individual human beings right to life (1995). Jesus gives us a model to follow in this regard. Jesus reveals what it means to do everything possible to defend life.
24

Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life (John 12:24-25). The battle for Life can only be won by those who are guaranteed to live forever. If death and evil have the last word, then violence is necessary, the death is necessary. But if life and truth and peace have the last wordas they do in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his saintsthen something new has come into our world. We have been given a chance to liberate mankind from the slavery of death, by sharing in the life and heart of Jesus Christ. Christs cross teaches us that the battle for life reaches beyond the simple defense of our bodily existence, and extends to the depths of the spiritthe soul. In fighting to save our bodies with violence, we unleash the powers of darkness that destroy our souls. In a dark and sinful world, we may often be forced to choose between saving individual lives and defending the value of Life itself. Moreover, there are even cases where a good higher than Life itself comes into play . . . truth, justice . . . faith (1977). The defeat of death requires the risk and sacrifice of Christs love, a love made possibly only by total faith in the triumph of his resurrection. A force that the world does not know is active in defeat, in the humiliation of those who suffer for the Gospel: "for when I am weak", the Apostle Paul exclaims, "then I am strong" (II Cor 12: 10). It is the power of love, defenseless and victorious even in
39

apparent defeat. It is the force that challenges and triumphs over death (Pope Benedict XVI, http://www.zenit.org/article-22428?l=english). The Christian rejects all war, because war is the spiritual and material destruction of the children of God. Violence destroys both victims and victors. For Life to triumph, for Peace to reign, war must give way to something new: the love of Christ that transforms us from enemies into brothers.

40

5. Swords into Ploughshares

Everyone knows, and particularly those who come from the countries that hostilities are bathing in blood, that violence always spawns violence. War throws open the doors to the abyss of evil. War even gives access to the most illogical possibilities. War, therefore, must always be considered a defeat: a defeat of reason and of humanity. Thus, may there soon be a spiritual and cultural impulse that will induce people to ban war. Yes, war never again! (John Paul II, Letter on 18th International Meeting of Peoples and Religions) Isaiah prophesied the coming of the Christ in clear terms: For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isaiah 2:3-4). Christs teaching and example remain clear. He commanded us to love our enemies and to resist them with goodness and love, not bloodshed. Peter not only betrayed his Lord with words, but with deedswhen Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of his enemy. Christs admonition and rebuke was delivered not only to Peter, but to the entire Church: put your sword away! (Mt 26:52). And if we are too numb to understand such words, Christ takes decisive action. Instead of fighting his enemies with violence, he fights with goodness:
50

Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51But Jesus said, No more of this! And he touched his ear and healed him (Lk 22:50-51). In our world, how many Christians have not only severed ears, but blown apart bodies, families, and nations? No matter how legitimate and guiltless such violence may be, Jesus still turns to us and declares: put away the sword that will destroy you in the end, and trade violence for the sacrifice of goodness. Wars, even when they solve the problems which cause them, do so only by leaving a wake of victims and destruction (1997), they are often the cause of further wars, they do not solve the problems for which they are fought, and they prove ultimately futile (2000). Nothing is resolved by war; on the contrary, everything is placed in jeopardy by war (1993). Wars not only destroy bodies, but also exercise a pernicious influence on peoples minds (1994) leading to the very destruction of peoples souls.

41

After so many unnecessary massacres, it is in the final analysis of fundamental importance to recognize, once and for all, that war never helps the human community, that violence destroys and never builds up (1993). War is evil, and if it is still to be labeled as necessary, let it only be considered necessary in the same sense that rope is necessary for a noose. For the noose of necessary war is tight around the worlds neck. And so, in the final analysis, is it not necessary to give everything in order to avoid war? (1983).
10

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming, Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah, for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death (Rv 12:10-11). We must not cling to our lives, for if we do, we will end up serving death itself. We must take off the noose of legitimate bloodshed. But this can only be done in our transformative encounter with Jesus Christ. In him, we encounter peace. We encounter the peace as a messianic phase (1969), the Christian age.
9

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the warhorse from Jerusalem; and the battle-bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth (Zech 9:9-10). The battle against war flows from the battle against evil, and both battles carry a heavy price the sacrifice of those who imitate their Messiah. Although war can be legitimate, war cannot defeat war. Although the the sword . . . [has] its own raison detre, for justice and peace . . . has there not come into the world a transforming dynamism, a hope which is no longer unlikely, (1976), a way to defend peace without destroying life, a way to free ourselves from the necessity of suicidal violence? Yes. The answer is not war. The answer is Jesus Christ. For Christ has given us a new weapon against evil, one that can set us free from our ancient bondage. He has
42

given us his own divine love, and the promise of the resurrectionof eternal life. Only this love can conquer hearts and defend life and build peace. This is Gods new way of conquering: He does not oppose violence with a stronger violence. He opposes violence precisely with the contrary: with love to the end, his cross. This is Gods humble way of overcoming: with his loveand only thus is it possiblehe puts a limit to violence. This is a way of conquering that seems very slow to us, but it is the true way of overcoming evil, of overcoming violence, and we must trust this divine way of overcoming ( Pope Benedict XVI, http://www.zenit.org/article16679?l=english). This is the vision of the mankind still to be bornreborn in Christs love and stripped of its grievous weight of murderous military weaponry (1976). We must immediately set in place structures of peace and methods of nonviolence (2000) while we also reduce arms to the minimum necessary for legitimate defense (1987). But we must not be content to simply loosen the noose of war with judicious disarming (1976) and demilitarization (2008). All instruments of deathstarting with human personsmust be transformed into instruments of life, into instruments of Christs new peacepeace through love.

43

D. MERCIFUL JUSTICE
In response to the Churchs message of peace, the Papal Preacher Raniero Cantalamessa notes that Some may object. On Good Friday of 2004, Fr. Cantalamessa preached the message of peace, of the triumph of nonviolent love, of the total rejection of war and violence. Some may object: But isn't the Bible itself full of stories of violence? Isn't God called "the Lord of hosts"? Doesn't it say that he gave the order to impose the ban, to exterminate entire cities? Isn't he the one who, in the Mosaic law, prescribes the death penalty in many cases? Indeed, havent even saints and Popes declared and waged war in the name of Christ? The Papal preachers response is arresting: If someone had put the same objection to Jesus during his life on earth, he would surely have answered in the same way as he answered the question about divorce: "It was because you were so hardhearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning" (Matthew 19:8). On the question of violence too, "it was not like this from the beginning." The first chapter of Genesis shows us a world where the very idea of violence was unthinkable, not only in regard to relationships of human beings one with another, but even in regard to animals. It was not permissible to kill, not even to avenge the death of Abel (see Genesis 4:15) . . . Paul speaks of a time when "sins went unpunished" because God "held his hand" (Romans 3:25). God put up with violence, as he put up with polygamy, divorce and other things, but all the while he was teaching the people, leading them toward the time when his original plan would again be put in place, restored to honor as by a new creation. This time came when Jesus, on the mountain, proclaimed: "You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. ... If anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other one as well. You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:3839;43-44). God in Christ pronounces a definitive, commanding "No" to violence, and substitutes in its place not non-violence merely, but more: forgiveness, meekness, gentleness, (Good Friday 2004, http://www.zenit.org/article-9864?l=english)

44

Gods original plan for man is a world without violencea world of harmony, brotherhood, family, and peace. Christ our Messiah has come to save us from sin, death, and hatredfrom the war raging both inside and outside us. Christ came to reunite us with God and with one another, and violence and war have no part in this unification. If there is still violence, Fr. Cantalamessa teaches the Pope, and the whole Church, it cannot any longer, even in the remotest sense, claim to be of God or try to cloak itself with his authority . . . Better atheism than that. And yet the Church maintains that armed self-defense is sometimes a dutythat violence is sometimes a duty. As long as man remains that weak, changeable and even wicked being that he often shows himself to be, defensive arms will, unfortunately, be necessary (Paul VIs UN Address, 1965). For unredeemed humanity, violence is the only response to violencethe Old Testament bears witness to this fact, with its proscriptions of death and war. In a fallen and wicked world ruled by the powers of darkness, violence is the only response. And yet this response is not a solution. Legitimate violence does not solve violence, but rather suspends violence. Such is the bleak fate of an unredeemed worldendless violence, ceaseless war, and no hope for peace. And for those trapped in such a world, for those untouched by Christs transformative grace, legitimate violence is a duty. The last centurys great spokesman for peaceful resistanceMahatma Gandhiunderstood the violence could be a duty for some, and said so in clear terms: I have been repeating over and over again that he who cannot protect himself or his nearest and dearest or their honour by non-violently facing death may and ought to do so by violently dealing with the oppressor. He who can do neither of the two is a burden. He has no business to be the head of a family. He must either hide himself, or must rest content to live forever in helplessness and be prepared to crawl like a worm at the bidding of a bully (http://www.mkgandhi.org/). A fallen world is incapable of rejecting war and achieving peace, but a redeemed world is not only capable of rejecting war, but called to reject every form of violence. Those touched by Christ have been given a new path for humanity. This path begins, is sustained, and ends in the redemption of human hearts and human communitiesthrough the progressive transformation of persons and societies in Jesus Christ. And so Christians are redeemed men and women living as foreigners amidst a world that is still tragically enslaved to darkness and war. War and violence still remains the only response for the great multitudes of the world. The world is not ready to give up violence, because the world has not said yes to the love of Christ. Insofar as men are sinful, the threat of war hangs over them, and hang over them it will until the return of Christ. But insofar as men vanquish sin by a union of love, they will vanquish violence as well and make these words come true: "They shall turn their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into sickles. Nation shall not lift up sword against

45

nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 78). The abolition of war is just as much of a journey as the redemption and conversion of a sinner it takes the confession of our wrongdoing and a perseverant battle to build a new life of grace. As persons and peoples say yes to Christ, they will find that war is no longer the only response, that violence is no longer the only choice, that new paths to a real peace open up. We will discover that mercy is possible, that justice is possible, that peace is possible. We will embrace Pope John Paul IIs call to renounce war, precisely by learning how to fight for peace: It seemed that the European order resulting from the Second World War and sanctioned by the Yalta Agreements could only be overturned by another war. Instead, it has been overcome by the non-violent commitment of people who, while always refusing to yield to the force of power, succeeded time after time in finding effective ways of bearing witness to the truth. This disarmed the adversary, since violence always needs to justify itself through deceit, and to appear, however falsely, to be defending a right or responding to a threat posed by others. Once again I thank God for having sustained people's hearts amid difficult trials, and I pray that this example will prevail in other places and other circumstances. May people learn to fight for justice without violence (Centesimus Annus, 23). The redemption of man flows from the heart into the world, into a concrete love of neighbor that sacrifices for a new world of justice and mercy. The peacemakers alternative response to war and violence is the political, economic, and social pursuit of merciful justice. Whereas fallen man fights for peace only with the fallacious fury of arms, Christs peace infuses [an] inconquerable energy (1969) that is capable of defeating war itself. While a blind world turns to violence and destruction as its only solution, the saved seek a new way to peace: The enormous suffering of peoples and individuals, even among my own friends and acquaintances, caused by Nazi and Communist totalitarianism, has never been far from my thoughts and prayers. I have often paused to reflect on the persistent question: how do we restore the moral and social order subjected to such horrific violence? (2002). John Paul IIs question is posed to a world split in twodivided between those untouched by Gods mercy, and those led to a new life in the love of the Father and power of the Holy Spirit and sacrifice of the Son. The darkness of the world finds no response to violence but stronger violence, but the light of the world, of redeemed humanity, in the words of Pope John Paull II, reveal a new option, a new way founded upon a new covenant: . . . the shattered order cannot be fully restored except by a response that combines justice with forgiveness (2002).

46

War cannot be simply abandoned, but it can be replacedreplaced by the peaceful battle for merciful justice. Only when merciful justice is established will war cease, and war will only cease as long as merciful justice is maintained. In this great battle, no one can claim exemption, and no one is excused, for all are called to live in justice and to work for peace (1998), especially those who have been given the grace to accomplish what seems like the impossiblethe reconciliation of the world.

47

1. Justice and Law

There is no peace without justice (2002). There can be no peace without orderand not just any kind of order, but the order willed by God. Peace is the fruit of justice, (cf. Is 32:17) understood in the broad sense as the respect for the equilibrium of every dimension of the human person. Peace is threatened when man is not given all that is due him as a human person, when his dignity is not respected and when civil life is not directed to the common good. The defence and promotion of human rights is essential for the building up of a peaceful society and the integral development of individuals, peoples and nations (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 494). By virtue of mans nature, every human being has natural rights that must be protected and promoted. Given life by God, every person has the right to life and all those things required for life. Given freedom by God, every person has the right to the truth, to religion, and to conscience. It is precisely in the defense of all human rights and the promotion of their corresponding duties that justice lives and flourishes. Injustice is the opposite: the spirit of war . . . springs up and grows to maturity where the inalienable rights of man are violated (1981) for the seeds of destruction are already sown in institutionalized injustice (1987). Quite often peace is threatened not simply by individuals, but more often by political, economic, and social systems that disregard justice. Unjust governments, unjust economies, and unjust societies cannot be at peace. The battle for peace must actively uproot every injustice wherever it may be found, for every injustice is a crime against humanity and a crime against God. And so any form of pacifism or nonviolence that turns a blind eye to the violation of human rights is simply a self-righteous form of cowardice. The rejection of violence is only possible within the embrace of human rights. . . . we cannot fail to praise those who renounce the use of violence in the vindication of their rights and who resort to methods of defense which are otherwise available to weaker parties too, provided this can be done without injury to the rights and duties of others or of the community itself (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 78). The peacemaker clings to the conviction that nothing can justify [the] violation of the rights of man . . . he refuses to surrender in the face of injustice, to compromise with it (1984). Yet the peacemaker also understands that rights cannot be protected through the violation of rights peace cannot come through war, life cannot come through death, freedom cannot come through slavery. Human rights apply to every human, or to no human. Even the enemy has a right to life.

48

25

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. Teacher, he said, what must I do to inherit eternal life? 26He said to him, What is written in the law? What do you read there? 27He answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself. 28 And he said to him, You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.
29

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 30Jesus replied, A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend. 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? 37He said, The one who showed him mercy. Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise (Lk 10:29-37). Death comes to those who embrace death for others, and life comes to those who embrace life for others. The defense of rights cannot be limited to our own people. The defense of rights extends past borders and conflicts. All rights of all men are inalienable, and if we wish to defend our own rights, we must defend the rights of all. The social institution that best reflects this truth is the family. For it is in the family that we discover the true meaning and the true path to rights. In the family, it is not power or force that fosters justice. Rather, justice flows from good rules based on reasonrules that find authority not in the force of violence, but the force of law. Even among families, power must always be disciplined by law (2008). Among the family of nations, too, we must replace the material force of arms with the moral force of law (2004). For law, when rooted in the moral law of God, has a moral force that is vastly more powerful than violence. Violence may physically force people to do its bidding, but only for a time, and only in a spirit of discontent. But law, when it is just and rational, when it is accompanied by sanctions that respect even the rights of those who break the law, has a moral force that is capable of not only ordering society rightly, but even of shaping the hearts of its followersforming them as a virtuous people. True peace is impossible without good law, a law that would foster true freedom rather than blind caprice, and protect the weak from oppression by the strong (2008).

49

With such an understanding of law, we begin to see the route toward the abolition of warnot by a simple, nave, and unilateral demilitarization, but through the installation and implementation of an international law capable of regulating the relationships between states and peoples. Just as civil wars only truly end in the establishment of law and order, so too will international war end with the establishment of international law and order. It is our clear duty, therefore, to strain every muscle in working for the time when all war can be completely outlawed by international consent. This goal undoubtedly requires the establishment of some universal public authority acknowledged as such by all and endowed with the power to safeguard on the behalf of all, security, regard for justice, and respect for rights (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 81). For this reason, and in this way, the building of peace is a task that falls directly and principally to political leaders (1982), all of whom must be convinced that war is in itself irrational (1984). War must be replaced by law, an internationally binding law that understands that human rights have no borders (2000). Indeed, is this not the time for all to work together for a new constitutional organization of the human family (2003)? International cooperation does not mean the creation of a global super-State, but rather continuing and deepening processes already in place (2003). Political leadersfrom elected officials to community leaders, from the international to the state to the city, must resolutely face injustice with law, not war, for violence can never truly secure justice. Only in law can the truth be established and followed according to human reason and with respect to human rights. All too often the national security of a state is made an absolute good, defended only by force of arms. These ideas must be abandoned and replaced by a firm commitment to the rights of all persons and all peoples, not through the force of violence, but through the force of law.

50

2. Mercy and Reconciliation

Justice requires more than law, more than the simple application of force. For there is no justice without forgiveness and true peace is made possible only through forgiveness (2002). The world presents us with a very narrow vision of justice, one defined by a system of legislation, courts, police, and prisons. But arrests, convictions, and imprisonments do not produce justice. True justice is the kind that makes whole and does not destroy, and most importantly leads to reconciliation (1998). Justice restores relationships and heals persons and peoples. The parable of the prodigal son is a story about the justice that comes precisely through mercy:
11

Then Jesus said, There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me. So he divided his property between them. 13A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17But when he came to himself he said, How many of my fathers hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands. 20So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21Then the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son. 22But the father said to his slaves, Quickly, bring out a robethe best oneand put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! And they began to celebrate (Lk 15:11-24). Justice, at its deepest level, it is rooted in love (1998). Therefore, justice, if separated from merciful love, because cold and cutting (1998). The elder son who refuses to join in the Fathers celebration is the man fixated on a false form of justicea justice that would rather follow rules and legislation than pursue forgiveness and healing. But the Father understands that by itself justice is not enough . . . it can even betray itself, unless it is open to that deeper power which is love (2004). Sending his prodigal son into the field as a servant would be to give into the logic of simple justice instead of allowing the evils of the past to be transcended by the logic of forgiveness (2004).

51

The worlds mistaken understanding of justice must be completed by the forgiveness which heals and rebuilds troubled human relations from their foundation . . . at the personal level or on a wider, even international scale (2002). Justice, in short, needs lovereal love, tangible love, made concrete in mercy. John Paul IIs interpretation of the parable of the Prodigal Son illustrates the power of mercy: The parable of the prodigal son expresses in a simple but profound way the reality of conversion. Conversion is the most concrete expression of the working of love and of the presence of mercy in the human world. The true and proper meaning of mercy does not consist only in looking, however penetratingly and compassionately, at moral, physical or material evil: mercy is manifested in its true and proper aspect when it restores to value, promotes and draws good from all the forms of evil existing in the world and in man. Understood in this way, mercy constitutes the fundamental content of the messianic message of Christ and the constitutive power of His mission. His disciples and followers understood and practiced mercy in the same way. Mercy never ceased to reveal itself, in their hearts and in their actions, as an especially creative proof of the love which does not allow itself to be "conquered by evil," but overcomes "evil with good." The genuine face of mercy has to be ever revealed anew. In spite of many prejudices, mercy seems particularly necessary for our times (Dives in Misericordia, 6). Forgiveness makes reconciliation possible, and this reconciliation is the true face of justice. Any form of justice that precludes, opposes, or obstructs forgiveness is a perversion of justice. Moreover, any form of forgiveness that does not extend past intention, any type of forgiveness that does not change the way we act, the way we live, the way we confront evil, is not forgiveness at all, but only sentiment. Neither love nor forgiveness are mere emotions. Forgiveness is the spurned Father who rushes to meet his prodigal son, embracing the smallest chance of reconciliation and even sacrificing his prized possessions in a gratuitous act of mercy. In a world of evil and war, love must manifest precisely as mercy: Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil (2002). Just as love is prepared to sacrifice itself, forgiveness always involves an apparent short-term loss that may seem like weakness (2002), that might appear to be sheer folly (1997). Yet without forgiveness, we remain a prisoner of the past (1997), incapable of ensuring that past evils will not come back again (1997). It might seem that mercy is possible only for individuals, and even then, that mercy is limited to simple intention and feeling. But mercy is the true power of the Gospel that concretely transforms not only individual human relationships, but social life itself. The law of love conquers not only human hearts, but human communities, and must govern not only persons, but societies.

52

Yes, forgiveness seems absurd to human politics (1970) and forgiveness can seem contrary to human logic (1997), but forgiveness transcends our human understanding. Love is a divine force capable of changing everything and everyone. No person and no society are so lost or so dark as to be incapable of forgiveness. The Church proclaims forgiveness as the path to justice because of her unshakable confidence in the infinite love of God (1997). This commitment to forgive forces us to response to violence with works of peace and to face even the most difficult situations with the weapons of peace and reconciliation (1997). Yet our twin commitment to justice gives orientation to this fightForgiveness neither eliminates nor lessons the need for the reparation which justice requires (1997). Instead of blind tolerance, forgiveness requires the search for truth . . . [for] the evil which has been done must be acknowledged and as far as possible corrected (1997). Forgiveness does not preclude punishment, but give punishment a purpose, a direction, and a meaning: re-establishing authentic relationships with God, with oneself, and with others (1997). In punishments guided and formed by forgiveness, the door to repentance and rehabilitation must always remain open (1997). Properly understood, justice constitutes, so to speak, the goal of forgiveness. In no passage of the Gospel message does forgiveness, or mercy as its source, mean indulgence towards evil, towards scandals, towards injury or insult. In any case, reparation for evil and scandal, compensation for injury, and satisfaction for insult are conditions for forgiveness (Dives in Misericordia, 14). We must trust in the power of forgiveness to forge justice, for the intense joy of forgiveness, offered and received, heals seemingly incurable wounds, restores relationships and firmly roots them in Gods inexhaustible love (1997). Is it not true that all human beings cherish the hope of being able to start all over again, and not remain forever shut up in their own mistakes and guilt (1997)? We must not lose hope. We must forgive, not simply in words, but in deeds.
35

But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven (Lk 6:35-37).

53

3. Wealth and Poverty

Among the many violations of justice, of love, of human dignity and rights, the one issue which most challenges our human and Christian consciences is the poverty of countless millions of men and women (2000). Over one billion people live in Situations of extreme poverty, situations that constitute a prime injustice (1998). Amidst such violence against the image of God, war inevitably rises up. At the origin of many tensions that threaten peace are surely the many unjust inequalities still tragically present in our world . . . inequalities in access to essential goods like food, water, shelter, health (2007). While the poor die in trash heaps, the rich nations hoard and spend money for instruments of warfare and death. But rather than waste resources or devote them to deadly weapons of destruction, it is necessary to use them above all to satisfy the primary and basic needs of humanity (1986). Quite simply, money ought not to be used for war, nor for destroying and killing, but for defending the dignity of man (1993). Poverty is an absolute affront to the dignity of the human person (1998), and those who are incapable of seeing this truth are like the rich man in Christs parable of Lazarus. The rich man does not even see the poor man outside his gatenot until it is too late.
19

There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich mans table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. 24He called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames. 25But Abraham said, Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony (Lk 16:19-25). Will the rich of the world open their eyes? It is manifestly unjust that a privileged few should continue to accumulate excess goods, squandering available resources, while masses of people are living n conditions of misery at the very lowest level of subsistence (1990). Today, we can no longer tolerate a world in which there live side by side the immensely rich and the miserably poor, the have-nots deprived even of essentials and people who thoughtlessly waste what others so desperately need (1998). The poor can wait no longer: they need help now and so have a right to receive immediately what they need (1998). God made the world not merely for the rich, not merely even for the middle class of wealthy nations, but rather for all men and women. God made the earth for all, not for the few.

54

Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute and untouchable: On the contrary, it has always understood this right within the broader context of the right common to all to use the goods of the whole of creation: the right to private property is subordinated to the right to common use, to the fact that goods are meant for everyone. (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 177). What gifts we have, and what goods we receive, are not meant simply for us, but are to be shared in love with all. The Churchs admonition is clear . . . earthly goods are meant for the whole human family and cannot be reserved for the exclusive benefit of the few (1993). And so the distinctive mark of the Christian, today more than ever, must be love for the poor, the weak, the suffering (1998). And Christ said all this and more in the plainest and most direct way possible: none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions (Lk 14:33).
1 2

Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. 3Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. 4Listen! The wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts on a day of slaughter (James 5:1-5). We must take care, however, not to perceive the poor as a problem, but as a people who can become the principal builders of a new and more human future (2000). We fill our hearts with hope, renouncing paternalistic practices, and embraces programs that enable the poor to take responsibility for their own livelihood (1999). We must ensure that the poor have access to credit, so that they may be leaders of their own destiny rather than slaves to anothers agenda. Further, the aim of true development is people (1987) rather than economies. People must come before markets or even money. People must be active agents, not passive recipients of aid (1987). In essence, we must help them to discover the values which enable them to build a new life (1987). The poor, then, need friends rather than managers, they need brotherhood more than they need dollars, for even the greatest amount of financial aid means nothing without lovelove in us, and love in them, love for one another, and love for God. We are stewards of all we have, and all we have is meant for the good of not only ourselves, but all. And all of usrich or poormust be ready to sacrifice all we have for the good of another. In concrete actions, we must stem the unrestrained consumption of earth goods, we must make Moderation and simplicity . . . the criteria of our daily lives and we must cultivate a spirit of sharing that is not just from our surplus (1993). For as long as poverty persists, war will threaten, and as wars erupt, poverty deepens. The folly of violence and greed must end. Those who love Christ cannot remain indifferent when raced with the suffering of the poor and they must even be ready to sacrifice their resources and their own selves so that others may live (1993).
55

The Fathers and Doctors of the Church held this opinion, teaching that men are obliged to come to the relief of the poor and to do so not merely out of their superfluous goods . . . Since there are so many people prostrate with hunger in the world, this sacred council urges all, both individuals and governments, to remember the aphorism of the Fathers, "Feed the man dying of hunger, because if you have not fed him, you have killed him,"(12) and really to share and employ their earthly goods, according to the ability of each, especially by supporting individuals or peoples with the aid by which they may be able to help and develop themselves (Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, 69).

56

4. Creation
I don't think it is enough appreciated how much an outdoor book the Bible is. It is a hypaethral book, such as Thoreau talked abouta book open to the sky. It is best read and understood outdoors, and the farther outdoors the better. Or that has been my experience of it. Passages that within walls seem improbable or incredible, outdoors seem merely natural. That is because outdoors we are confronted everywhere with wonders; we see that the miraculous is not extraordinary, but the common mode of existence. It is our daily bread. Whoever really has considered the lilies of the field or the birds of the air, and pondered the improbability of their existence in this warm world within the cold and empty stellar distances, will hardly balk at the fuming of water into winewhich was, after all, a very small miracle. We forget the greater and still continuing miracle by which water (with soil and sunlight) is fumed into grapes. (Wendell Berry, Christianity and the Survival of Creation). Human existence flows from the whole of created existence. The miracle of existence itself underscores the miracle of human existence. And yet in a fallen world, many are tempted to doubt the good and miraculous nature of creation. Many look at a world of death, disease, and suffering, and reject it. And in rejecting creation, they reject the Creator. With the advent of modern technological power, Man has begun to reform existence according to his own imagination, according to his own plans for salvation. It is an old story: Then they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. The LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the LORD said, Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one anothers speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth (Gen 11:4-9). What once seemed impossible now seems destinedthe total transformation of the world to suit the dreams of mankindas if the original order of creation was radically hostile to human existence and needs, as if the original order of creation was, in fact, disordered, meaningless, and empty. While man dreams of terra-forming other planets, making them suitable for human life, the modern project has enacted a program of reforming all of creation, remaking it not according to the divine order, but according to the human order.

57

A vision of man and things that is sundered from any reference to the transcendent has led to the rejection of the concept of creation and to the attribution of a completely independent existence to man and nature. The bonds that unite the world to God have thus been broken. This rupture has also resulted in separating man from the world and, more radically, has impoverished man's very identity. Human beings find themselves thinking that they are foreign to the environmental context in which they live. The consequences resulting from this are all too clear: it is the relationship man has with God that determines his relationship with his fellow men and with his environment (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 464). Having rejected both Creator and Creation, Man also rejects Man. And so the ongoing defilement of creation signifies and magnifies the conflict and wars of humanity. For world peace is threatened not only by the arms race, regional conflicts and continued injustices among people and nations, but also by a lack of due respect for nature, by the plundering of natural resources (1990). The destruction of the environment is not a economic or social issue, but is rooted in morality and the soul: the ecological crisis is a moral issue that lays bare the depth of mans moral crisis (1990). The problem, then, is not to be found in the technical-economic aspect, but within the moral-religious dimension (2007). Creation is a gift of God to all of humanity, for the good of all humans, and for the good of the whole humanmaterial and spiritual. The abuse of nature is rooted in a distorted understanding of God, man, and creation. Creation, as an divine gift, cannot be used by man for any purpose he conceives. God has placed man within an order of creation, an order characterized by mutual interdependence (1990)not only between persons, but among all creatures and all creation. Within this good order, not only do we receive the gift of material existence, but the gift of spiritual nourishment: Our very contact with nature has a deep restorative power: contemplation of its magnificence imparts peace and serenity (1990). The breakdown of the ecological order not only poses a threat to mans material needs, but worse, endangers mans spiritual needs. Nature shouts to us that God exists and that God loves us. The rejection and manipulation of nature reflects the rejection and manipulation of Gods love for us. Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever Sun and moon, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Stars of heaven, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Every shower and dew, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. All you winds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Fire and heat, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Cold and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Dew and rain, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Frost and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Ice and snow, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
58

Nights and days, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Light and darkness, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Let the earth bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever. Mountains and hills, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever (Dan 3:57-76). We face mans moral failure to receive creation as divine giftsa moral failure to be guardians and cultivators of these gifts. Instead, we see the violent hoarding of the earths resources, a blasphemous hoarding that cause grievances, conflicts, and wars (2007). If we desire peace, we must come to understand that we cannot continue to use the goods of the earth as we have in the past (1990). We must open our hearts to the great gift of our existencenot only for ourselves, but for the whole world. Healing is possible. A new life is possiblea new life of peace among men, of peace among all creation. The poem-prayer of Saint Francis, known as The Canticle of Brother Sun is a wonderful and ever timely example of this multifaceted ecology of peace (2007): Most High, all powerful, good Lord, Yours are the praises, the glory, the honor, and all blessing. To You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no man is worthy to mention Your name. Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, especially through my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day; and you give light through him. And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness. Praise be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars, in heaven you formed them clear and precious and beautiful. Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind, and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather through which You give sustenance to Your creatures. Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water, which is very useful and humble and precious and chaste. Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
59

through whom you light the night and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong. Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Mother Earth, who sustains us and governs us and who produces varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs. Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love, and bear infirmity and tribulation. Blessed are those who endure in peace for by You, Most High, they shall be crowned. Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whom no living man can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin. Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy willl, for the second death shall do them no harm. Praise and bless my Lord, and give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility. AMEN.

60

5. Family
If love is to save the world, love must begin in the family, as it did over 2,000 years ago in the manger of a poor Jewish familythe Holy Family of Jesus, Joseph, and Mary. Not only does love start in the family, but so too does life itself. The importance and centrality of the family with regard to the person and society is repeatedly underlined by Sacred Scripture. It is not good that the man should be alone (Gen 2:18). From the texts that narrate the creation of man (cf. Gen 1:26-28, 2:7-24) there emerges how in God's plan the couple constitutes the first form of communion between persons. Eve is created like Adam as the one who, in her otherness, completes him (cf. Gen 2:18) in order to form with him one flesh (Gen 2:24; cf. Mt 19:5-6). At the same time, both are involved in the work of procreation, which makes them coworkers with the Creator: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth (Gen 1:28). The family is presented, in the Creator's plan, as the primary place of humanization' for the person and society and the cradle of life and love (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 209). Yet in todays world, love, life, and the family are under direct attacknot only by war, violence, and poverty, but especially in the horror of abortion, and in the insidiousness of divorce and contraception. Every crime again life is a blow to Peace, especially if it strikes at the moral conduct of the people, as often happens today, with horrible and often legal ease, as in the case of the suppression of incipient life, by abortion (1977). Any nation or community which rejects children, or marginalizes them, or reduces them to hopeless situations, can never know peace (1994). Abortion destroys peace. No world that destroys its own young can ever be considered a world at peace. Indeed, the deliberate killing of a child is one of the most disturbing signs of the breakdown of all respect for human life (1996). Just as some ideologies once promoted racial genocide as the solution for world peace, today some ideologies promote generational genocide (population control) as the solution for world peace. Yet without the recognition that all human beingsfrom conception to natural deathhave the inalienable right to life, peace is impossible. Peace is aborted before it ever arrives.
39 40

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Marys greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42and exclaimed with a loud cry, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy (Lk 1:39-44). Today, the joyful cries of the unborn are silenced by ideologies of death. And yet the assault on children does not end at birth. Tragically, a growing number of boys and girls and even small
61

children are playing a direct part in armed conflicts . . . they become involves in a real culture of violence in which life counts for very little and killing does not seem wrong (1994). Children are the prime victims of war: the memory of the millions of children who have been killed, and the sad faces of so many others who are suffering compel us to take every possible measure to safeguard or re-establish peace, and to bring conflicts and wars to an end (1996).
16

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. 17Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: 18 A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more (Mt 1:16-18) Children suffer not only from material warfare, but also from spiritual warfareespecially in the different forms of attack upon marriage itself. Divorce destroys children just as surely as it destroys marriages, and is a true plague of present day society (1994). If the family is to survive, if peace is to flourish, it must begin with our children, for Children are the future already present among us; they need to experience what peace means, so that they will be able to create a future of peace (1994). . . . the family must be for children the first school of peace . . . [by] the witness of their mutual love. It is by loving each other that they enable the child, from the very first moment of its existence, to grow up in peaceful surroundings, imbued with the positive values which make up the family's true heritage: mutual respect and acceptance, listening, sharing, generosity, forgiveness (1996). In contrast, anything that serves to weaken the familywhether material or ideological constitutes an objective obstacle on the road to peace (2008). Moreover, as the fundamental nucleus of society, the family has a right to the full support of the State (1994). The family needs to have a home, employment . . . schooling for children, and basic health care (2008). The family has a right to life, and all the things that make life possible and fruitful. Thus the family, in which the various generations come together and help one another grow wiser and harmonize personal rights with the other requirements of social life, is the foundation of society. All those, therefore, who exercise influence over communities and social groups should work efficiently for the welfare of marriage and the family. Public authority should regard it as a sacred duty to recognize, protect and promote their authentic nature, to shield public morality and to favor the prosperity of home life. The right of parents to beget and educate their children in the bosom of the family must be safeguarded. Children too who unhappily lack the blessing of a family should be
62

protected by prudent legislation and various undertakings and assisted by the help they need (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 52). The peace of God flows from the life-giving communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the family, a man and woman give themselves to one another in love and sacrifice, and the fruit of this divine imaging is the pro-creation of another beautiful and miraculous human beinga being destined for eternal happiness in the communion of God. All life, all love, and all peace, begin in the family of God and flow into our world through family of Man. Peace truly begins in the womb, where human and divine love meet, bringing into our world the very hope of salvation. For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful (Is 9:1-6).

63

The World Day of Peace Messages

64

1968: FOR THE OBSERVANCE OF A DAY OF PEACE

Pope Paul VI proposes peace to be celebrated on a particular day, because we all want peace, and peace is so endangered in our time. So we need to renew our spirit and encourage efforts at true peace, not a false peace of selfish naivet and passivity, not the false peace of oppressive tranquility, but the real peace of truth, justice, freedom and love. The Church must join in this day of peace, remembering that Christ himself is peace and calls us to be his peacemakers taking effective and sacrificial action, and relying upon the supreme power of the Gospel and our ultimate weapon as believersprayer. We must all pray for peace!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI FOR THE OBSERVANCE OF A DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1968 We address Ourself to all men of good will to exhort them to celebrate The Day of Peace, throughout the world, on the first day of the year, January 1, 1968. It is Our desire that then, every year, this commemoration be repeated as a hope and as a promise, at the beginning of the calendar which measures and outlines the path of human life in time, that Peace with its just and beneficent equilibrium may dominate the development of events to come. We think that this proposal interprets the aspirations of peoples, of their governments, of international organisms which strive to preserve Peace in the world, of those religious institutions so interested in the promotion of Peace, of cultural, political and social movements which make Peace their ideal; of youth, whose perspicacity regarding the new paths of civilization, dutifully oriented toward its peaceful developments is more lively; of wise men who see how much, today, Peace is both necessary and threatened. The proposal to dedicate to Peace the first day of the new year is not intended, therefore, as exclusively ours, religious, that is, Catholic. It would hope to have the adherence of all the true friends of Peace, as if it were their own initiative, to be expressed in a free manner, congenial to the particular character of those who are aware of how beautiful and how important is the harmony of all voices in the world for the exaltation of this primary good, which is Peace, in the varied concert of modern humanity. The Catholic Church, with the intention of service and of example, simply wishes to launch the idea, in the hope that it may not only receive the widest consent of the civilized world, but that such an idea may find everywhere numerous promoters, able and capable of impressing on the
65

Day of Peace, to be celebrated on the first day of every new year, that sincere and strong character of conscious humanity, redeemed from its sad and fatal bellicose conflicts, which will give to the history of the world a more happy, ordered and civilized development. The Catholic Church will call the attention of its children to the duty of observing The Day of Peace with the religious and moral expressions of the Christian faith; but it considers it its duty to remind all those who agree on the opportuneness of such a Day, some points which ought to characterize it. First among these is: the necessity of defending Peace in the face of dangers which always threaten it: the danger of the survival of selfishness in the relations among nations; the danger of violence into which some populations can allow themselves to be drawn by desperation at not having their right to life and human dignity recognized and respected; the danger, today tremendously increased, of recourse to frightful weapons of extermination, which some nations possess, spending enormous financial means, the expenditure of which is reason for painful reflexion in the presence of the grave needs which hinder the development of so many other peoples; the danger of believing that international controversies can not be resolved by the ways of reason, that is, by negotiations founded on law, justice, and equity, but only by means of deterrent and murderous forces.

[Peace is endangered by] believing that international controversies can not be resolved by the ways of reason, that is, by negotiations founded on law, justice, and equity, but only by means of deterrent and murderous forces.

The subjective foundation of Peace is a new spirit which must animate coexistence between peoples, a new outlook on man, his duties and his destiny. Much progress must still be made to render this outlook universal and effective; a new training must educate the new generations to reciprocal respect between nations, to brotherhood between peoples, to collaboration between races, with a view also to their progress and development. The international organizations which have been set up for this purpose must be supported by all, become better known, and be provided with the authority and means fit for their great mission. The Peace Day must honour these institutions and surround their work with prestige, with confidence, and with that sense of expectation that will keep alive in them the realization of their most serious responsibility, and keep strong the consciousness of the charge which has been entrusted to them. A warning must be kept in mind. Peace cannot be based on a false rhetoric of words which are welcomed because they answer to the deep, genuine aspirations of humanity, but which can also serve, and unfortunately have sometimes served, to hide the lack of true spirit and of real intentions for peace, if not indeed to mask sentiments and actions of oppression and party interests. Nor can one rightly speak of peace where no recognition or respect is given to its solid foundations: namely, sincerity, justice and love in the relations between states, and, within the limits of each nation, in the relations of citizens with each other and with their rulers; freedom of
66

individuals and of peoples, in all its expressions, civic, cultural, moral, and religious; otherwise, it is not peace which will existeven if, perchance, oppression is able to create the external appearance of order and legalitybut an unceasing and insuppressible growth of revolt and war. It is, therefore, to true Peace, to just and balanced Peace, in the sincere recognition of the rights of the human person and of the independence of the individual nations, that We invite men of wisdom and strength to dedicate this Day. Accordingly, in conclusion, it is to be hoped that the exaltation of the ideal of Peace may not favour the cowardice of those who fear it may be their duty to give their life for the service of their own country and of their own brothers, when these are engaged in the defence of justice and liberty, and who seek only a flight from their responsibility, from the risks that are necessarily involved in the accomplishment of great duties and generous exploits. Peace is not pacifism; it does not mask a base and slothful concept of life, but it proclaims the highest and most universal values of life: truth, justice, freedom, love. It is for the protection of these values that We place them beneath the banner of Peace, and that We invite men and nations to raise, at the dawn of the new year, this banner which must guide the ship of civilization through the inescapable storms of history to the harbour of its highest destiny. To you, Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate, to you, beloved sons, faithful children of our Holy Catholic Church, We extend the invitation which We have already announced: that of dedicating to thoughts and resolutions of Peace a special observance on the first day of the civil year, January the first of the coming year. Such an observance must not change the liturgical calendar, which reserves New Years Day for veneration of the divine motherhood of Mary and the most holy Name of Jesus; indeed, those holy and loving religious remembrances must shed their light of goodness, wisdom and hope upon the prayer for, the meditation upon, and the fostering of the great and yearned-for gift of Peace, of which the world has so much need. You will have noted, Venerable Brothers and beloved sons, how often Our words have renewed considerations and exhortations upon the theme of Peace; this We do, not giving way to a facile habit, nor taking advantage of the mere interesting topic of the moment; but because We believe this is demanded by Our duty as universal Pastor; because We see Peace to be threatened so seriously and with intimations of terrible events, which may prove catastrophic for entire nations, and perhaps even for a great part of mankind; because, during the latest years of our centurys history it has finally become clearly evident that Peace is the only true direction of human progressand not the tensions caused by ambitious nationalisms, nor conquests by violence, nor repressions which serve as mainstay for a false civil orderWe do so because Peace is part and parcel of the Christian religion, since for a Christian to proclaim peace is the same as to
67

announce Jesus Christ: He is our peace (Eph. Ii. 14) and His good news is the Gospel of peace (Eph. Vi. 15). Through His Sacrifice on the Cross, He brought about universal reconciliation, and we, as His followers, are called to be peacemakers (Mt. v. 9). In fine, it is only from the Gospel that there can spring forth true Peace, not in order to make men dull and soft, but to replace the impulses to violence and bullying in their minds, by the manly virtues of reasoning and heart characteristic of true humanism. We do so, finally, because We would not wish ever to be rebuked by God and by history for having kept silence in the face of the danger of a new conflagration between peoples, which, as all know, could take on sudden forms of apocalyptic awfulness.

The world must be educated to love Peace, to build it up and defend it

Men must always speak of Peace. The world must be educated to love Peace, to build it up and defend it. Against the resurgent preludes to war (nationalistic competition, armaments, revolutionary provocations, racial hatred, the spirit of revenge, etc.), and also against the snares of tactical pacifism, intended to drug the enemy one must overcome, to smother in mens minds the meaning of justice, of duty and of sacrificewe must arouse in the men of our time and of future generations the sense and love of Peace founded upon truth, justice, freedom and love (cf. Pope John XXIII: Pacem in Terris).

Let, then, the grand idea of Peace, particularly for us, the disciples of Christ, have its solemn Day, the beginning of the new year 1968. We who believe in the Gospel can pour into this observance a wonderful treasury of original and powerful ideas, such as that of the intangible world-wide brotherhood of all men, derived from the one, sovereign, most lovable Fatherhood of God, and arising from the communion which, whether really or hopefully, unites all of us with Christ, as well as from the prophetic vocation which, in the Holy Spirit, calls the human race to unity, not only in conscience, but in works and in final destiny. From the Gospels precept to pardon and to have mercy, we can draw forces which will regenerate society. And above all. Venerable Brothers and beloved sons, we can possess a singular weapon for Peace, that is, prayer, with all its marvelous energies to raise moral tone and to invoke transcendent divine forces of spiritual and political renewal, and also the opportunity offered to each and every one to question himself interiorly and sincerely concerning the roots of rancour and violence which may lurk deep in his heart. Let us strive, then, to inaugurate the year of grace nineteen hundred and sixty-eight (the year of the faith which is transformed into hope) by praying for Peace; praying all together, in our churches and in our homes-that is what We ask of you for now. Let no voice be missing from the great chorus of the Church and of the world, beseeching Christ Who was immolated for us to Grant us peace!.
68

May Our Apostolic Blessing descend upon you and remain always.

69

1969: THE PROMOTION OF HUMAN RIGHTSTHE ROAD TO PEACE

Peace requires human rights to be recognized and it is peace itself that defends human rights. Without peace, rights flounder and disappear. Peace then, is a duty, a prime duty as a fundamental priority for all persons and all societies. For mans experience with the horror of war compels us to forsake war forever, turning to reason and grace instead of might and arms. We must trust in peace, not violence. We must dream, hope, and live for peace, as pilgrims walking on the path to peace. Peace is not easy, nor ever complete. But it is a duty of all, for life, liberty, culture and all rights require peace. Paul VI pleads for us to listen, to act! And for Christians, the duty is ever more apparent: blessed are the peacemakers. Peace flows from grace, and reveals a new way of life by those who follow the way that is the truth and life of the world! Only in grace will peace triumph and rights be truly defended.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1969 To all men of good will, to all those responsible for the development of history today and tomorrow; hence, to those who guide politics, public opinion, social directions, culture, education, to youth, rising up in its yearning for world-wide renewal, with a humble and free voice, which comes forth from the desert where no worldly interest is, We again proclaim that imploring and solemn word: Peace. Peace is today intrinsically linked with the ideal recognition and effective realization of the Rights of Man. To these fundamental rights there corresponds a fundamental duty, which is Peace. Peace is a duty. All the comments of the modern world concerning the development of international relations, the interdependence of the interests of peoples, the accession of new States to freedom and independence, the efforts made by civilization to attain a single world-wide juridical
70

organization, the dangers of the incalculable catastrophes should new armed conflicts occur, the psychology of modern man with his desire for undisturbed prosperity and universal human relationships, the progress of ecumenism and mutual respect for personal and social freedoms, all this persuades us that Peace is one of the supreme benefits of mans life on earth, an interest of the first order, a common aspiration, an ideal worthy of mankind, master of itself and of the world, a necessity in order to maintain the conquests achieved and to achieve others, a fundamental law for the free circulation of thought, culture, economy, art, and a demand which can no longer be suppressed in view of human destiny. This is so because Peace is security, Peace is order. A just and dynamic order, We add, which must continually be built up. Without Peace there is no trust, without trust there is no progress. And that trust, We declare, must be rooted in justice and fairness. Only in a climate of Peace can right be recognized, can justice advance, can freedom breathe. If, then, such is the meaning of Peace, if such is the value of Peace, then Peace is a duty. It is the duty of present history. Whoever reflects upon the lessons which past history teaches us will proceed at once to declare that a return to war, to struggle, to massacre, to the a return to war, to ruins caused by the psychology of conflicting arms and forces, struggle, to massacre, even to the death of men who are citizens of the earth, the to the ruins caused by common fatherland of our life in time, that such a return is the psychology of absurd. He who knows the significance of man cannot avoid conflicting arms and being a follower of Peace. He who reflects on the causes of the forces . . . such a conflicts between men must recognize that they betray a lack in return is absurd mans mind, and not true virtues of his moral greatness. The necessity of war could be justified only in exceptional and deplorable conditions of fact and law, which should never be verified in modern world society. Reason, and not might, must decide the destinies of peoples. Understanding, negotiations, arbitration, and not outrage, blood and slavery, must intervene in the difficult relationships between men. No precarious truce, unstable equilibrium, fear of reprisals and revenge, successful conquest or fortunate arrogance, can guarantee a Peace worthy of that name. Peace must be willed. Peace must be loved. Peace must be produced. It must be a moral consequence; it must spring up from free and generous spirits. A dream it may well seem; but a dream which becomes a reality by virtue of a new and superior human concept.

Yes, a dream, since the experience of these recent years and the rise of recent murky floods of evil ideas, such as radical anarchic contestation, violence considered lawful and always necessary, the policy of power and domination, the armaments race, trust in methods of cunning and deception, the inescapable tests of strength, and others, seem to suffocate hope for the peaceful ordering of the world. Yet that hope remains, for it must remain. It is the light of progress and of civilization. The world cannot give up its dream of universal Peace. It is
71

precisely because Peace is always coming to be, always incomplete, always fragile, always under attack, always difficult, that We proclaim it. We proclaim it as a duty, an inescapable duty. The duty of those responsible for the destiny of peoples. The duty of every citizen of the world; because all must love Peace, and all must work together to produce that public mentality and common conscience which make it possible and probable. Peace must first be in mens minds, so that it can then exist in human events. Indeed, Peace is a universal and perennial duty. In order to recall this axiom of modern civilization, We invite the world to celebrate once again, for the year 1969 which is about to begin, World Peace Day on the first of January. This is a wish, a hope and an engagement; the first sun of the new year must shed upon the earth the light of Peace. We dare to hope that, above all, it will be Youth who will grasp this invitation as a demand which can interpret everything new, lively and great, yearned for by their exasperated spirits, because Peace demands the correction of abuses and coincides with the cause of justice. This year a special circumstance recommends Our proposal to all: there has just been celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. This event interests all men, individuals, families, groups, associations and nations. No one must forget or neglect it, for it calls all to the fundamental recognition of the full dignified citizenship of every man on earth. From such recognition springs the original title of Peace; in fact, the theme of World Peace Day is precisely this: The promotion of Human Rights, the way to Peace. In order that man may be guaranteed the right to life, to liberty, to equality, to culture, to the enjoyment of the benefits of civilization, to personal and social dignity, Peace is necessary: when Peace loses its equilibrium and efficiency, Human Rights become precarious and are compromised; when there is no Peace, right loses its human stature. Moreover, where Human Rights are not respected, defended and promoted, where violence or fraud is done to mans inalienable freedoms, where his personality is ignored or degraded, where discrimination, slavery or intolerance prevail, there true Peace cannot be. Peace and Rights are reciprocally cause and effect, the one of the other: Peace favours Rights, and Rights in their turn favour Peace. We presume to hope that these arguments will prove valid for every person, every group of persons, every Nation; that the transcendental importance of the cause of Peace will encourage meditation upon it and application of it. Peace and Human Rightssuch is the thought with which, We hope, men will commence the coming year. Our invitation is sincere, having no other purpose than the good of mankind. Our voice is feeble but clear; it is the voice of a friend, who desires that it be heard not so much because of who says it, but of what he says. It is addressed to the world; that world which thinks, which is capable, which grows, which works, which suffers, which waits. Oh! May this voice not be ignored! Peace is a duty! This message of Ours cannot lack the strength which comes to is from that Gospel of which We are minister, the Gospel of Christ.
72

It, too, like the Gospel, is addressed to everyone in the world. More directly, however, to you, Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate, and to you, beloved sons and faithful members of the Catholic Church, do We repeat Our invitation to celebrate the Day of Peace; and this invitation becomes a precept, not of Ours but of the Lord, Who desires that we be convinced and active workers for Peace if we are to be numbered among the blessed marked with the name of sons of God (Mt. v. 9). Our voice addresses itself. To you; it becomes a cry, because for us believers Peace takes on an even deeper and more mysterious meaning, for us it acquires the value of spiritual fullness and personal as well as collective and social salvation; earthly and temporal Peace, to us, is the reflection and prelude of heavenly and eternal Peace. For us Christians, Peace is not only an external equilibrium, a juridical order, a complex of disciplined public relationships; for us, Peace is above all the result of the to justice, too often implementation of that design of wisdom and love, through weak and impatient, which God willed to enter into supernatural relations with upholding its needs by mankind. Peace is the first effect of that new divine the fury of arms, economy which we call graceGrace and peace, as the Christ's Peace infuses Apostle saysit is a gift of God which becomes the style of the unconquerable Christian life; it is a Messianic phase which reflects its light energy of those rights and hope upon the temporal city also, strengthening with its derived from the superior motives those reasons upon which that city bases its deepest reasons of own Peace. To the dignity of citizens of the world, the Peace human nature and of Christ adds the dignity of sons of the heavenly Father; to from man's the natural equality of men, it adds that of Christian transcendental brotherhood; to human competition which ever compromise destiny. and violate Peace, Christs Peace weakens pretexts and opposes motives, thus showing forth the advantages of an ideal and superior moral order, and revealing the marvelous religious and civil virtue of generous pardon; to the incapability of human art to produce a solid and stable Peace, Christs Peace lends the aid of its inexhaustible optimism; to the fallacy of policies of proud prestige and material interests, Christs Peace suggests a policy of charity; to justice, too often weak and impatient, upholding its needs by the fury of arms, Christs Peace infuses the unconquerable energy of those rights derived from the deepest reasons of human nature and from mans transcendental destiny. The Peace of Christ, which derives its spirit from the redeeming sacrifice, is not fear of might and resistance; the Peace of Christ, which understands pain and human needs, which finds love and gifts for the little, the poor, the weak, the disinherited, the suffering, the humiliated, the conquered, is not cowardice tolerant of the misadventures and deficiencies of man with no fortune or defence. In a word, the Peace of Christ is, more than any other humanitarian formula, solicitous of Human Rights.

73

This, Brothers and sons, is what We would have you remember and proclaim on World Peace Day, under the auspices of which the new year commences, in the name of Christ, the King of Peace, defender of all authentic human rights. So be it, with Our Apostolic Blessing. From the Vatican, 8 December 1968. PAULUS PP. VI

74

1970: EDUCATION FOR PEACE THROUGH RECONCILIATION

A prophetic call to all men and women to embrace the superior justice of forgiveness, reason, and moral strength in place of force, strife, and violence. For peace is our great good, which all yearn and strive for. This peace is not a state of being as much as a way of lifealways being created through the acts of love between persons. This love starts as a movement of heart, and so hearts must be educationto strive towards peace as our great good. To lovea simple yet hard way to peace, but the highest aspiration of man. We must give up our attachment to force, and dedicate ourselves to merciful love. This love is supernatural, and is our duty as followers of Christ. For Christs ser5mon on the mount is our school of peacelove your enemy.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS

POPE PAUL VI
FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1970 CITIZENS OF THE WORLD! As you salute the dawn of this new year nineteen hundred and seventy, take thought for a moment: Whither is mankinds path leading? Today we can take an overall view, a prophetic view. Mankind is travelling forward, that is, progressing towards an ever greater mastery of the world: thought, study and science are guiding it towards this conquest; work, tools and technology are making this wonderful conquest a reality. And how does this mastery help mankind? It helps it to live a better and fuller life. Mankind seeks fullness of life within the limits of timeand is attaining it. But it is aware that this fullness would not be such if it were not universal, that is, extended to all men. Mankind therefore seeks to extend the benefits of progress to all Peoples; it strives for that unity, justice, balance and perfection, which we call Peace. Even when men work against Peace, mankind strives for Peace. For the sake of Peace even wars are fought (De Civitate Dei, XIX, ch. XII; PL 7, 637). Peace is the logical aim of the present world; it is the destiny of progress, the goal of the great strivings of modern civilization (cf. Lumen Gentium, No. 36).
75

Once more therefore today We proclaim Peace as our best wish for the coming year. Peace be with you, men of the year 1970. We proclaim Peace as the dominant idea in the conscious life of man, if he gazes at the prospect of his immediate and more distant journey. Once more We proclaim Peace, for Peace is, at one and the same time, under different aspects, both the beginning and the end of the normal and progressive development of human society. It is the beginning, that is, the necessary condition: just as a machine cannot work well unless all its parts correspond to the design according to which the machine was invented, so mankind cannot develop efficiently and harmoniously unless Peace first gives it its own equilibrium. Peace is the idea that reigns over human progress; it is the true and fertile concept from which spring the better life and ordered history of us men. Peace is also the end, that is, the crowning of the efforts, often hard and painful, by which we men seek to subdue the external world to our service, and to organize our society according to an order that reflects justice and well-being. We insist: Peace is the true life and the ideal framework of the World of men. We note this: Peace is not really a static state which can be reached once and for all; it is not an immobile tranquility. We would misunderstand St. Augustines famous definition which calls Peace the tranquility of order (De Civitate Dei, XIX, ch. XIII; PL 7, 640), if we had an abstract idea of order, if we did not realize that human order is an act, rather than a state; order depends on the conscious effort and will of those who create it and enjoy it, rather than on the circumstances that favour it; order, to be truly human, is ever perfectible, that is, it is unceasingly brought to being and developed; in other words, it lies in a progressive motion, just as the balance of flight must be continuously supported by a driving force. Why do We say this? Because Our words are meant especially for the young. When we speak of Peace, friends, we do not put before you a state of repressive, selfish inertia. Peace is not enjoyed: it is created. Peace is not a level that we have now reached: it is a higher level, to which each and every one of us must ever aspire. It is not a philosophy that lulls us to sleep; it is a philosophy of action, which makes us all responsible for the common good, and obliges us to dedicate all our efforts to its causethe true cause of mankind. Those who wish to analyse this conviction for themselves will find out many things. They will find that there must be a radical change of the ideas that govern the world. They will find that all these dominant ideas are at least in part false, because they are particular, restricted and selfish. They will find that only one idea is basically good and true: the idea of universal love; that is, the idea of Peace. And they will find that this idea is at the same time very simple and very hard; very simple in itself, for man is made for love, for peace; it is very hard, for how can one love? How can one raise love to the dignity of a universal principle? How can love find a place in the mind of modern man; so steeped in strife, selfishness and hate? Who can say of himself that he has love in his heart? Love for all mankind? Love for mankind still coming into being, the mankind of tomorrow, the mankind of the age of progress, that authentic mankind which cannot be such unless it is unitednot by force, not by selfish, exploiting self-interestbut by loving brotherly concord?
76

Those who study the great idea of Peace will then discover that today, immediately, there is need of a new ideological education, education for Peace. Yes, Peace begins within hearts. We must first know, recognize, will and love Peace; then we shall express it, and impress it on the renewed morals of humanity; on its philosophy, its sociology, its politics. Let us realize, Men, Our brothers, the greatness of this futuristic vision, and let us courageously undertake the first programme: to educate ourselves for Peace. We are aware of the paradoxical appearance of this programme; it seems to find its affirmation outside of reality, outside of every instinctive reality of philosophy, sociology or history. We say that it is time Strife is the law. Strife is the force of success. And even, strife for civilization to is justice. An inexorable law, this, reborn at every stage of draw inspiration from human progress. Even today, after the fearsome experiences of a concept other than the last wars, it is strife, not Peace, that is thrust on us. Even that of strife, of violence finds followers and adulators. Revolution bestows violence, of war, of renown and prestige on every indication of justice, on every oppression, to set the renewal of progress. It is inevitable: Force alone clears the way world on the way to for human destinies. Men, Our brothers, this is the great true justice for all . . . difficulty that we must consider and solve. That strife can be Peace is Man, who has necessary, that it can be the arm of justice, that it can rise to a ceased to be a wolf to noble-hearted, heroic duty, We do not deny. That strife can his fellow man, Man in obtain successes, no one can contest. But We say that it cannot his invincible moral constitute the illuminating idea of which mankind has need. We power. This it is that say that it is time for civilization to draw inspiration from a must today prevail in concept other than that of strife, of violence, of war, of the world. oppression, to set the world on the way to true justice for all. We say that Peace is not cowardice, is not faint-hearted weakness. Peace must gradually, immediately if possible, substitute moral strength for brute force; it must substitute reason, speech and moral greatness for the fatal, and too often fallacious efficacy of arms, of violent means, and of material and economic power. Peace is Man, who has ceased to be a wolf to his fellow man, Man in his invincible moral power. This it is that must today prevail in the world.

And it does prevail. We enthusiastically greet the efforts of modern man to give affirmation, in the world and in present history, to Peace as a method, as an international institution, as sincere negotiation, as self-discipline in territorial and social disputes, as a question that is higher than the prestige of reprisal and revenge. Questions of importance for the victory of Peace are already under discussion: disarmament, first of all, limitation of nuclear weapons, the hypothesis of recourse to arbitration, the substitution of collaboration for competition, peaceful coexistence in diversity of ideologies and forms of government, the hope that a proportion of military
77

expenditure will be devoted to aid to developing peoples . Thus We see a contribution to Peace in the now universal deploration of terrorism, of torture of prisoners, of retaliatory repression of innocent people, of concentration camps for civilian detainees, of killing of hostages, and so on. The worlds conscience no longer tolerates such crimes, the fierce inhumanity of which turns back in dishonor on those who perform them. It is not Our duty to pass judgment on the disputes still in progress between nations, races, tribes, and social classes. But it is Our mission to cast the word Peace into the midst of men at strife with one another. It is Our mission to remind men that they are brothers. It is Our mission to teach men to love one another, to be reconciled with each other, to educate themselves for Peace. Accordingly, We express Our approval, Our encouragement and Our hopefulness to all who are promoters of this education for Peace. This year, also, We call on persons and organizations that hold responsibility, on the organs of public opinion, on statesmen, teachers, artists and, especially, on youth, to walk resolutely along this path of true and universal civilization. We most attain the actual celebration of the Bible prophecy: Justice and Peace have met and kissed each other.

forgiveness seems absurd to human politics, because in the natural economy justice does not often permit forgiveness. But in the Christian economy, which is superhuman, it is not absurd. Difficult, yes, but not absurd.

And to you, our Brothers and Sons in the same Christian Faith, We add a word more on the duty, which We have mentioned, to educate men to love each other, to be reconciled with one another and to forgive each other mutually. We have precise teachings on this from the Master, Jesus; we have His example, we have the obligation, which He hears from our lips when we recite the Our Father, according to the well-known words: Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. The word as is a tremendous one; it establishes an equation, that, when put into practice, is for our good in the economy of salvation; when not put into practice, it can be for our damnation (cf. Mt. 18, 2135).

To preach the Gospel of forgiveness seems absurd to human politics, because in the natural economy justice does not often permit forgiveness. But in the Christian economy, which is superhuman, it is not absurd. Difficult, yes, but not absurd. How do conflicts in the secular world end? What kind of Peace do they finally attain? In the insidious and furious dialectic of our history, as men filled with passion, pride, and rancour, the Peace which puts an end to any conflict is usually an imposition, a suppression, a yoke; the weaker and more submissive party undergoes this with forced toleration, often equal to postponing revenge to the future; and accepts the treaty protocol which merely conceals hypocrisy in hearts which remain hostile. A Peace like this, too often feigned and unstable, misses the complete resolution of the conflict, which is in pardon, in the victors renunciation of those advantages he has won but which
78

humiliate the conquered and make him inexorably unhappy; and the conquered one is lacking in that strength of mind necessary for reconciliation. It Peace is without clemency, how can it be called Peace? If Peace is imbued with the spirit of revenge, how can it be true Peace? What is necessary is that one side and the other both appeal to that superior justice, which is pardon, which cancels out insoluble questions of prestige, and makes friendship possible once again. A hard lesson, this; but is it not a magnificent one? Is it not truly contemporary? Is it not truly Christian? Let us educate ourselves, first of all, Christian sons and brothers, in this superior school of Peace; Let us read again the Sermon on the Mount (cf. Mt. 5, 21-26; 38-48; 6. 12, 14-15); and then let us strive, by our word and by our example, to announce this good news to the world. To each of you We impart Our Apostolic Blessing. From the Vatican, 30 November 1969. PAULUS PP. VI

79

1971: EVERY MAN IS MY BROTHER

After WWII, the world tried to ensure that such a war would not occur again. Enemies were forgiven and destroyed countries rebuilt. Peace seemed possible, and was the goal. Yet today wars threaten again. Again, peace is seen as an impossible dream. The world breaks down once again, even as the dream and banner of peace is carried on by so many. Why is peace threatened, and why does it continue on? Because of lovelove for man. Where love exists, peace prevails. Peace comes from true love. Today, the worlds wisdom has culminated in the idea of universal brotherhood. This love of one and all, as a definitive law of mankind, offers the hope of justice and peace. Christians know its truth as the certain teachings of Christ, for if God is Father of all, then all are brothers. So we proclaim our One Father, our universal brotherhood, love among all, and therefore, peace.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS

POPE PAUL VI
FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1971 MEN OF 1971! On the timepiece of the worlds history the hand of time, of our time, points to the beginning of a new year this one which We wish to inaugurate, as We have inaugurated previous years, with Our affectionate greeting, with Our message of Peace: Peace to you, Peace to the world. Listen to Us. It is worthwhile. Yes, as usual, Our word is: peace. But it is the word of which the world is in need, urgently in need, and that makes it new. Let us open our eyes at the dawn of this new year, let us observe two orders of general facts and events, which affect the world, its peoples, families and individuals. These facts, it seems to Us, influence our destinies deeply and directly. Each one of us can be their horoscope.
80

Observe the first order. In truth it is not an order, but a disorder. For the facts which We assemble in this category all indicate a return to thoughts and deeds which it seemed the tragic experience of war had, or should have, wiped away. At the end of the war everyone said: Enough! Enough of what? Of everything that gave rise to the human butchery and the appalling devastation. Immediately after the war, at the beginning of this generation, humanity became suddenly conscious that it was not enough to bury the dead, heal the wounds, rebuild what was destroyed and renew and improve the face of the earth; the causes of the conflagration we had undergone must be removed. The causes: this was the wise plan: to look for the causes and to eliminate them. The world breathed again. Indeed it seemed that a new era was about to open, the era of universal peace.(1) Everyone seemed ready to accept radical changes, in order to avoid new conflicts. For the political, social and economic structures a perspective of wonderful moral and social innovations was presented. There was talk of justice, of human rights, of betterment of the weak, of orderly coexistence, of organized collaboration, of world union. Great gestures were made: the victors, for example, came to the aid of the vanquished. Great institutions were founded. The world began to organize itself on principles of effective union and common prosperity. The way to peace, as a normal and fundamental condition of life in the world, seemed to have been finally planned. And yet, what do we see after twenty-five years of this material and idyllic progress? We see, first of all, that, here and there, wars still rage, and seem to be incurable plagues, which threaten to spread and grow worse. We see a continuation of, and in places an increase in, social, racial and religious discrimination. We see a return of the old mentality; man seems to entrench himself in situations of the past, first psychological and then political. The demons of yesterday rise up again. The supremacy of economic interests, with the all too easy exploitation of the weak, once more returns;(2) so does class hatred (3) and class warfare, and thus is born again international and civil strife. The struggle for national prestige and political power is back; the inflexible conflict of opposing ambitions, and of the rooted and uncompromising prejudices of races and ideologies has returned; recourse is had to crime and violence, as a burning ideal, heedless of the conflagration that may ensue. Peace is again thought of as no more than a balance of mighty forces and of terrifying armaments . Once again people feel a tremor of fear lest some catastrophic imprudence might lead to incredible and uncontrollable holocausts. What is happening? Where are we going? What has gone wrong? Or what has been lacking? Must we. Resign ourselves to doubting that man is capable of achieving a just and lasting peace, and to renouncing the task of implanting into the education of the new generations the hope for, and the mentality of, peace?(4) Fortunately another set of ideas and facts appears before our gaze; and it is that of progressive peace. For, notwithstanding everything, peace marches on. There are breaks in continuity, there are inconsistencies and difficulties. But all the same peace marches on and is establishing itself in the world with a certain invincibility. Every man is conscious of it: peace is necessary. It has in its favour the moral progress of humanity, which is indisputably directed towards unity. Unity
81

and peace, when freedom unites them, are sisters. Peace benefits from the growing favour of public opinion, which is convinced of the absurdity of war pursued for its own sake and believed to be the only and unavoidable means of settling controversies among men. Peace avails it self of the ever closer network of human relations in the fields of culture, economics, commerce, sport and tourism. We must live together, and it is good to know each other, and to respect and help one another. A fundamental cohesion is taking shape in the world. This favours peace. International relations are increasingly developing, and they form the premise and also the guarantee of a certain concord. The great international and supranational institutions are seen to be providential, at the source as well as at the perfection of humanitys peaceful coexistence.

Peace is a product of love: true love, human love.

Before this double picture, on which are superimposed phenomena contrary to the purpose closest to Our heartthat is, peaceit seems to Us that a single, ambivalent observation can be drawn. Let us ask a two-fold question, concerning two aspects of the ambiguous scene the world presents today: why, today, does peace recede? and why, today, does peace progress?

What is the element which emerges, in a negative sense, or indeed in a positive sense, from this simple analysis? The element is always man. Man abased in the first case, man upraised in the second. Let us venture to use a word, which may itself appear ambiguous, but which, given the thought its deep significance demands, is ever splendid and supreme. The world is love: love for man, as the highest principle of the terrestrial order. Love and peace are correlative entities. Peace is a product of love: true love, human love.(5) Peace supposes a certain identity of choice: this is friendship. If we want peace, we must recognize the necessity of building it upon foundations more substantial than the nonexistence of relations (relations among men are inevitable; they grow and become necessary), or the existence of relations of self-interest (these are precarious and often deceptive), or the web of purely cultural or fortuitous relations (these can be double-edged, for peace or for combat). True peace must be founded upon justice, upon a sense of the intangible dignity of man, upon the recognition of an abiding and happy equality between men, upon the basic principle of human brotherhood, that is, of the respect and love due to each man, because he is man. The victorious word springs forth: because he is a brother. My brother, our brother. This consciousness of a universal human brotherhood is also happily developing in our world, at least in principle. Whoever works to educate the rising generations in the conviction that every man is our brother, is building from the foundation the edifice of peace. Whoever implants in public opinion the sentiment of human brotherhood without reserve, is preparing better days f or the world.
82

Whoever conceives of the protection of political interests without the incitement of hate and of combat amongst men, as a logical and indispensable necessity of social life, is opening to human society the ever effective advancement of the common good. Whoever helps in discovering in every man, beyond his physical, ethnic and racial characteristics, the existence of a being equal to his own, is transforming the earth from an epicenter of division, antagonism, treachery and revenge into a field of vital work for civil collaboration. Where brotherhood amongst men is at root disregarded, peace is at root destroyed. And yet peace is the mirror of the real, authentic, modern humanity, victorious over every anachronistic self-injury. Peace is the great concept extolling love amongst men who discover that they are brothers and decide to live as such. This then is Our message for the year 1971. It echoes, as a voice arising anew from the conscience of civil society, the Declaration of Human Rights: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. This is the summit reached by the teaching of civilization. Let us not turn back. Let us not lose the treasures of this axiomatic conquest. Rather let us all give rational and resolute attention to this formula, this goal of human progress: Every man is my brother. This is peace, in being and in the making. And it avails for all!

Every man is my brother

For us, brothers of faith in Christ, it is especially valid. To the human wisdom, which, with great effort, has reached such an eminent and difficult conclusion, we believers can add a needed support before all, the support of certitude (for doubts of all kinds may besiege it, weaken it, destroy it), that of our certitude in the divine word of Christ our Master, as inscribed in his Gospel: You are all brothers (Mt 23: 8). We can offer encouragement as to the possibility of applying it (for, in practical reality, how difficult it is to be truly brothers to everybody!) We can do this by turning to another of Christs fundamental teachings, as to a practical and standard rule of action: Treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets (Mt 7: 12). How philosophers and saints have meditated on this maxim, which implants the universality of the precept of brotherhood into the individual and positive actions of social morality! And so, finally, we are in a position to provide the supreme argument: the concept of Gods Fatherhood over all men, proclaimed to all believers. A true brotherhood, among men, to be authentic and binding, presupposes and demands a transcendental Fatherhood overflowing with metaphysical love, with supernatural charity. We can teach human brotherhood, that is peace, by teaching men to acknowledge, to love, to invoke our Father in heaven. We know that we shall find the way to Gods altar barred if we have not first removed the obstacle to reconciliation with our brother man (Mt 5. 23 ff., 6: 14-15). And we know that if we are Promoters of peace, then we can be called sons of God, and be among those whom the Gospel calls blessed (Mt 5: 9).
83

What strength, what fruitfulness, what confidence the Christian religion bestows on the equation of brotherhood and peace. What joy it is for us to find, at the meeting point of these two terms, the crossing of the paths of our faith with those of the hopes of humanity and civilization. From the Vatican, 14 November 1970. PAULUS PP. VI

84

1972: IF YOU WANT PEACE, WORK FOR JUSTICE

Paul VI repeats his invitation to celebrate the 1st of the year as the Day of Peace, in order to promote this essential and fundamental good of mankind. True peace is always dynamic, and can never be forced upon peoples. The pretense of false peace is shattered by the inevitable reaction or eruption of violence and strife. For true peace recognizes the sacred nature of each and every person, respecting their rights and duties as human beings. This, then, is Justice. But peace needs more than a static justiceit needs a new and dynamic justice that permeates societies and persons. To forge peace, then, we must work for justice!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1972 Men of thought! Men of action! All mankind living in 1972! Accept once more our invitation to celebrate the Day of Peace! We take up again our reflection on Peace, for of Peace we have the loftiest conception: that of an essential and fundamental good of mankind in this world, that is, of civilization, progress, order and brotherhood. We believe that the idea of Peace still is, and still must be, dominant in human affairs, and that it becomes all the more urgent whenever and wherever it is contradicted by opposite ideas or deeds. It is a necessary idea, an imperative idea, an inspiring idea. It polarizes human aspirations, endeavours and hopes. Its nature is that of an aim, and as such it is at the base and at the goal of our activities, be they individual or collective. For that reason we think it extremely important to have an exact idea of Peace and to divest it of the false concepts which too often surround and thus deform and distort it. We say this to the young first of all. Peace is not a stagnant condition of life which finds in it at the same time both its perfection and its death. Life is movement, growth, work, effort and conquest, things such as
85

these. Is that what Peace is like? Yes, for the very reason that it coincides with the supreme good of man as he makes his way through time, and this good is never attained totally, but is always being newly and inexhaustibly acquired. Peace is thus the central idea giving its driving force to the most active enthusiasm. But this is not to say that Peace coincides with force. This we say especially to men in posts of responsibility. Since it is their interest and their duty to see that relations be normal between the members of a given groupa family, a school, a firm, a community, a social class, a city, a statetheir constant temptation is to impose by the use of force such normal relations as bear the appearance of Peace. The ambiguous character of the social life which follows is torture and corruption for human spirits. A life of pretence is the atmosphere resulting sometimes from an inglorious victory, at other times from an irrational despotism, from a coercive repression, or from a balance of permanently opposing forces which are usually on the increase as they wait for a violent outburst which by devastation of every sort shows how false was the Peace imposed only by superiority of power and force. Peace is not treachery (Cf. Job 15:21). Peace is not a lie made into a system (Cf. Jer 6:14). Much less is it pitiless totalitarian tyranny. Nor is it, in any way, violence: though at least violence does not dare to appropriate to itself the noble name of Peace. It is difficult, but essential, to form a genuine idea of Peace. It is difficult for one who closes his eyes to his innate intuition of it, which tells him that Peace is something very human. This is the right way to come to the genuine discovery of Peace: if we look for its true source, we find that it is rooted in a sincere feeling for man. A Peace that is not the result of true respect for man is not true Peace. And what do we call this sincere feeling for man? We call it Justice.

how false was the Peace imposed only by superiority of power and force

But is not Justice also an immobile goddess? Yes, it is so in the expressions of it which we call rights and duties, and which we arrange in our illustrious codes, that is, in laws and pacts which produce that stability of social, cultural and economic relationships which cannot be infringed. It is order, it is Peace. But if Justice, that is, what it is and what it should be, were to produce finer expressions beyond those now existing, what would happen? Before answering, let us ask whether this hypothesis of a growth of consciousness of Justice is admissible, is probable and is desirable? Yes. This is the fact which characterizes the modern world and distinguishes it from the ancient. Today consciousness of Justice is increasing. No one, we believe, denies this phenomenon. We shall not pause here to analyze it: but we all know that today, because of the spread of culture, man, every man, has a new awareness of himself . Every man today knows he is a person; and he feels he is a person: that is, an inviolable being, equal to others, free and responsiblelet us use
86

the term: a sacred being. Since a different and better perceptionthat is, one which is fuller and more demandingof the inward and outward flow of his personality, in other words, of his twofold moral movement of rights and duties, fills the consciousness of man, it is a dynamic Justice, and no longer a static Justice that is born of this heart. This is not simply an individual phenomenon, nor one reserved for select and restricted groups; it is now a collective and universal phenomenon. The developing countries shout it out with a loud voice. It is the voice of peoples, the voice of mankind. It demands a new expression of Justice, a new foundation for Peace. Convinced as we all are of this irrepressible cry, why do we waste time in giving peace any other foundation than Justice? As has been stressed by the recent Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, does there not still remain the task of establishing greater justice, both within national communities and on the international level? Is it just, for example, that there should be entire populations which are not granted free and normal expression of that most jealously guarded right of the human spirit, the religious right? What authority, what ideology, what historical or civil interest can arrogantly claim a right to repress and stifle the religious sentiment in its legitimate human expression? We are not speaking of a superstitious, fanatical, or disorderly expression. And what name shall we give to a Peace which claims a right to impose itself by trampling on this primary Justice? And where other unquestionable forms of Justice have been injured or crushedbe they national, social, cultural or economiccould we be sure that the Peace resulting from such a tyrannical process is true Peace? That it is a stable Peace? Or, even if it be stable, that it is a just and human Peace? Is not an integral part of justice the duty of enabling every country to promote its own development in the framework of cooperation free from any intention or calculated aim of domination, whether economic or political? The problem is extremely serious and complex; it is not for us to make it worse, or to resolve it on the practical level. That is not within the competence of the one who is speaking here. But it is precisely from this place that the invitation we give to celebrate Peace resounds as an invitation to practice Justice: Justice will bring about Peace (Cf: Is 32:17). We repeat this today in a more incisive and dynamic formula: If you want Peace, work for Justice . It is an invitation which does not ignore the difficulties in practicing Justice, in defining it, first of all, and then in actuating it, for it always demands some sacrifice of prestige and self-interest: Perhaps more greatness of soul is needed for yielding to the ways of Justice and Peace than for fighting for and imposing on an adversary ones rights, whether true or alleged. We have such trust in the power of the associated ideals of Justice and Peace to generate in modern man the moral energy to actuate them, that we are confident of their gradual victory. Indeed we are even
87

more confident that on his own modern man has an understanding of the ways of peace, sufficient to enable him to become a promoter of that Justice which opens those ways and sets people travelling them with courageous and prophetic hope. That is why we dare once again to extend an invitation to celebrate the Day of Peace, in 1972 under the austere and serene sign of Justice, that is, with the burning wish to give life to deeds which will be convergent expressions of a sincere desire for Justice and a sincere desire for Peace. To our brothers and sons and daughters of the Catholic Church, we commend this our invitation. It is necessary to bring the men of today a message of hope, through a brotherhood which is truly lived and through an honest and persevering effort for greater, true Justice. Our invitation is logically connected with the message which the recent Synod of Bishops gave on Justice in the World ; and it is strengthened by the certainty that it is he Christ who is our peace (Cf. Eph 2:14). From the Vatican, 8 December 1971.

PAULUS PP. VI

88

1973: PEACE IS POSSIBLE

Paul VI, a prophet of peace, pleas and begs for every man and women to listen: amidst the madness of war, true peace is possiblenot simply a lull in fighting, not simply moments of tranquility amidst chaos, not simply an enforced order and apparent peace of stalemate, but a thorough peace, a just and dynamic peace that is built and renewed by each new generation. Though many claim that such peacebuilt not on arms but on loveis impossible, thought many destroy peace by their refusal to believe in it, Peace is Possible. It is no permanent utopia that guarantees brotherhood, but an ever-active peace brought into continual being by the brotherhood of love and reason, founded upon courageous moral values. Because peace is possible, it is also a duty. Especially so for Christians, whose very hopeJesus Christis peace. Our hope is action, and our action is sacrifice and love and peace.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1973 You upon whose shoulders rests the responsibility for guiding the vital interests of mankind: statesmen and diplomats; and you, representatives of the nations of the world; men of philosophy, science and letters, industrialists, trade unionists, military men and artists, all you whose work influences the relations among peoples, states, tribes, classes and among the families of the human race; and you, citizens of the world; young people of this rising generation, students, teachers, workers, men and women; you who know what it means to search, to hope, to despair, to suffer; and you who are poor, who are orphans or victims of the hatred, selfishness and injustice that still exist in our worlddo not be surprised if again you hear our voice. It is a voice that is weak but yet strong, like the voice of a prophet of the Word standing over us and filling us. We are your advocate who seeks not his own interest, for we are the brother of every man of good will, a Samaritan to whoever is weary and waits for help, a Servantas we call ourselfof the servants of God, of truth, freedom, justice, development and hope. In the year 1973 we raise our voice to speak to you again of Peace. Yes, of Peace! Do not refuse to listen to us even though Peace is a theme about which you may be fully informed. Our message is as simple as an axiom: peace is possible! A chorus of voices assails us: we know it. Indeed it besets us and stifles uspeace is not just possible, it is real. Peace is already
89

established, we are told. We still must grieve for the numberless victims of war whose blood has stained this century more than all centuries past, this century which is the highpoint of progress; the horrible scars of recent wars and civil strife still mark the faces of our adult generation; and even the still open wounds renew in the limbs of the new population a shudder of fear at the thought of the mere hypothesis of a new war. But wisdom has finally triumphed; weapons are still and are rusting in the armouries, useless instruments of a madness which has been overcome; worldwide and serious institutions guarantee safety and independence to all; international life is organized by now undisputed documents and instruments which immediately work to solve, through a listing of rights and justice, every possible controversy; dialogue between peoples is continuous and sincere; and, in addition, an immense intertwining of common interests brings about solidarity among peoples. Peace has now come to civilization. Dc not disturb that peace, we are told, by calling it into question. We have other new and original question; which need to be treated: peace is a fact, peace is secure; it is no longer a matter for discussion! Really? Would that it were so! But then the voice of these spokesmen of peace victorious over every contrary reality becomes more timid and uncertain, and admits that there are truly unfortunate situations here and there, where war continues to rage fiercely even yet. Alas! It is not a question of wars buried in the sands of history; it is a question of wars here and now. Nor is it a question of passing episodes, but of wars which have been going on for years; nor is it a matter of superficial disturbances, because these wars weigh heavily upon the ranks of well-armed men and upon the unarmed masses of the civilian population. Nor are they easy to solve; they have exhausted and rendered impotent all the skills of negotiation and mediation. Nor is the general equilibrium of the world left undisturbed, since they breed an ever growing amount of injured prestige, of unrelenting desire for revenge and of endemic and organized disorder. They are not something than can be ignored, as though they will solve themselves with time, because their poison seeps into souls, corroding humanitarian ideologies, becoming contagious and transmitting itself to the youngest generation and carrying with it a fatal inherited commitment to revenge. Violence becomes fashionable again, and even clothes itself in the breastplate of justice. It becomes a way of life, abetted by all the ingredients of treacherous evildoing and by all the wiles of cowardice, of extortion and of complicity, and finally presents itself as an apocalyptic spectre armed with the unheard of instruments of murderous destruction. Collective selfishness comes to life again in the family, society, tribe, nation and race. Crime no longer horrifies. Cruelty becomes fatal, like the surgery of hate, declared legal. Genocide is seen as the possible monster of a radical solution. And behind all these horrible visions there grows through cold-blooded and unerring calculations the huge economy of arms, with its hunger-producing markets. And so politics resumes its unrenounceable programme of power. And peace?
90

Yes, peace! Peace, it is said, can survive equally in and to some extent exist side by side with the most unfavourable conditions of the world. Even in the frontline trenches, or in the lulls in warfare or amid the ruins of all normal order there are quiet corners, quiet moments. Peace immediately adapts itself to them and, in its own way, flourishes. But is this vestige of vitality, which we can speak of as true peace, mankinds ideal? Is it this modest and wonderful capacity for recovery and resistance, this desperate optimism that can slake mans supreme aspiration to order and the fullness of justice? Shall we give the name of peace to its counterfeits? Ubi solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant (Tacitus). Or shall we give the name of peace to a truce, to a mere laying down of arms, to an arrogant exercise of power beyond revoke, to an external order based on violence and fear, or to a temporary balance of opposed forces, to a trial of strength consisting in the immobile tension of rival powers? This would be a necessary hypocrisy, with which history is filled. It is certainly true that many things can prosper peacefully even in precarious and unjust situations. We must be realistic, say the opportunists; the only possible kind of peace is this: a compromise, a fragile and partial settlement. Men, they say, are incapable of a better sort of peace.

Peace, many people believe and say, is impossible, either as an ideal or as a reality. Here on the contrary is our message, your message too, men of good will, the message of all mankind: peace is possible! It must be possible!

And so, at the end of the twentieth century, will mankind have to be content with a peace deriving from a diplomatic balance and from a certain regulation of rival interests, and nothing more? We admit that a perfect and stable tranquillitas ordinis, that is, an absolute and definitive peace among meneven if they have progressed to a universal high level of civilizationcan only be a dream, not vain, but unfulfilled, an ideal, not unreal but still to be realized. This is so because everything in the course of history is subject to change, and because the perfection of man is neither univocal nor fixed. Human passions do not die. Selfishness is an evil root that can never be completely removed from mans psychology. In the psychology of whole peoples this evil commonly takes on the form and power of a raison detre. It acts as a philosophy of ideals. For this reason we are menaced by a doubt, a doubt that could be fatal: is peace ever possible? And in the minds of some this doubt very easily changes into a disastrous certainty: peace is impossible!

A new, indeed an ancient anthropology arises : man is made to fight against man: homo homini lupus. War is inevitable. The arms racehow can it be avoided? It is a basic political necessity. And then it is a law of the international economy. It is a question of prestige. First the sword, then the plough. It seems as though this conviction prevails over every other, even for some developing peoples, which are struggling to enter into modern civilization, which are imposing upon themselves enormous sacrifices in the resources essential for lifes basic needs, cutting down on food, medicine, education, road-building, housing and even sacrificing true economic
91

and political independence, so that they can be armed and can inflict fear and slavery on their own neighbours, often with no more thought of offering friendship, cooperation, a common wellbeing, but showing a grim face of superiority in the art of offence and war. Peace, many people believe and say, is impossible, either as an ideal or as a reality. Here on the contrary is our message, your message too, men of good will, the message of all mankind: peace is possible! It must be possible! Yes, because this is the message that rises from the battlefields of the two world wars and the other recent armed conflicts by which the earth has been stained with blood. It is the mysterious and frightening voice of the fallen and of the victims of past conflicts; it is the pitiable groan of the unnumbered graves in the military cemeteries and of the monuments dedicated to the Unknown Soldiers: peace, peace, not war. Peace is the necessary condition and the summing up of human society. Yes, because peace has conquered the ideologies that oppose it. Peace is above all a state of mind. Peace has at last penetrated as a logical human need into the minds of many people, and especially of the young. It must be possible, they say, to live without hating and without killing. A new and universal pedagogy is gaining ascendancythat of peace.

It must be possible, they say, to live without hating and without killing.

Yes, because the maturity of civilized wisdom has expressed this obvious fact: instead of seeking the solution to human rivalries in the irrational and barbarous test of blind and murderous strength in arms, we shall build up new institutions, in which discussion, justice and right may be expressed and become a strict and peaceful law governing international relations. These institutions, and first among them the United Nations Organization, have been established. A new humanism supports them and holds them in honour. A solemn obligation unites their members. A positive and worldwide hope recognizes them as instruments of international order, of solidarity and of brotherhood among the peoples. In these institutions peace finds its own home and its own workshop. Yes, we repeat that peace is possible, since in these institutions it finds again its fundamental characteristics, which a wrong idea of peace easily makes one forget. Peace must be based on reason not passion; it must be magnanimous, not selfish. Peace must be not inert and passive but dynamic, active and progressive according as the just demands of the declared and equitable rights of man require new and better expressions of peace. Peace must not be weak, inefficient and servile, but strong in the moral reasons that justify it and in the solid support of the nations which must uphold it. There follows an extremely important and delicate point: if these modern organizations which are to promote and protect peace were not fit for their specific function, what would be the fate of the world? If their inefficiency were to cause fatal disillusionment in
92

the minds of men, peace would thereby be defeated, and with it the progress of civilization. Our hope and our conviction that peace is possible would be stifled, first by doubt, then by mockery and skepticism, and in the end by denial. And what an end this would be! One shrinks from thinking of such a downfall. It is necessary to repeat once more the basic statement that peace is possible, in these two complementary affirmations: Peace is possible, if it is truly willed; and If peace is possible, it is a duty. This involves discovering what moral forces are necessary for resolving positively the problem of peace. It is necessary to haveas we said on another occasionthe courage of peace. Courage of highest quality: not that of brute force, but that of love. We repeat: every man is my brother; there cannot be peace without a new justice. Men of strength and conscience, who through your collaboration have the power and duty to build and defend peace; you especially who are leaders and teachers of peoples: if ever the echo of this heartfelt message reaches your ears, may it enter also into your hearts and strengthen your consciences with the renewed certainty that peace is possible. Have the wisdom to fix your attention on this paradoxical certitude; devote your energy to it and, in spite of everything, give it your trust; with your powers of persuasion make it a theme for public opinion, not in order to weaken the spirits of the young but to strengthen them to more human and virile sentiments. Establish and build up in truth, in justice, in love and in freedom peace for the coming centuries; beginning with the year 1973, vindicate its possibility by accepting its reality. This was the programme which our predecessor John XXIII traced out in his Encyclical Pacem in Terris, the tenth anniversary of which will fall in April 1973. And just as ten years ago you listened with respect and gratitude to his paternal voice, so we trust that the memory of that great flame which he kindled in the world will strengthen hearts to new and firmer resolutions for peace. We are with you. To you, brothers and sons and daughters in the Catholic communion, and to all united with us in the Christian faith, we extend once more the invitation to reflect upon the possibility of peace. We do this by indicating the way in which such reflection can be greatly deepened: through a realistic knowledge of anthropology, in which the mysterious causes of evil and good in history and in mans heart reveal to us why peace is always an open problem, always threatened by pessimistic solutions and at the same time always encouraged not only by the obligation but also by the hope of happy solutions. We believe in the real, though often hidden sway of an infinite Goodness, which we call Providence and which rules over the destinies of humanity; we know the strange but tremendous reversibility of every human situation in a history of salvation;(1) we bear engraved upon our memories the seventh beatitude of the Sermon on the Mount: Happy the peacemakers: they shall be called sons of God; (2) absorbed in a hope that does not deceive,(3) we hear the Christmas proclamation of peace for men of good will;(4) we have peace ever upon our lips and in our hearts as a gift and greeting and a biblical wish deriving from the
93

Spirit, for we possess the secret and unfailing fount of peace, which is Christ our peace. (5) And if peace exists in Christ and through Christ, it is a possibility among men and for men. Let us not allow the idea of peace to perish, nor the hope of peace, nor the aspiration towards it, nor the experience of it; but let us renew the desire for peace in mens hearts, at all levels: in the inmost sanctuary of consciences, in family life, in the dialectic of social conflicts, in relations between classes and nations, in the support of initiatives and international institutions that have peace as their banner. Let us make peace possible by preaching friendship and practicing love of neighbor, justice and Christian forgiveness; where peace has been cast out let us open the door to it through honest negotiations brought to a sincere and positive conclusion; let us not refuse any sacrifice which, without offending the dignity of any generous person, will make peace quicker, more heartfelt and more lasting. To the tragic and insuperable contradictions that seem to make up the grim reality of history in our day, to the attractions of aggressive force, to the blind violence that strikes the innocent, to the hidden snares that work to speculate on the big business of war and to oppress and enslave the weaker nations, to the anguished question, finally, that ever besets us : is peace ever possible among men? True peace?to this question there springs from our heart, filled with faith and strong with love, the simple and victorious response: Yes! It is a response that impels us to be peacemakers, with sacrifice, with sincere and persevering love for mankind. Let this be an echo to our response, carrying with it blessings and good wishes in the name of Christ: Yes! From the Vatican, 8 December 1972. PAULUS PP. VI

(1) Cf. Rom 8:28. (2) Mt 5: 9. (3) Cf. Rom 5:5. (4) Cf. Lk 2:14. (5) Eph 2:14.

94

1974: PEACE DEPENDS ON YOU TOO

To many, the word peace is unbearablea lie, a false utopia, a propaganda designed to seduce, to disempower, to cause us to surrender to injustice and evil. But Paul VI says, listen! He has something to reveal about peace. Though peace is hard to believe in, though peace is an ideal that seems so out of reach, peace is possible, peace is a duty, peace is the victory that we long for! The greatest obstacle to real peace is the despair that considers peace impossible, the despair that trusts in might before right. But right is mightier than force. Peace does not fail to actively defend life and rights. Peace requires a courageous commitment and sacrifice, and always requires action to bring peace into being. Men are naturally made for peacewe are not natural killers. War is not inevitable and necessary. Allfrom heads of state to citizensmust embrace peace as our supreme ethical duty. And as Christians, we lead as grace-filled peacemakers of Christ. We must lead.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1974 PEACE DEPENDS ON YOU TOO Listen to me again, you who have arrived at the threshold of the new year 1974. Listen to me again: I am before you making a humble entreaty, a strong entreaty. Naturally, as you will have guessed, I wish to speak to you once more about Peace. Yes, about Peace. Perhaps you think you know all there is to be known about Peace; so much has already been said about it by everybody. Perhaps this obtrusive term provokes a feeling of satiety, of boredom, perhaps also of fear that it conceals behind the charm of its name an illusory magic, an abstruse and over-indulged rhetoric, even a dangerous spell. The present moment of history, marked as it is by fierce outbreaks of international conflict, by implacable class warfare, outbursts of revolutionary freedoms, the crushing of human rights and fundamental liberties, and by unforeseen symptoms of worldwide economic instability, seems to be destroying the triumphant ideal of Peace as if it were the statue of an idol. In place of the pale and timid abstraction with which Peace seems to be marked in recent political experience and thought,
95

preference is once more being given to the realism of facts and interests, and man is once more thought of as a permanently insoluble problem of living self-conflict: man is like this, a being who bears in his heart the destiny of fraternal strife. In the face of this crude and re-emerging realism we propose not a purely notional concept of Peace, undermined by new and crushing experiences, but an indomitable idealismthat of Peacedestined for progressive affirmation. Brethren, men of good will, wise men, men of suffering, believe our humble and repeated words, our untiring plea. Peace is the ideal of mankind. Peace is necessary. Peace is a duty. Peace is beneficial. It is not a fixed and illogical idea of ours; nor is it an obsession or an illusion. It is a certainty. Yes, it is a hope: it holds the key to the future of civilization and to the destiny of world. Yes, Peace. We are so convinced that Peace is the goal of mankind in the process of its growing self-awareness and of the development of society on the face of the earth, that today, for the new year and for future years, we dare to proclaim, as we did last year: Peace is possible. Basically, what compromises the stability of Peace and the movement of history in its favour is the unspoken and skeptical conviction that, in practice, Peace is impossible. A wonderful idea, people think, without putting it into words, an excellent synthesis of human aspirations, but a poetic dream and a utopian fallacy. An intoxicating drug, but enervating. There returns once again to mens minds, as though with inevitable logic, the thought that what matters is force; man will at best reduce the combination of forces to a balance of opposition, but organized society cannot do without force.

Brethren, men of good will, wise men, men of suffering, believe our humble and repeated words, our untiring plea. Peace is the ideal of mankind. Peace is necessary. Peace is a duty. Peace is beneficial. It is not a fixed and illogical idea of ours; nor is it an obsession or an illusion. It is a certainty. Yes, it is a hope: it holds the key to the future of civilization and to the destiny of world. Yes, Peace.

We must pause for a moment over this crucial objection, in order to clarify a possible misunderstanding: the confusion of Peace with weakness (not just physical but also moral), with the renunciation of genuine right and equitable justice, with the evasion of risk and sacrifice, with cowardly and supine submission to others arrogance, and hence with acquiescence to enslavement. This is not real Peace. Repression is not Peace. Cowardice is not Peace. A settlement which is purely external and imposed by fear is not Peace. The recent celebration of the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights reminds us that true Peace must be based on a sense of the untouchable dignity of the human person, from which arise inviolable rights and corresponding duties.
96

It is indeed true that Peace will accept obedience to just law and legitimate authority, but it will never be alien to considerations of the common good and mans moral freedom. Peace can also lead to serious sacrifices: in the struggle for prestige, in the arms race, in overlooking insults and in cancelling debts. It will even lead to the generosity of forgiveness and of reconciliation: but never by way of abject betrayal of human dignity, never by safeguarding selfish personal interests at the expense of others legitimate interests, never by way of baseness. Peace will never be without a hunger and thirst for justice ; it will never forget the effort that has to be made in order to defend the weak, to help the poor, to promote the cause of the lowly Peace will never betray the higher values of. Life in order to survive (cf. Jn 12: 25).

Peace must not only be maintained; it must be produced. Therefore Peace is, and must always be, in a process of continuous and progressive realization. We shall go further and say: Peace is possible only if it is considered a duty.

But this does not mean that Peace should be regarded as a utopia. The certainty of Peace is based not only on being but also on becoming. Like mans life, Peace is dynamic. Its realm extends more and principally into the field of moral obligation, that is, into the sphere of duties. Peace must not only be maintained; it must be produced. Therefore Peace is, and must always be, in a process of continuous and progressive realization. We shall go further and say: Peace is possible only if it is considered a duty. It is not even enough that it be based on the conviction, in general perfectly justified, that it is advantageous. Peace must take hold of the consciences of men as a supreme ethical objective, as a moral necessity, an vyxn, deriving from the innate demands of human coexistence.

This discovery, for this is what it is in the positive process of our reasoning, teaches us certain principles from which we ought never again to depart. And in the first place it enlightens us about the original nature of Peace: that Peace is above all an idea. It is an inner axiom and a treasure of the spirit. Peace must grow out of a fundamentally spiritual concept of humanity: humanity must be at Peace, that is, united and consistent in itself, closely bound together in the depth of its being. The absence of this basic concept has been, and still is, the root cause of the calamities which have devasted history. To regard struggle among men as a structural need of society is not only an error of philosophy and vision but also a potential and permanent crime against humanity. Civilization must finally redeem itself from the ancient fallacy, still existing and active: homo homini lupus. This fallacy has been at work from the time of Cain. Modern man must have the moral and prophetic courage to liberate himself from this inborn ferocity and to arrive at the conclusion which is precisely the idea of Peace as something essentially natural, necessary, obligatory and therefore possible. We must henceforth consider humanity, history, work, politics, culture and progress in terms of their relationship to Peace.

97

But what is the use of this spiritual, subjective, interior and personal idea? What is the use of such an idea, so defenceless, so remote from the actually lived, effective and frightening happenings of our present time? While the tragic experience of the last World War recedes into history, We unfortunately have to record the reappearance of a spirit of rivalry between the Nations as well as in the political dialectic of society. Today the potential of war and struggle is far greaternot lessthan that which was at mankinds disposal before the World Wars. Can you not seeany observer could objectthat the world is moving towards conflicts even more terrible and horrible than those of yesterday? Can you not see the lack of effectiveness of propaganda for peace and the insufficient influence of the international institutions that were set up while the bloodied and weakened world was recovering from the World Wars? Where is the world going? Are not ever more catastrophic and abhorrent conflicts being prepared? Alas, We should hold our peace in the face of such pressing and implacable reasoning, as in the face of a desperate fate. But no. Are we blind too? Are we ingenuous? No, brethren, we are certain that our cause, the cause of Peace, must prevail. In the first place: because in spite of the folly of a contrary policy, the idea of Peace is already victorious in the thought of all men in posts of responsibility. We have confidence in their up-to-date wisdom, their energy and ability. No head of a nation can today wish for war; every one yearns for the general Peace of the world. It is something great! We dare to exhort leaders never again to deny their programme, indeed the common programme, of Peace. Secondly: it is ideas, far more and before particular interests, that guide the world, in spite of appearances to the contrary. If the idea of Peace effectively wins mens hearts, Peace will be safe; indeed it will save mankind. It is unnecessary for us in this our message to waste words in demonstrating the present-day power of the idea which has now become the thought of the People, that is, of public opinion. Today this thought of Peace is the queen that in practice rules the Peoples; her imponderable influence forms them and guides them; and it is the Peoples (that is, active public opinion) that rule the rulers. At least this is so to a large extent. The third point: if public opinion is the element that determines the fate of the Peoples, the fate of Peace also depends on each of us. For each of us forms part of the civic body operating with a democratic system, which, in varying forms and degrees, today characterizes the life of the Nations organized in a modern manner. This is what we wished to say: Peace is possible, if each one of us wants it; if each one of us loves Peace, educates and forms hi s own outlook to Peace, defends Peace, works for Peace. Each one of us must listen in his own conscience to the impelling call: Peace depends on you too. Certainly individual influence on public opinion can only be infinitesimal, but it is never in vain. Peace lives by the support, though individual and anonymous, that people give it. And we all know how the phenomenon of public opinion is formed and expressed: a strong and serious statement can be easily disseminated. The affirmation of Peace must progress from being
98

individual to being collective and communal; it must become the affirmation of the People and of the Community of Peoples. It must be translated into conviction, ideology and action ; it must aspire to penetrate the thoughts and actions of the rising generation, and to penetrate the world, politics, economics, teaching, the future and civilization. It must do this not by instinctive fear of flight, but by the creative impulse towards future history and the reconstruction of the world; it must do so not by cowardice and egoism but by moral strength and increased love for mankind. Peace is courage, it is wisdom, it is duty; and in the end it is, even more, concern and happiness. This is what we venture to say to you our brethren, to you men of this world who in any way are in control of its destiny, to you, men of command, men of culture, men of business: you must give to your action a strong and wise orientation towards Peace. Peace has need of you. If you want to, you can succeed. Peace depends also and especially on you. And for our brothers and sisters in faith and charity we will reserve a word even more trusting and compelling. Do we not perhaps have our own original and superhuman possibilities of cooperating with those who are promoting Peace, and of making their effortsour common effortsefficacious, so that Christ, in accordance with the heatitude of the Gospel may call both them and us sons of God? (Cf. Mt 5 : 9). Are we not able to preach peace, above all else, to peoples consciences? And who is more obliged than we are to be teachers of Peace by word and example? How shall we be able to lend our support to the cause of peace, in which mans causality reaches its highest level, except through insertion into the divine causality, ready to be invoked by our prayers? And are we going to be insensitive to the inheritance of Peace, transcendental and inexpressible Peace, which Christ and only Christ has left to us who live in a world which does not know how to give perfect Peace? Can we not, perhaps, reinforce our prayer for Peace with that humble and loving power which the divine mercy does not resist? (Cf. Mt 7:7ff.; Jn 14:27). It is a wonderful thing: Peace is possible, and furthermore it depends, through Christ our Peace (Eph 2:4), on us. May our Apostolic Blessing of Peace be a pledge thereof. From the Vatican, 8 December 1973. PAULUS PP. VI

99

1975: RECONCILIATION, THE WAY TO PEACE

Peace has to be made, made at every moment, made by every new generation in every new situation. Peace must be invented over and over again. And only peace can create peace! We must work to abolish and outlaw war, building a new order based on trust, not fear and weapons. But this requires the interiorization of peace, disarming hearts and minds, cultivating attitudes of love, and particularly, of reconciliation. For violence to be truly conquered, for wars to truly end, there must be the genuine trust formed by genuine reconciliation. We can pursue this hope, because we trust in mans fundamental goodness, even if weakened by sin. Reconciliation is the way to Peace, and Christ is the way to reconciliation 1st with God, then with one another. Let the Church reconcile with itself, that we may proclaim peace to the world in not only words, but deeds!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1975 RECONCILIATIONTHE WAY TO PEACE To all men of good will. Here is our Message for the year 1975! You know it already, nor could it be any different: Brethren! Let us make Peace! Our message is very simple, but at the same time it is so serious and so demanding as to seem offensive: does not Peace yet exist? What else and what more can be done for Peace than what has already been done and is still being done? Is the history of mankind not travelling, under its own power, towards worldwide Peace? Yes, it is; or rather it seems to be. But Peace has to be made. It has to be continually generated and produced. It results from a balance of forces that is unstable and that can only be maintained by movement in proportion to its speed. The very institutions that in the juridical order and in international society have the task and merit of proclaiming and preserving Peace reach their

100

opportune aim if they are continually active, if they know how to generate Peace, make Peace, at every moment. This necessity results mainly from the human phenomenon of becoming, from the ceaseless evolutionary process of mankind. Men succeed men, generations succeed generations. Even if no changes took place in the existing juridical and historical situations, there would still be a need for an effort, continually in 101eigh, to educate mankind to stay faithful to the fundamental laws of society. These laws must remain, and they will guide history for an indefinite period, but only on condition that changeable men, and the young people taking the place of those passed on, are unceasingly educated in the discipline of order for the common good and in the ideal of Peace. From this point of view, making Peace means educating to Peace. And it is not a small undertaking, nor an easy one. Peace must be made; Peace must be But we all know that it is not just men that change on the produced; Peace must stage of history. Things change too. This is to say, the be invented. questions on the balanced solution of which depends mens peaceful life together in society. No one can maintain that the organization of civil society and of the international context is perfect. Many, very many problems still remain potentially open. The problems of yesterday remain; the problems of today are arising; tomorrow others will arise. And they are all awaiting a solution. This solution, we declare, cannot and must not ever again spring from selfish and violent conflicts, still less from murderous wars between men. As has been said by wise men, learned in the history of peoples and experts in the economy of nations, and as we too, defenceless as we are in the midst of the worlds strife, yet strong in the divine Word, have said: all men are brothers. And at last the whole of civilization has admitted this fundamental principle. Therefore: if men are brothers, but there still exist and spring up among them causes of conflict, then Peace must become operative and wise. Peace must be made; Peace must be produced; Peace must be invented. It must be created through an ever watchful disposition, with a will ever fresh and untiring. Thus we are all persuaded of the principle that animates modern society: Peace can be neither passive nor oppressive; it must be inventive, preventive and operative.

We are glad to note that these guiding criteria of social living in the world are today universally accepted, at least in the main. And we feel it is our duty to thank, to praise and to encourage the leaders and the institutions destined today to promote Peace on earth, for having chosen, as the first article of their activity, this basic axiom: only Peace generates Peace. Allow us to repeat in a prophetic way to the farthest boundaries of the globe the message of the recent Ecumenical Council: It is our clear duty, then, to strain every muscle as we work for the time when all war can be completely outlawed by international consent.... Peace must be born of mutual trust between the nations rather than imposed on them through fear of one anothers
101

weapons.... For government officials, who must simultaneously guarantee the good of all their own people and promote the universal good, depend on public opinion and feeling to the greatest possible extent. It does them no good to work at building peace so long as feelings of hostility, contempt and distrust, as well as racial hatred and unbending ideologies, continue to divide men and place them in opposing camps. Hence arises a surpassing need for renewed education of attitudes and for new inspiration in the area of public opinion. Those who are dedicated to the work of education, particularly of the young, or who mould public opinion, should regard as their most weighty task the effort to instruct all in fresh sentiments of Peace. Indeed, every one of us should have a change of heart as we regard the entire world and those tasks which we can perform in unison for the betterment of our race (Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 82).

Minds must be disarmed if we wish effectively to stop the recourse to arms which strike bodies.

VII; PL 41, 634).

And it is in this regard that our message centres on its characteristic and inspiring point, affirming that Peace only has value to the extent that it seeks first to be interior before becoming exterior. Minds must be disarmed if we wish effectively to stop the recourse to arms which strike bodies. It is necessary to give to Peace, that is to say to all men, the spiritual roots of a common form of thought and love. Saint Augustine, designer of a new City, writes that the identity of mens nature is not sufficient to bring them together among themselves. They must be taught to speak the same language, that is to say to understand one another, to possess a common culture, to share the same sentiments, otherwise man will prefer to be with his dog rather than with a man who is a stranger (cf. De Civ. Dei, XIX,

This interiorization of Peace is true humanism, true civilization. Fortunately it has already begun. It is maturing as the world develops. It finds its persuasive strength in the universal dimensions of the relations of every kind which men are establishing among themselves. It is a slow and complicated work, but one which, to a great extent, is happening spontaneously: the world is progressing towards its unity. Nevertheless we cannot delude ourselves, and while peaceful concord among men is spreading, through the progressive discovery of the complementarity and interdependence of countries, through commercial exchanges, through the diffusion of an identical vision of man, always however respectful of the original and specific nature of the various civilizations, through the ease of travel and social communications, and so on, we must take note that today new forms of jealous nationalism are being affirmed, enclosed in manifestations of touchy rivalries based on race, language and traditions; there remain sad situations of poverty and hunger. Powerful economic multinational expressions are arising, full of selfish antagonisms. Exclusive and arrogant ideologies are being organized into social systems. Territorial conflicts break out with frightening ease. And above all, there is an increase in the number and the power of murderous weapons for possible catastrophic destruction, such as
102

to stamp terror with the name of Peace. Yes, the world is progressing towards its unity, but even as it does so there increase the terrifying hypotheses which envisage more possible, more easy and more terrible fatal clashesclashes which are considered, in certain circumstances, inevitable and necessary, and called for, as it were, by justice. Will justice be one day the sister no longer of peace but of wars? (cf. Saint Augustine, ibid.). We are not playing at utopias, either optimistic ones or pessimistic. We want to remain in the realms of realitya reality which, with its phenomenology of illusory hope and deplorable desperation, warns us once more that there is something not functioning properly in the monumental machine of our civilization. This machine could explode in an indescribable conflagration because of a defect in its construction. We say a defect, not a lack. The defect, that is, of the spiritual element, though we admit that this element is already present and at work in the general process of the peaceful development of contemporary history, and worthy of every favourable recognition and encouragement. Have we not awarded to UNESCO our prize named after Pope John XXIII, the author of the Encyclical Pacem in Terris? But we dare to say that more must be done. We have to make use of and apply the spiritual element in order to make it capable not only of impeding conflicts among men and predisposing them to peaceful and civilized sentiments, but also of producing reconciliation among those same men, that is of generating Peace. It is not enough to contain wars, to suspend conflicts, to impose truces and armistices, to define boundaries and relationships, to create sources of common interest; it is not enough to paralyze the possibility of radical strife through the terror of unheardof destruction and suffering. An imposed Peace, a utilitarian and provisional Peace is not enough. Progress must be made towards a Peace which is loved, free and brotherly, founded, that is, on a reconciliation of hearts . We know that it is difficult, more difficult than any other method. But it is not impossible, it is not a fantasy. We have faith in a fundamental goodness of individuals and of peoples: God has made the generations wholesome (cf. Wis 1:14) . The intelligent and persevering effort for the mutual understanding of men, of social classes, of cities, of peoples and of civilizations is not sterile. We rejoice, especially on the eve of International Womens Year, proclaimed by the United Nations, at the ever wider participation of women in the life of society, to which they bring a specific contribution of great value, thanks to the qualities that God has given them. These qualities, of intuition, creativity, sensibility, a sense of piety and compassion, a profound capacity for understanding and love, enable women to be in a very particular way the creators of reconciliation in families and in society. It is equally a source of special satisfaction to be able to note that the education of young people to a new universal mentality of human oneness, a mentality which is not skeptical, not vile, not inept, not oblivious of justice, but generous, and loving, has already started and has already made
103

progress. It possesses unforeseeable resources for reconciliation. This can signpost the road of Peace, in truth, in honour, in justice, in love, and thus in the stability and in the new history of mankind. Reconciliation! Young men and women, strong men and women, responsible men and women, free men and women, good men and womenwill you think of it? Could not this magic word find a place in the dictionary of your hopes and of your successes? This then is our message of good wishes for you: reconciliation is the way to Peace. For you, men and women of the Church! Brothers in the Episcopate, priests and men and women religious! For you, the members of our militant Catholic laity, and all the faithful! The message on Reconciliation as the way to Peace demands a complement, even if it is already known and present to you. This is not only an integral part of our message, but an essential one, as you know. For it reminds us all that the first and indispensable reconciliation to be achieved is reconciliation with God. For us believers there can be no other way to Peace than this. Indeed, in the definition of our salvation, reconciliation with God and our Peace coincide; one is the cause of the other. This is the work of Christ. He has repaired the break which sin produces in our vital relationship with God. We recall, among many, one of the phrases of Saint Paul in this regard: It is all Gods work. It was God who reconciled us .to himself through Christ (2 Cor 5:18). The Holy Year which we are about to begin wishes to involve us in this first and happy reconciliation: Christ is our Peace; he is the principle of reconciliation in the unity of his Mystical Body (cf. Eph 2: 14-16). Ten years after the close of the Second Vatican Council we shall do well to meditate more deeply on the theological and ecclesiological sense of these basic truths of our faith and of our Christian life. Hence a logical and necessary consequenceone that is also easy if we are truly in Christ: we must perfect the sense of our unityunity in the Church, unity of the Church. Mystical, constitutive communion, the former (cf. 1 Cor 1: 10; 12: 12-27); ecumenical restoration of the unity of all Christians, the latter (cf. Conciliar Decree Unitatis Redintegratio). One and the other demand their own proper reconciliation, which must bring to the Christian collectivity that Peace which is the fruit of the Spirit, following upon love and its joy (cf. Gal 5:22). In these spheres too we must make Peace! There will certainly come to your attention the text of our Exhortation on Reconciliation within the Church, published at this time. We exhort you in the name of Jesus Christ to meditate on this document and to try to draw therefrom resolves of reconciliation and of Peace. Let no one think that he can escape these inevitable demands of
104

communion with Christreconciliation and Peaceby clinging to long familiar positions which are in conflict with Christs Church. Let us rather aim at this: that each and every one may make a new and sincere contribution to the filial, humble and positive building up of this Church. Shall we not perhaps recall the last words of the Lord in explanation of his Gospel: ... may they be so completely one that the world will realize that it was you who sent me (Jn 17: 23)? Shall we not have the joy of seeing brethren who are loved and far away come back once more to the old and happy harmony? We shall have to pray that this Holy Year will give the Catholic Church the inexpressible experience of the restoration of the unity of some groups of brethren, already so near to the one fold but still hesitant to cross its threshold. And we shall pray also for the sincere followers of other religions, so that there may develop the friendly dialogue that we have begun with them, and so that, together, we may collaborate for world Peace. And above all we must ask God to give us that humility and love which will endow the clear and constant profession of our faith with the attracting power of reconciliation and the strengthening and joyous charism of Peace. And with our greeting and blessing: ... that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:7). From the Vatican, 8 December 1974. PAULUS PP. VI

105

1976: THE REAL WEAPONS OF PEACE

Paul VI asks us all to listen, to open our minds, to learn something new and important about peace. There is a grave mistake in being deceived by the false peace of fear, of arms races, of continual strife, of hypocritical truces, of resignation to insanity. Peace needs real weapons moral weapons based on love and reasontreaties that lead to a general disarmament, fulfilling Isaiahs prophecy to hammer swords into ploughshares, swords that Christ teaches us can only lead to further war. While the sword, the old weapons, were the only way of defending peace, Jesus has given us a new law for a new futurelove, reconciliation, universal brotherhood. The old looks like the ashes of Hiroshima. The new looks like the weakness of Gandhi. Let our weapons, the weight of fratricide, fall from our arms, and let us embrace the real weapons of peacegoodness and love. For Christians, our Lord makes it explicitturn the other cheek, love your enemies, forgive if you wish to be forgiven!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1976 THE REAL WEAPONS OF PEACE To you, Statesmen! To you, Representatives and Promoters of the great international Institutions! To you, Politicians! To you, Students of the problems of life in international society, Publicists, Workers, Sociologists, and Economists concerned with the relationships between Peoples. To you, Citizens of the world, whether you are fascinated by the ideal of a universal brotherhood or disappointed and skeptical regarding the possibility of establishing relationships of equilibrium, justice and collaboration between Peoples! And finally to you, the followers of Religions which promote friendship between people; to you, Christians, to you, Catholics: who make peace in the world the principle of your faith and the goal of your worldwide love!

106

In this year 1976, as in previous years, we once more presume respectfully to come before you with our message of Peace. We preface our message with an invitation: that you should listen to it; that you should be attentive and patient. The great cause of Peace deserves a hearing; it deserves your reflection, even though it may seem that our voice is repeating itself on this recurrent theme at the dawn of the new year; and even though, erudite as you are by reason of your studies and perhaps even more by your experiences, you may think that you already know everything about Peace in the world. And yet, perhaps it may be of some interest to you to know the nature of our spontaneous feelings concerning this implacable theme of Peacefeelings that derive from immediate experiences of the historical situation in which we are all immersed. Our first feelings in this regard are twofold, and they are at variance one with the other. First and foremost, we see with pleasure and hope that progress is being made by the idea of Peace. This idea is gaining importance and attention in mens minds; and it is accompanied by the development of the structures of the organization of Peace; there is an increase of official and academic manifestations in its favour. Activities are developing in the direction indicated by Peace: journeys, congresses, assemblies, trade-links, studies, friendships, collaboration, aid, and so forth. Peace is gaining ground. The Helsinki Conference of July-August 1975 is an event which gives reason for hope in this regard. But unfortunately, at the same time we see the manifestation of phenomena contrary to the content and purpose of Peace; and these phenomena too are making progress, even though they are often restricted to a latent state, yet with unmistakable symptoms of incipient or future conflagrations. For example, accompanying the sense of national identity which is a legitimate and commendable expression of the manysided oneness of a People, there is a rebirth of nationalism, which exaggerates national expression to the point of collective egoism and exclusivist antagonism. In the collective consciousness it brings about the rebirth of dangerous and even frightening seeds of rivalry and of very probable contentions. There is a disproportionate growthand the example causes shivers of fearof the possession of arms of every kind, in every individual Nation. We have the justified suspicion that the arms trade often reaches the highest levels in international markets, with this obsessive sophism: defence, even if it is planned as something purely hypothetical and potential, demands a growing competition in armaments, which can ensure Peace only through their opposed balance. This is not the complete list of the negative factors eating away at the stability of Peace. Can we give the name peaceful to a world that is radically divided by irreconcilable ideologies ideologies that are powerfully and fiercely organized, ideologies that divide Peoples from one another, and, when they are allowed free rein, subdivide those Peoples within themselves, into factions and parties that find their reason for existence and activity in poisoning their ranks with
107

irreconcilable hatred and systematic struggle within the very fabric of society itself? The apparent normality of such political situations does not conceal the tension of a corresponding iron hand, ready to crush the adversary as soon as he should betray a sign of fatal weakness. Is this Peace? Is it civilization? Can we give the name People to a mass of citizens who are opposed one to another to the bitter end? And where is Peace in the festering centres of armed conflicts, or of conflicts that are barely contained by the impossibility of more violent explosions? We follow with admiration the efforts being made to calm these centres of warfare and guerilla activity which for years have been devastating the face of the earth, and which every minute are threatening to break out into gigantic struggles involving continents, races, religions and social ideologies. But we cannot conceal the precariousness of a Peace which is merely a truce of already clearly defined future conflicts, that is, the hypocrisy of a tranquility which is called peaceful only with cold words of simulated reciprocal respect. We recognize that Peace, in historical reality, is a work of continual therapy. Its health is by its very nature frail, consisting as it does in the establishment of relationships between overbearing and fickle men. Peace demands a wise and unceasing effort on the part of that higher creative imagination which we call diplomacy, international order or the dynamic of negotiations. Poor Peace! What then are your weapons? Fear of unheard-of and fatal conflagrations, which could decimate, indeed almost annihilate humanity? Resignation to a certain state of endured oppression, such as colonialism, imperialism or revolution which begins as violence and inexorably becomes static and terribly self-perpetuating? Preventive and secret weapons? A capitalist, that is, egoistical organization of the economic world, which is obliged by hunger to remain subdued and quiet? The self-absorbed bewitchment of an historical culture, presumptuous and convinced of its own perennial triumphant destinies? Or the magnificent organizational structures intent on rationalizing and organizing international life?

It is necessary before all else to provide Peace with other weapons weapons different from those destined to kill and exterminate mankind. What is needed above all are moral weapons

Is it sufficient, is it sure, is it fruitful, is it happya Peace sustained only by such foundations? More is needed. This is our message. It is necessary before all else to provide Peace with other weaponsweapons different from those destined to kill and exterminate mankind. What is needed above all are moral weapons, those which give strength and prestige to international lawthe weapon, in the first place, of the observance of pacts. Pacta sunt servanda is the still valid axiom for the consistency of effective relations between States, for the stability of justice
108

between Nations, for the upright conscience of Peoples. Peace makes this axiom its shield. And where pacts do not reflect justice? Here is the justification for the new international Institutions, the mediators for consultations, studies and deliberations, which must absolutely exclude the ways of the so-called fait accompli, that is to say, the contention of blind and uncontrolled forces, which always involve human victims and incalculable and unimputable ruin, rarely attaining the pure object of effectively vindicating a truly just cause. Arms and wars are, in a word, to be excluded from civilizations programmes. Judicious disarming is another weapon of Peace. As the prophet Isaiah said: He will wield authority over the nations and adjudicate between many peoples; these will hammer their swords into ploughshares, their spears into sickles (Is 2:4). And then let us listen to the word of Christ: Put your sword back, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword (Mt 26:52). Is this utopia? For how much longer? Here we enter into the speculative world of ideal humanity, of the new mankind still to be born, still to be educated mankind stripped of its grievous weight of murderous military Here we enter into the weaponry, and rather clothed and strengthened by moral speculative world of principles which are natural to it. These are principles which ideal humanity, of the already exist, but still in a theoretical and in practice new mankind still to immature, weak and tender state, only at the beginning of their be born, still to be penetration into the profound and operative consciousness of educated mankind Peoples. Their weakness, which seems incurable to the stripped of its diagnosticians, the so-called realists of historical and grievous weight of anthropological studies, comes especially from the fact that murderous military military disarmament, if it is not to constitute an unforgivable weaponry, and rather error of impossible optimism, of blind ingenuousness, of a clothed and strengthened by moral tempting opportunity for others oppression, should be common and general. Disarmament is either for everyone, or it principles which are is a crime of neglect to defend oneself. Does not the sword, in natural to it. the concert of historical and concrete life in society, have its own raison dtre, for justice and for peace? (cf. Rom 13:4). Yes, we must admit it. But has there not come into the world a transforming dynamism, a hope which is no longer unlikely, a new and effective progress, a future and longed-for history which can make itself present and real, ever since the Master, the Prophet of the New Testament, proclaimed the decline of the archaic, primitive and instinctive tradition, and, with a Word having in itself power not only to denounce and to announce but also to generate, under certain conditions, a new mankind, declared: Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them ... You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you: Anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court (Mt 5:17, 21-22).

109

It is no longer a simple, ingenuous and dangerous utopia. It is the new Law of mankind which goes forward, and which arms Peace with a formidable principle: You are all brethren (Mt 23:8). If the consciousness of universal brotherhood truly penetrates into the hearts of men, will they still need to arm themselves to the point of becoming blind and fanatic killers of their brethren who in themselves are innocent, and of perpetrating, as a contribution to Peace, butchery of untold magnitude, as at Hiroshima on 6 August 1945? And in fact has not our own time had an example of what can be done by a weak man, Gandhiarmed only with the principle of non-violenceto vindicate for a Nation of hundreds of millions of human beings the freedom and dignity of a new People? Civilization walks in the footsteps of Peace armed only with an olive branch. Civilization is followed by the Doctors with the weighty volumes on the Law which will lead to the ideal human society; there follow the Politicians, expert not so much in the calculation of allconquering armies for winning wars and repressing the defeated and demoralized, but rather in assessing the resources of the psychology of goodness and friendship. Justice too moves in this ordered procession, now no longer proud and cruel but completely intent on defending the weak, punishing the violent and ensuring an order which is extremely difficult to achieve but which alone is worthy of that divine name: order in freedom and conscious duty. Let us rejoice: this procession, though interrupted by hostile attacks and by unexpected accidents, continues along its way before our eyes in this tragic time of ours. Its step is perhaps a little slow, but it is nonetheless sure and beneficial for the whole world. It is a procession intent on using the real weapons of peace. This message too must have its appendix for those properly called followers and servants of the Gospelan appendix which recalls how explicit and demanding Christ our Lord is in regard to this theme of peace stripped of every weapon and armed only with goodness and love. The Lord makes statements, as we know, which appear paradoxical. Let it not be distasteful to us to rediscover in the Gospel the rules for a Peace which we could describe as self-abnegating! Let us recall, for example: If a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well (Mt 5:40). And then that prohibition of revengedoes it not undermine Peace? Indeed, does it not aggravate, rather than defend, the position of the injured party? If anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well (Mt 5:40). So there are to be no reprisals, no vendettas (and these are all the more wrong if they are committed to prevent injuries not yet received!). How many times in the Gospel is forgiveness recommended to us, not as an act of cowardly weakness, nor as a surrender in the face of injustice, but as a sign of fraternal love, which is laid down as a condition for us to obtain Gods forgiveness, which we need and which is a far more generous forgiveness! (cf. Mt 18:23 ff., 5:44; Mk 11:25; Lk 6:37; Rom 12:14, etc.). Let us remember the pledge we give to be forgiving and to pardon when we invoke Gods forgiveness in the our Father. We ourselves lay down the condition and the extent of the mercy
110

we ask for when we say: And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us (Mt 6:12). For us also therefore, who are disciples of the school of Christ, this is a lesson to be meditated on still more and to be applied with confident courage. Peace expresses itself only in peace, a peace which is not separate from the demands of justice but which is fostered by personal sacrifice, clemency, mercy and love. From the Vatican, 18 October 1975.
PAULUS PP. VI

111

1977: IF YOU WANT PEACE, DEFEND LIFE

Paul VI is a prophet of peace, and begs us to listen and learn. There are many hopes for peace, but many threats. For peace is fragile thing, yet a wonderful duty. How to find peace? What does peace require? Of supreme importance is life. Without defending life, healing life, promoting life, there can be no peace. Yet peace and life are often seen as opposed to one another, as if the only way to peace is through the destruction of human lifewars, violence, even atomic annihilation. Peace and life must not be separated so. But how can we keep both? How can we defend peace without destroying life? Yet when we stockpile weapons instead of disarming, when we kill even the most innocent children in the womb, we must realize how threatened and false our peace is. There can be no peace when the sacred nature of life is denied. How to unite Life and Peace? It takes grace and faith in the God who promises us eternal lifein quantity and quality. For if peace requires bloodshed, only our loving sacrifice can unite Life and Peace and ensure both!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1977 IF YOU WANT PEACE, DEFEND LIFE Leaders and people in posts of responsibility! People uncountable and unknown! Friends! Here we are again, for the tenth time, speaking to you, with you! At the dawn of the new year 1977, we stand at your door and knock (cf. Rev 3: 20). Please open to us. We are the usual Pilgrim, travelling the roads of the world, without ever growing weary, without losing the way. We are sent to bring you the usual proclamation; we are a prophet of Peace! Yes, Peace, Peace, we cry as we go along, as a messenger of a fixed idea, an ancient idea, but an idea ever new through the recurring necessity that demands it, like a discovery, like a duty, like a blessing! The idea of Peace seems to have taken hold, as an expression that equals and perfects civilization. There is no civilization without Peace. But in reality Peace is never complete, never secure. You have seen how the very achievements of progress can be the cause
112

of conflicts, and what conflicts! Do not think our annual message on behalf of peace superfluous and therefore boring. After the last World War, on the clockface of the human mind there struck an hour of good fortune. Upon the vast ruinswidely differing, it is true, in the different countries, but universalPeace alone was seen to be victorious, at long last. And immediately there sprang up the works and institutions proper to Peace, like fresh spring leaves. Many of them still persist and flourish; they are the conquests of the new world, and the world does well to be proud of them and to preserve their efficiency and development. They are the works and institutions that mark a step up in the progress of humanity. Let us listen for a moment, at this point, to a voice both authoritative, paternal and prophetic, the voice of our revered Predecessor, Pope John XXIII: And so, venerable Brothers and dear sons and daughters, we must think of human society as being primarily a spiritual reality. Through it enlightened men can share their knowledge of the truth, can claim their rights and fulfil their duties, receive encouragement in their aspirations for moral goodness, share their enjoyment of all the wholesome pleasures of the world, strive continually to pass on to others all that is best in themselves, and make their own the spiritual riches of others. These are the values which exert a guiding influence on culture, economics, social institutions, political movements and forms, laws, and all the other components which go to make up the external community of people and its continual evolution (Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris, 11 April 1963: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 55, 1963, p. 266). But this healing phase of Peace gives way to new challenges, whether as the aftermath of reawakening contests, only provisionally settled, or as new historical phenomena stemming from social structures in continual evolution. Peace once more begins to suffer, first in peoples feelings, then in partial and localized disputes, and then in frightening programmes of armament, which coldly calculate the potential for terrifying destructiondestruction greater than our capacity to imagine it. Here and there most praiseworthy attempts to ward off such conflagrations appear; and we hope that these attempts will prevail over the measureless dangers which they are seeking to remedy in advance. Brethren, this is not enough. The concept of Peace as the ideal that gives direction to the concrete activity of human society seems destined to succumb to an inevitable victory of the worlds incapacity to govern itself in and through Peace. Peace does not generate itself, even though the deepest impulses of human nature tend towards Peace. Peace is order, and order is what everything, every reality, aspires to as its destiny and the justification for its existence. Order is a pre-established destiny and justification for existence, but it is brought about together with and in collaboration with many factors. Thus Peace is a pinnacle that presupposes a complex inner supporting framework. Peace is like a flexible body that needs a stout skeleton to give it strength. The stability and beauty of the structure of Peace depend on the support of various causes and conditions. These are often absent. Even when they exist, they are not always strong enough for their function of ensuring that the pyramid of Peace should have a solid base and a lofty summit.
113

In this analysis of Peace we have seen again its beauty and its necessity, but we have also noted its instability and fragility. We conclude it by reaffirming our conviction that Peace is a duty, Peace is possible. This is the message we keep repeating, a message that makes its own the ideal of civilization, echoes the aspirations of peoples, strengthens the hope of the lowly and weak, and ennobles with justice the security of the strong. It is a message of optimism, a presage of the future. Peace is no dream, no utopia, no illusion. Nor is it a labour of Sisyphus. No, Peace can be prolonged and strengthened. Peace can write the finest pages of history, inscribing them not only with the magnificence of power and glory but also with the greater magnificence of human virtue, peoples goodness, collective prosperity, and true civilization: the civilization of love. Is Peace possible? Yes, it is. It must be. But let us be sincere: Peace, as we have already said, is a duty and is possible, but it is so only with the concourse of many and not easy conditions. We are aware that to discuss the conditions for Peace is a very long and very difficult task. We shall not make bold to undertake it here. We leave it to the experts. But we will not be silent on one aspect, one which is clearly of basic importance. We shall merely remind you of it and recommend it to the reflection of good and intelligent people. This aspect is the relationship between Peace and the concept that the world has of human life. Peace and Life. They are supreme values in the civil order. They are also values that are interdependent. Do we want Peace? Then let us defend Life! The phrase Peace and Life may seem almost tautological, a rhetorical slogan. It is not so. The combination of the two terms in the phrase represents a hardwon conquest in the onward march of human progressa march still short of its final goal. How many times in the drama of human history the phrase Peace and Life has involved a fierce struggle of the two terms, not a fraternal embrace. Peace is sought and won through conflict, like a sad doom necessary for selfdefence. The close relationship between Peace and Life seems to spring from the nature of things, but not always, not yet from the logic of peoples thought and conduct. This close relationship is the paradoxical novelty that we must proclaim for this year of grace 1977 and henceforth for ever, if we are to understand the dynamics of progress. To succeed in doing so is no easy and simple task: we shall meet the opposition of too many formidable objections, which are stored in the immense arsenal of pseudo-convictions, empirical and utilitarian prejudices, so-called reasons of State, and habits drawn from history and tradition. Even today, these objections seem to constitute insurmountable obstacles. The tragic conclusion is that if, in defiance of logic, Peace and Life can in practice be dissociated, there looms on the horizon of the future a catastrophe that in our days could be immeasurable and irreparable both for Peace and Life. Hiroshima is a terribly eloquent proof and a frighteningly prophetic example of this. In the reprehensible hypothesis that Peace were thought of in unnatural separation from its relationship with Life,
114

Peace could be imposed as the sad triumph of death. The words of Tacitus come to mind: They make a desert and call it Peace (ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant: Agricola, 30). Again, in the same hypothesis, the privileged Life of some can be exalted, can be selfishly and almost idolatrously preferred, at the expense of the oppression or suppression of others. Is that Peace? This conflict is thus seen to be not merely theoretical and moral but tragically real. Even today it continues to desecrate and stain with blood many a page of human society. The key to truth in the matter can be found only by recognizing the primacy of Life as a value and as a condition for Peace. The formula is: If you want Peace, defend Life. Life is the crown of Peace. If we base the logic of our activity on the sacredness of Life, war is virtually disqualified as a normal and habitual means of asserting rights and so of ensuring Peace. Peace is but the incontestable ascendancy of right and, in the final analysis, the joyful celebration of Life.

Life is the crown of Peace. If we base the logic of our activity on the sacredness of Life, war is virtually disqualified

Here the number of examples is endless, as is the case-history of the adventures, or rather the misadventures, in which life is put at peril in the face of Peace. We make our own the classification which, in this regard, has been presented according to three essential imperatives. According to these imperatives, in order to have authentic and happy Peace, it is necessary to defend life, to heal life, to promote life. The policy of massive armaments is immediately called into question. The ancient saying, which has taught politics and still does soif you want peace, prepare for war (si vis pacem, para bellum)is not acceptable without radical reservation (cf. Lk 14:31). With the forthright boldness of our principles, we thus denounce the false and dangerous programme of the arms race, of the secret rivalry between peoples for military superiority. Even if through a surviving remnant of happy wisdom, or through a silent yet tremendous contest in the balance of hostile deadly powers, war (and what a war it would be!) does not break out, how can we fail to lament the incalculable outpouring of economic resources and human energies expended in order to preserve for each individual State its shield of ever more costly, ever more efficient weapons, and this to the detriment of resources for schools, culture, agriculture, health and civic welfare. Peace and Life support enormous and incalculable burdens in order to maintain a Peace founded on a perpetual threat to Life, as also to defend Life by means of a constant threat to Peace. People will say: it is inevitable. This can be true within a concept of civilization that is still so imperfect. But let us at least recognize that this constitutional challenge which the arms race sets up between Life and Peace is a formula that is fallacious in itself and which must be corrected and superseded. We therefore praise the effort already begun to reduce and finally to eliminate this senseless cold war resulting from the progressive increase of the military potential of the various Nations, as if these Nations should necessarily be enemies of each other, and as if they
115

were incapable of realizing that such a concept of international relations must one day be resolved in the ruination of Peace and of countless human lives. But it is not only war that kills Peace. Every crime against life is a blow to Peace, especially if it strikes at the moral conduct of the people, as often happens today, Every crime against life is a with horrible and often legal ease, as in the case of the blow to Peace, especially if suppression of incipient life, by abortion. Reasons such it strikes at the moral as the following are brought forward to justify abortion: conduct of the people, as abortion seeks to slow down the troublesome increase of often happens today, with the population, to eliminate beings condemned to horrible and often legal malformation, social dishonor, proletarian misery, and so ease, as in the case of the on; it seems rather to favour Peace than to harm it. But it suppression of incipient is not so. The suppression of an incipient life, or one that life, by abortion. is already born, violates above all the sacrosanct moral principle to which the concept of human existence must always have reference: human life is sacred from the first moment of its conception and until the last instant of its natural survival in time. It is sacred; what does this mean? It means that life must be exempt from any arbitrary power to suppress it; it must not be touched; it is worthy of all respect, all care, all dutiful sacrifice. For those who believe in God, it is spontaneous and instinctive and indeed a duty through the law of religion. And even for those who do not have this good fortune of admitting the protecting and vindicating hand of God upon all human beings, this same sense of the sacredthat is, the untouchable and inviolable element proper to a living human existenceis and must be something sensed by virtue of human dignity. Those who have had the misfortune, the implacable guilt, the ever renewed remorse at having deliberately suppressed a life know this and feel this. The voice of innocent blood cries out with heartrending insistence in the heart of the person who killed it. Inner Peace is not possible through selfish sophistries! And even if it is, a blow at Peacethat is, at the general system that protects order, safe living in society, in a word, at Peacehas been perpetrated: the individual Life and Peace in general are always linked by an unbreakable relationship. If we wish progressive social order to be based upon intangible principles, let us not offend against it in the heart of its essential system: respect for human life. Even under this aspect Peace and Life are closely bound together at the basis of order and civilization.

The discussion can continue by reviewing the hundred forms in which offences against life seem to be becoming normal behavior: where individual crime is organized to become collective; to ensure the silence and complicity of whole groups of citizens; to make private vendetta a vile collective duty, terrorism a phenomenon of legitimate political or social affirmation, police torture an effective means of public power no longer directed towards restoring order but towards imposing ignoble repression. It is impossible for peace to flourish where the safety of
116

life is compromised in this way. Where violence rages, true peace ends. But where human rights are truly professed and publicly recognized and defended, Peace becomes the joyful and operative atmosphere of life in society. The texts of international commitment for the protection of human rights, for the defence of children and for the safeguarding of fundamental human freedoms are proofs of our civil progress. They are the epic of Peace, in so far as they are the shield of Life. Are they complete? Are they observed? We all note that civilization is expressed in such declarations, and finds in them the guarantee of its own reality. This reality is full and glorious if these declarations are transfused into consciences and moral conduct; it is mocked and violated if they remain a dead letter. Men and women, men and women of the last part of the twentieth century, you have signed the glorious charters of the human fullness you have achieved, provided such charters are true. You have sealed for history your moral condemnation, if they are documents of empty rhetorical wishes or juridical hypocrisy. The measure is there: in the equation between true Peace and the dignity of Life. Accept our suppliant plea: that this equation should be fulfilled and that over it be raised a new pinnacle on the horizon of our civilization of Life and Peacethe civilization, we say again, of love. Has everything been said ? No. There remains an unresolved question: how can such a programme of civilization be realized? How do we truly unite Life and Peace? We answer in terms that may be inaccessible to those who have closed the horizon of reality to natural vision alone. Recourse must be had to that religious world which we call supernatural. Faith is needed to discover the system of forces working within the whole human situation, into which the transcendent work of God is inserted and makes it capable of higher effects which humanly speaking are impossible. We need the help of the God of peace (Phil 4:9). Happy are we if we acknowledge and believe this, and if in accordance with this faith we succeed in discovering and putting into practice the relationship between Life and Peace. For there is an important exception to the above reasoning that places Life before Peace, and makes Peace depend on the inviolability of Life. The exception occurs in the cases where a good higher than Life itself comes into play. It is a question of a Good whose value surpasses that of Life itself, such as truth, justice, civil freedom, love of neighbor, faith ... There then intervenes the word of Christ: Anyone who loves his life (more than these higher Goods) loses it (Jn 12: 25). This shows us that as Peace must be thought of in relation to Life, and as from the ordered well-being ensured for Life Peace must itself become the harmony that makes human existence
117

ordered and happy, both interiorly and socially, so this human existence, that is to say Life cannot and must not be separated from the higher ends which confer on it its primary raison detre: why does one live? What gives to Lifeover and above the ordered tranqulity of Peace its dignity, its spiritual fullness, its moral greatness, and, we would also say, its religious finality? Will Peace, true Peace, perhaps be lost, if in the area of our Life citizenship is granted to Love, in its highest expression, which is sacrifice? And if sacrifice really forms part of a plan of Redemption and of meritorious title for an existence transcending the temporal form and measure, will it not regainon a higher and eternal levelPeace, its true, hundredfold Peace of eternal Life (cf. Mt 19:29)? Those who are pupils in the school of Christ can understand these transcendent words (cf. Mt 19:11). And why can we not be these pupils? He Christ is our Peace (Eph 2:11). We wish this Peace to all those who with our blessing receive this our message of Peace and Life! From the Vatican, 8 December 1976. PAULUS PP. VI

118

1978: NO TO VIOLENCE, YES TO PEACE

Pope Paul VIs last peace message rejects violence entirely as the antithesis of peace. Peace is not timidity, passivity, or weakness, but is continually produces as bread isthrough the fruit of nature, the gift of God, and the work of human labor. And all of humanity desires this peace, this unity of brotherhood. Yet war still threatens. Modern war, especially, is insane, is absurd, and must itself be destroyed. We must war against war itself. We must recognize violence for what it is: criminal, vengeful, antisocial, self-destructive, and evil. Violence begets violence, and destroys all who use it. We must say no to all violence, not only in war, but against every threat to Life, especially our children, especially our unborn children. Let us be armed with Spirit and forgiveness, with the only way to PeaceJesus Christ, so that we and our children might love all, and say yes to Peace.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1978 NO TO VIOLENCE, YES TO PEACE To the world and to humanity we once more dare to address the meek and solemn word, Peace. This word oppresses us and exalts us. It is not ours; it comes down from the invisible kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. We perceive its prophetic transcendence, which is not extinguished by our humble repetition of it: Peace on earth to those on whom Gods favour rests (Lk 2: 14). Yes, we repeat: Peace must be! Peace is possible! This is the proclamation; this is the new, the ever new and great announcement; this is the Gospel, which also at the dawn of the new cycle of time, the year of grace 1978, we must proclaim for all people: Peace is the gift offered to all people, which they can and must accept, and place at the summit of their lives, of their programmes, of their hopes and of their happiness. Peace, let us repeat at once, is not a purely ideal dream, nor is it an attractive but fruitless and unattainable utopia. It is, and must be, a realitya dynamic reality and one to be generated at every stage of civilization, like the bread on which we live, the fruit of the earth and of divine Providence but also the product of human work. In the same way Peace is not a state of public indifference in which those who enjoy it are dispensed from every care and defended from all disturbance and can permit themselves a stable and tranquil bliss savouring more of inertia and
119

hedonism than of vigilant and diligent vigour. Peace is an equilibrium that is based on motion and continually gives forth energy of spirit and action; it is intelligent and living courage. We therefore beseech, also on the threshold of this new year 1978, all men and women of good will: the leaders of the collective conduct of the life of society, politicians, thinkers, publishers, artists, those who mould public opinion, the teachers in the schools, the teachers of art, of prayer, the great planners and operators of the world arms marketwe beseech all of them to begin once more to reflect with generous honesty on Peace in the world, today! It seems to us that two main phenomena claim the attention of all of us in the evaluation of Peace itself. The first phenomenon is magnificently positive; and is constituted by the developing progress of Peace. It is an idea that is gaining prestige in the conscience of humanity; it advances, and precedes and accompanies, the idea of progress, which is the idea of the unity of the human race. The history of our timelet it be said for its gloryis studded with the flowers of a splendid documentation in favour of Peace, one that has been carefully thought out, desired, organized, celebrated and defended: Helsinki teaches this. And these hopes are confirmed by the next Special Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization, devoted to the problem of disarmament, and also by the numerous efforts of both great and humble workers for peace. No one today dares to defend as principles of wellbeing and of glory deliberate programmes of murderous strife between men, that is, programmes of war. Even where the community expressions of legitimate national interest, supported by motives that seem to coincide with the prevailing reasons of law, do not succeed in affirming themselves through war as a means of solution, one still has confidence that there can be avoided the desperate recourse to the use of arms, which today as never before is insanely murderous and destructive. But now the We would like to be conscience of the world is horrified by the hypothesis that our able to dispel this Peace is nothing but a truce, and that an uncontrollable threatening and conflagration can be suddenly unleashed. terrible nightmare by proclaiming at the top We would like to be able to dispel this threatening and terrible of our voice the nightmare by proclaiming at the top of our voice the absurdity absurdity of modern of modern war and the absolute necessity of PeacePeace not war and the absolute founded on the power of arms that today are endowed with an necessity of Peace infernal destructive capacity (let us recall the tragedy of Japan), Peace not founded on nor founded on the structural violence of some political the power of arms regimes, but founded on the patient, rational and loyal method of justice and freedom, such as the great international institutions of today are promoting and defending. We trust that

120

the magisterial teachings of our great Predecessors Pius XII and John XXIII will continue to inspire on this fundamental theme the wisdom of modern teachers and contemporary politicians. But now we wish to make reference to a second phenomenon, this one negative and concomitant with the first: this is the phenomenon of passionate or premeditated violence. This phenomenon is spreading in modern civilized life; it takes advantage of the ease that the activity of a citizen enjoys to lay snares for and to strike, usually with calculated surprise, a fellow-citizen who is a legal obstacle to some personal interest. This violence, which we can still call private, even if astutely organized in clandestine and factious groups, is taking on alarming proportions, to the extent that it is becoming habitual. By reason of the antijuridical terms in which it is expressed it could be called criminal, but the manifestations which for some time and in some circumstances it has been employing require a proper analysis, and this is extremely involved and difficult. This violence derives from a decay of the moral conscience which is not trained and not helped, and which is usually permeated with a social pessimism that has extinguished in the spirit the taste for and the commitment to honesty professed for its own sake, as well as what is most beautiful and most happy in the human heart: lovetrue, noble and faithful love. Often the psychology of violence takes its origin from the depraved root of deliberate revenge, and hence of an unsatisfied justice steeped in bitter and selfish thoughts, potentially undirected and unrestrained towards any aim. What is possible takes the place of what is honest; the only restraint is the fear of incurring some public or private sanction. Hence the habitual attitude of this violence is one of hidden action and of cowardly and treacherous acts that repay the violence with successful impunity. Violence is not courage. It is the explosion of a blind energy that degrades the person who gives in to it, lowering him from the rational level to the level of passion. And even when violence preserves a certain mastery of itself, it looks for ignoble ways of expressing itself: insidious attacks, surprise, physical supremacy over a weaker and perhaps defenceless adversary. It takes advantage of his surprise and terror and of its own madness; and if this is the relationship between the two contenders, which is the more despicable? As regards an aspect of violence that has been made into a system for settling accounts: does not this violence have recourse to contemptible forms of hatred, rancor and enmity which imperil society and shame the community in which they decompose the very sentiments of humanity that form the primary and essential fabric of any societyfamily, tribe, community or whatever it may be? Violence is antisocial by reason of the very methods that allow it to be organized into group complicity, in which a conspiracy of silence forms the binding cement and the protective shield. A dishonouring sense of honour gives it a palliative of conscience. And this is one of the distortions, widespread today, of the true social sense, a distortion which clothes with secrecy and with the threat of pitiless revenge certain associated forms of collective selfishness. Violence distrusts normal legal processes and is always clever at evading the observance of those
121


Violence leads to revolution, and revolution to the loss of freedom . . . Once having exploded as a reaction of force, at times not lacking in a logical impulse, violence concludes its cycle against

processes, by devising, almost by force of circumstances, criminal undertakings that sometimes degenerate into acts of pitiless terrorism, the final result of a wrong choice of road and the cause of deplorable forms of repression. Violence leads to revolution, and revolution to the loss of freedom. The social axis around which violence conducts its own fateful development is wrong. Once having exploded as a reaction of force, at times not lacking in a logical impulse, violence concludes its cycle against itself and against the motives that provoked its intervention. Perhaps it is appropriate to recall Christs lapidary phrase: ... for all who take the sword will perish by the sword (Mt 26: 52). Let us remember therefore: violence is not courage. Violence does not ennoble the man who has recourse to it.

In this Message of Peace we are speaking about violence as the antagonistic term of Peace, and we have not spoken about war. War still deserves our condemnation, even though today it is being rejected ever more widely; against it a praiseworthy and ever more authoritative effort is being made, both socially and politically. Another reason is that war is being kept in check by the terrible nature of its own arms, which it would immediately have at its disposal in the extremely tragic eventuality that it should break out. Fear, which is common to all Peoples, and to the strongest ones especially, holds in check the eventuality that war might turn into a cosmic conflagration. And fear, which is more an imagined restraint than a real one, is accompanied, as we have said, by a lofty and rational effort being made at the highest political levelsan effort which must tend not so much towards balancing the forces of the possible contenders as towards showing the supreme irrationality of war, and at the same time towards establishing relationships between Peoples, which are ever more interdependent, with ultimate solidarity, and ever more friendly and human. God grant that it be so. But we cannot shut our eyes to the sad reality of partial war, both because it is still raging in certain regions, and because psychologically it is not at all excluded in the uncertain possibility of contemporary history. Our war against war has not yet been won, and our yes to Peace is rather something wished for than something real; for in many geographical and political situations which have not yet been settled in just and peaceful solutions the possibility of future conflicts remains endemic. Our love for Peace must remain on guard; other prospects too, besides that of a new world war, oblige us to consider and exalt Peace even outside the trenches. And in fact we must defend Peace today under what we could call its metaphysical aspect. This aspect is prior to and higher than the historical and contingent aspect of military ceasefires and of the external tranquillitas ordinis. We wish to consider the cause of Peace as it is reflected in that of human life. Our yes to Peace broadens out into a yes to Life. Peace must be brought not only to the battlefields but wherever human existence is carried on. There is indeed there must be
122

also a Peace that not only protects this existence from the threats of the weapons of war but also protects life as such against every peril, every misfortune, every insidious attack. We could talk for a long time on this subject, but at the present moment our points of reference are few and well determined. In the fabric of our civilization there exists a class of learned, valiant and good-hearted persons who have made the science and art of medicine their vocation and profession. They are the Doctors, and those who study and work with them and under their direction for the sake of the existence and welfare of humanity. Honour and gratitude to these wise and generous guardians of human life. As ministers of Religion, we look on this very elect category of persons, devoted to the physical and mental health of mankind, with great admiration, with great gratitude and with great trust. In many ways physical health, the healing of sicknesses, the easing of pain, the energy of development and work, the duration of temporal existence, and even a great part of moral life depend on the wisdom and care of these protectors, defenders and friends of humanity. We are close to them and, as far as we can, uphold their toil, their honour and their spirit. We hope to have them in solidarity with us in affirming and in defending human life in those exceptional contingencies in which life itself can be jeopardized by deliberate and evil designs of the human will. In our yes to Peace there rings out a yes to life. Human life is sacred from the moment it comes into existence. The law Thou shalt not kill protects this inexpressible miracle of human life with transcendent sovereignty. This is the principle that governs our religious ministry with regard to the human being. We are confident that we have as an ally the ministry of medicine. We have no less trust in the ministry that has given rise to human life, the ministry of parenthood, in the first place that of motherhood. How delicate, how tender, how affectionate and how strong our words become! Over this field of nascent life Peace spreads its first protecting shield. It is a shield endowed with the softest protection, but a shield of defence and love. Accordingly we cannot fail to disapprove of each and every offence against nascent life, and we must appeal to every Authority, and to everyone who has due competence, to work for the prohibition of procured abortion and for its remedy. The mothers womb and the childs cradle are the first barriers that not only protect Peace as well as Life but also build Peace (cf . Ps 127:3 ff). The one who chooses Peace in opposition to war and to violence automatically chooses Life and chooses humanity in its profound essential demands; and this is the meaning of this Message that we are again sending with humble yet ardent conviction to those accountable for Peace on earth, and to all our Brethren in the world. But we must add a word for all the children. With regard to violence they are the most vulnerable sector of society, but they are likewise the hope of a better tomorrow. Through some kind and thoughtful intermediary may our Message reach them too.
123

Let us explain why. First, because in the Message of Peace of previous years we have pointed out that we do not speak in our own name only but in the name of Christ, who is the Prince of Peace in the world (Is 9: 6) and who said Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God (Mt 5: 9). We believe that, without the direction and assistance of Christ, true, permanent and worldwide Peace is not possible. We also consider that the Peace of Christ does not weaken people, does not make them timid and victims of others arrogance, but rather renders them capable of struggling for justice and of settling very many questions with the generosity, indeed the genius, of love. The second reason. You children are often led to quarrel. Remember: it is a harmful vanity to want to appear stronger than your brothers and sisters and friends by quarrelling, fighting, and giving way to anger and revenge. Everybody does it, you answer. No, it is wrong, we say to you. If you want to be strong, be so in spirit and in behavior. Learn to control yourselves; learn how to forgive and quickly make friends again with those who have offended you. In this way you will really be Christians. Do not hate anybody. Do not be proud, comparing yourself with others of your own age, with people from different social backgrounds or with people of different nations. Do not act out of selfish motives, out of contempt orwe repeatout of revenge. The third reason. We think that when you grow up you must make a change in the way todays world thinks and acts, a world in which everybody is always ready to be different, to separate himself or herself from others and to fight them. Are we not all brothers and sisters? Are we not all members of the same human family? And are not all the nations obliged to get on well together and to create Peace? You children of the new age must get used to loving everybody, to giving to our society the appearance of a community which is more noble, more honest, more unified. Do you really want to be human beings and not wolves? Do you really want to have the merit and the joy of doing what is right, of helping those in need, and of being able to do good works with the sole reward of a good conscience? Well then, remember the words which Jesus spoke at the Last Supper, the night before his Passion. He said: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another ... By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (Jn 13 : 34-35 ). Dear children, we greet you and we bless you. The password is: No to violence, Yes to Peace. From the Vatican, 8 December 1977. PAULUS PP. VI

124

1979: TO REACH PEACE, TEACH PEACE

Pope John Paul IIs 1st World Day of Peace message, in which he continues in his predecessors footsteps. Hopes and fears revolve around peace in the world. While no one wishes to start a war, we all fear war as inevitable. Many words for peace are spoken, but little action is taken, as it must. Force must give way, not only in action, but in principle, to negotiation, dialogue, and the common good. Killing is never a solution! To act toward peace, we must educate ourselves in peace. We must see peace: in history, in new ways of living, in everyday life. History must not be seen as progressing through war, a history of warriors, but instead as the steady (if silent) advance of peace. Works of peace at all levels will teach us to love peace. We must speak in new waysto unite rather than divide. We must break free from violence in all areasperson and social, making gestures of peace that create room for peace. Christians are to be leaders, as Christ educates us and empowers us to make peace with our enemies even at the cost of sacrifice. In hope, and through prayer, we conquer!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1979 TO REACH PEACE, TEACH PEACE To all of you who desire peace: The great cause of peace between the peoples needs all the energies of peace present in mans heart. It was to the releasing and cultivation of these energiesto the training of themthat my predecessor Paul VI decided, shortly before his death, that the 1979 World Day of Peace should be dedicated:

TO REACH PEACE, TEACH PEACE Throughout his pontificate, Paul VI walked with you along the difficult paths towards peace. He shared your anxiety when peace was threatened. He suffered with those engulfed by the misfortunes of war. He encouraged all efforts to restore peace. In every circumstance he kept up hope, with indomitable energy.
125

Convinced that peace is something built up by everyone, he launched in 1967 the idea of a World Day of Peace, with the desire that you would take it over as an undertaking of your own. Every year since then his Message offered to the leaders of the nations and of the international organizations the opportunity to renew and express publicly that which legitimizes their authority: the enabling of free, just and fraternal human beings to progress and co-exist in peace. Widely differing communities met to celebrate the inestimable benefit of peace and to affirm their willingness to defend and serve it. I take from the hands of my revered predecessor the pilgrims staff of peace. I am on the road, at your side, with the Gospel of peace. Blessed are the peacemakers. I invite you to celebrate the World Day at the beginning of the year 1979, placing it, in accordance with the last wishes of Paul VI, under the banner of teaching peace.

I. A HARD TASK An irrepressible aspiration The attainment of peace is the summing-up and crowning of all our aspirations. We sense that peace is fullness and joy. To achieve peace between countries, many attempts are made through bilateral or multilateral exchanges and international conferences, and some people take courageous personal initiatives to establish peace or to ward off the threat of a new war. Confidence undermined But at the same time, we see that individuals and groups never bring to a conclusion the settling of their secret or public conflicts. Is peace therefore an ideal beyond our grasp? The daily spectacle of war, tension and division sows doubt and discouragement. In places the flames of discord and hatred even seem to be kindled artificially by some who do not have to pay the cost. And too often gestures of peace are ridiculously incapable of changing the course of events, even if they are not actually swept away and in the end taken over by the overbearing logic of exploitation and violence. In one place, timidity and the difficulty of carrying out needed reforms poison relations between human groups in spite of their being united by a long or exemplary common history; new desires for power suggest recourse to the overpowering influence of sheer numbers or to brute force, in order to disentangle the situation, and this under the impotent and sometimes self-interested and compliant gaze of other countries, near or far; both the strongest and the weakest no longer place confidence in the patient procedures of peace. Elsewhere, fear of a precarious peace, military and political imperatives, and economic and commercial interests lead to the establishment of arms stockpiles or to the sale of weapons capable of appalling destruction. The arms race then prevails over the great tasks of peace, which
126

ought to unite peoples in new solidarity; it fosters sporadic but murderous conflicts and builds up the gravest threats. It is true that at first sight the cause of peace seems to be handicapped to a crippling extent. From words of peace... And yet, in nearly all public statements at the national level or that of the international organizations, rarely has there been so much talk of peace, I, agreement, and the rational solution of conflicts in conformity with justice. Peace has become the slogan that reassures or is meant to beguile. In a sense, we do have something positive: the public opinion of the nations would no longer tolerate the justifying of war or even taking the risk of an offensive war. ... to convictions for peace But if we are to accept the challenge presented to the whole of humanity confronted with the hard task of peace, we need more than words, whether sincere or demagogical. The true spirit of peace must make itself felt in particular at the level of the statesmen and of the groups or centres that control, more or less directly, more or less secretly, the decisive steps either towards peace or towards the prolonging of wars or situations of violence. At the least, people must agree to place their trust in a few elementary but firm principles, such as the following. Human affairs must be dealt with humanely, not with violence. Tensions, rivalries and conflicts must be settled by reasonable negotiations and not by force. Opposing ideologies must confront each other in a climate of dialogue and free discussion. The legitimate interests of particular groups must also take into account the legitimate interests of the other groups involved and of the demands of the higher common good. Recourse to arms cannot be considered the right means for settling conflicts. The inalienable human rights must be safeguarded in every circumstance. It is not permissible to kill in order to impose a solution. Every person of good will can find these principles of humanity in his or her own conscience. They correspond to Gods will for the human race. In order that these principles may become convictions in the minds of both the powerful and the weak, and in order that they may come to imbue all activity, they must have their full force restored to them. At every level, this calls for long and patient education.

II. EDUCATION FOR PEACE 1. BRINGING VISIONS OF PEACE BEFORE OUR EYES To overcome this spontaneous feeling of impotence, an education worthy of the name must have as its first task, and produce as its first beneficent result, the ability to see beyond the unfortunate facts in the foreground, or rather to recognize, in the very midst of the raging of murderous violence, the quiet progress of peace, never giving in, untiringly healing wounds, and
127

maintaining and advancing life. The movement towards peace will then be seen as possible and desirable, as strong and already victorious. Rereading history Let us first learn to reread the history of peoples and of mankind, following outlines that are truer than those of the series of wars and revolutions. Admittedly the din of battle dominates history. But it is the respites from violence that have made possible the production of those lasting cultural works which give honour to mankind. Furthermore, any factors of life and progress that may have been found even in wars and revolutions were derived from aspirations of an order other than that of violence: aspirations of a spiritual nature, such as the will to see recognition given to a dignity shared by all mankind, and the desire to save a peoples soul and its freedom. Where such aspirations were present, they acted as a regulator amid the conflicts, they prevented irreparable breaks, they maintained hope, and they prepared a new chance for peace. Where such aspirations were lacking or were impaired in the heat of violence, they gave free play to the logic of destruction, which led to lasting economic and cultural retrogression and to the death of whole civilizations. Leaders of the peoples, learn to love peace by distinguishing in the great pages of your national histories and throwing into relief the example of your predecessors whose glory lay in giving growth to the fruits of peace. Blessed are the peacemakers. Esteem for the great peacemaking tasks of today Today you will contribute to education for peace by highlighting as much as possible the great peacemaking tasks that fall to the human family. In your endeavours to reach a rational and interdependent management of mankinds common environment and heritage, to eradicate the misery crushing millions of human beings, and to strengthen institutions capable of expressing and increasing the unity of the human family on the regional and world level, men will discover the captivating appeal of peace, which means reconciliation of human beings with each other and with their natural universe. By encouraging, in spite of all the current forms of demagogy, the search for simpler ways of life that are less exposed to the tyrannical pressures of the instincts of possessing, consuming and dominating and more open to the deep rhythms of personal creativity and friendship, you will open up for yourselves and for everyone immense room for the unsuspected possibilities of peace. The light of many different examples of peace Just as it is inhibiting for the individual to feel that humble efforts in favour of peace, in the limited area of each ones responsibilities, are nullified by the great world debates which are held prisoner by a logic of simple relations of force and the arms race, so it is liberating to see international bodies that are convinced of the possibilities of peace and passionately attached to the building of peace. Education for peace can then benefit also from a renewed interest in the everyday examples of simple builders of peace at all levels: the individuals and families who by controlling their passions and by accepting and respecting each other gain their own inner peace
128


the peoples, often poor and sorely tried . . . have succeeded in repeatedly resisting the deceptive seductions of rapid progress obtained by violence, convinced that such gains would bring with them the poisonous seeds of fresh conflicts.

and radiate it; the peoples, often poor and sorely tried, whose age-old wisdom has been forged on the anvil of the supreme good of peace and who have succeeded in repeatedly resisting the deceptive seductions of rapid progress obtained by violence, convinced that such gains would bring with them the poisonous seeds of fresh conflicts. Yes, without ignoring the drama of violence, let us bring before our eyes and those of the rising generation these visions of peace: they will exercise a decisive attraction. Above all, they will set free the aspiration for peace which is an essential part of man. These new energies will lead to the use of a new language of peace and new gestures of peace.

2. SPEAKING A LANGUAGE OF PEACE Language is made for expressing the thoughts of the heart and for uniting. But when it is the prisoner of prefabricated formulas, in its turn it drags the heart along its own downward paths. One must therefore act upon language in order to act upon the heart and avoid the pitfalls of language. It is easy to note to what an extent bitter irony and harshness in making judgments and in criticizing others, especially outsiders, and systematic contestation and insistence on our claims overrun our speech relationship and strangle both social charity and justice itself . By expressing everything in terms of relations of force, of group and class struggles, and of friends and enemies, a propitious atmosphere is created for social barriers, contempt, even hatred and terrorism and underhanded or open support for them.. On the other hand, a heart devoted to the higher value of peace produces a desire to listen and understand, respect for others, gentleness which is real strength, and trust. Such a language puts one on the path of objectivity, truth and peace. In this regard the social communications media have a great educational task. The modes of expression in the exchanges and debates of political confrontations, both national and international, are also influential. Leaders of the nations and of the international organizations, learn to find a new language, a language of peace: by its very self it creates new room for peace. 3. MAKING GESTURES OF PEACE What is set free by visions of peace and served by a language of peace must be expressed in gestures of peace. Without such gestures, budding convictions vanish, and the language of peace becomes a quickly discredited rhetoric. The builders of peace can be very numerous, if they become aware of their capabilities and responsibilities. It is the practice of peace that leads to peace. The practice of peace teaches those searching for the treasure of peace that the treasure is
129

revealed and presented to those who produce humbly, day by day, all the forms of peace of which they are capable. Parents, educators and young people Parents and educators, help children and young people to experience peace in the thousands of everyday actions that are within their capacity, at home, at school, at play, with their friends, in team work, in competitive sport, and in the many ways in which friendship has to be established and restored. The International Year of the Child proclaimed by the United Nations for 1979 should draw everyones attention to the original contribution of children to peace. Young people, be builders of peace. You are workers with a full share in producing this great common construction. Resist the easy ways out which lull you into sad mediocrity; resist the sterile violence in which adults who are not at peace with themselves sometimes want to make use of you. Follow the paths suggested by your sense of free giving, of joy at being alive, and of sharing. You like to utilize your fresh energiesunconfined by a priori discriminationsin meeting others fraternally without regard for frontiers, in learning foreign languages to facilitate communication, and in giving disinterested service to the countries with least resources. You are the first victims of war, which breaks your ardour. You are the hope of peace. Partners in social endeavors Participants in professional and social life, for you peace is often hard to achieve. There is no peace without justice and freedom, without a courageous commitment to promote both. The strength then demanded must be patient without yielding or flagging, firm without throwing down challenges, and prudent in actively preparing the way for the desired advances without dissipating energy in quickly fading outbursts of violent indignation. When confronted with injustice and oppression, peace is led to clear a path for itself by adopting resolute action. But this action must already bear the mark of the goal at which it is aimed, namely a better mutual acceptance of individuals and groups. It will be regulated by the desire for peace that comes from deep within man, and by the aspirations and the legislation of peoples. It is this capacity for peace, cultivated and disciplined, which provides the ability to find even in tensions and conflicts the breathing spaces that are needed for developing its fruitful and constructive logic. What happens in a countrys internal social life has a considerable influence for better and for worse upon peace between nations. Statesmen But, we must insist once more, these many gestures of peace run the risk of being discouraged and partly nullified by an international policy that failed to find, at its own level, the same peace dynamism. Statesmen, leaders of peoples and of international organizations, I express to you my heartfelt esteem, and I offer my entire support for your of ten wearisome efforts to maintain or reestablish peace. Furthermore, being aware that mankinds happiness and even survival is at
130

stake, and convinced of my grave responsibility to echo Christs momentous appeal Blessed are the peacemakers, I dare to encourage you to go further. Open up new doors to peace. Do everything in your power to make the way of dialogue prevail over that of force. Let this find its first application at the inward level: how can the peoples truly foster international peace, if they themselves are prisoners of ideologies according to which justice and peace are obtained only by reducing to impotence those who, before any examination, are judged unfit to build their own destinies or incapable of cooperating for the common good? Be convinced that honour and effectiveness in negotiating with opponents are not measured by the degree of inflexibility in defending ones interests, but by the participants capacity for respect, truth, benevolence and brotherhood or, let us say, by their humanity. Make gestures of peace, even audacious ones, to break free from vicious circles and from the deadweight of passions inherited from history. Then patiently weave the political, economic and cultural fabric of peace. Createthe hour is ripe and time pressesever wider areas of disarmament. Have the courage to re-examine in depth the disquieting question of the arms trade. Learn to detect latent conflicts in time and settle them calmly before they arouse passions. Give appropriate institutional frameworks to regional groups and the world community. Renounce the utilization of legitimate and even spiritual values at the service of conflicts of interests, values which are then brought down to the level of these conflicts and make them more unyielding. Take care that the legitimate desire to communicate ideas is exercised through persuasion and not through the pressure of threats and arms. By making resolute gestures of peace you will release the true aspirations of the peoples and will find in them powerful allies in working for the peaceful development of all. You will educate yourselves for peace, you will awaken in yourselves firm convictions and a new capacity for taking initiatives at the service of the great cause of peace.

III. THE SPECIFIC CONTRIBUTION BY CHRISTIANS The importance of faith All this education for peacepeace between peoples, in ones own country, in ones neighbourhood, and within oneselfis intended for all men and women of good will, as we are reminded by Pope John XXIIIs Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris. Peace is, at different degrees, within their capacities. And since Peace on earth... can never be established, never guaranteed, except by the diligent observance of the divinely established order (Pacem in Terris, 1; AAS 55, 1963, p. 257), believers find in their religion light, motivation and strength in order to work for education to peace. True religious feeling cannot fail to promote true peace. The public authorities, by recognizingas they shouldreligious liberty, favour the development of the spirit of peace at the deepest level of peoples hearts and in the educational institutions fostered by believers. Christians, for their part, are especially educated by Christ and led by him to be builders of peace: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God (Mt 5:
131

9; cf. Lk 10: 5, etc.). The reader will understand that I am devoting special attention at the end of this Message to the sons and daughters of the Church, in order to encourage their contribution to peace and to place it within the context of the great Plan of Peace revealed by God in Jesus Christ. The special contribution made by Christians and the Church to the work done by all will be all the better assured if it draws its nourishment from its own special sources, from its own special hope. The Christian vision of peace Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, the aspiration for peace that you share with all men and women corresponds to an initial call by God to form a single family of brothers and The most faithful sisters, created in the image of the same Father. Revelation disciples of Christ have insists upon our freedom and our solidarity. The difficulties been builders of peace, to that we encounter in our journey towards peace are linked the point of forgiving partly to our weakness as creatures, who must necessarily their enemies, sometimes advance by slow and progressive steps. These difhculties even to the point of giving are aggravated by our selfishness, by our sins of every sort, their lives for them. Their beginning with the original sin that marked a break with example marks the path God, entailing a break between brothers and sisters. The for a new humanity no image of the Tower of Babel well describes the situation. longer content with provisional compromises But we believe that Jesus Christ, by giving his life on the but instead achieving the Cross, became our Peace: he broke down the wall of hate deepest sort of that divided the hostile brothers (cf. Eph 4:14). Having brotherhood. risen and entered into the glory of the Father, he mysteriously associates us with his Life: by reconciling us with God, he heals the wounds of sin and division and enables us to produce in our societies a rough outline of the unity that he is reestablishing in us. The most faithful disciples of Christ have been builders of peace, to the point of forgiving their enemies, sometimes even to the point of giving their lives for them. Their example marks the path for a new humanity no longer content with provisional compromises but instead achieving the deepest sort of brotherhood. We know that, without losing its natural consistency or its peculiar difficulties, our journey towards peace on earth is comprised within another journey, that of salvation, which reaches fulfillment in an eternal plenitude of grace, in total communion with God. Thus, the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Peace, with its own source, means and end, already permeates, without dilution, the whole of earthly activity. This vision of faith has a deep impact of the everyday action of Christians.

Christian dynamism for peace It is true that we are advancing along the paths of peace with the weaknesses and the gropings of all those making the journey with us . With the latter we suffer from the tragic deficiencies of
132

peace. We feel ourselves constrained to remedy them with even greater resolution, for the honour of God and for the honour of man. We do not claim to find in the Gospel text ready-made formulas for making today this or that advance towards peace. But on almost every page of the Gospel and of the history of the Church we find a spirit, that of brotherly love, powerfully teaching peace. We find, in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and in the sacraments, a strength drawn from the divine source. We find, in Christ, a hope. Setbacks cannot render vain the work of peace, even if the immediate results prove to be fragile, even if we are persecuted for our witness in favour of peace. Christ the Saviour associates with his destiny all those who work with love for peace. Prayer for peace Peace is our work: it calls for our courageous and united action. But it is inseparably and above all a gift of God: it requires our prayer. Christians must be in the first rank of those who pray daily for peace. They must also teach others to pray for peace. It will be their joy to pray with Mary, the Queen of Peace. To everyone, Christians, believers, and men and women of good will, I say: Do not be afraid to take a chance on peace, to teach peace. The aspiration for peace will not be disappointed for ever. Work for peace, inspired by charity which does not pass away, will produce its fruits. Peace will be the last word of History. From the Vatican, 8 December 1978. JOANNES PAULUS P.P. II

133

1980: TRUTH, THE POWER OF PEACE

The greatest resource for peace is truth, and the greatest cause of violence and war is non-truth. Non-truth not only attacks men and people, condemning them falsely or even completely, also condemns man himself. The greatest life is about the nature of man, that man only progresses through struggle, violence, and war. That man finds justice only through fratricide. Truth must be restored =- the truth about man as the image of God, fallen yet redeemed. How? We start by calling evil by its proper name: murder, massacre, torture. We seek the entire and accurate truth about injustice and denounce it with confidence in man and Gods mercy, instead of with blind condemnation that despairs of man and peace. Truth seeks realityno more, no less. Truth does not condemn, but dialogues to convert and save the lost, while embracing the truth even amidst evil. Lies and violence offer a quick but false victory. Truth digs in for the long and real victory. Jesus reveals his way of victory in contrast to the violence of the Father of lies. Violence is a lie. Reconciliation is the truth in action, setting us free for love and peace.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1980 TRUTH, THE POWER OF PEACE To all of you who want to strengthen peace on earth, To you, men and women of good will, To you, citizens and leaders of the peoples, To you, the young people of every land: To all of you I address my message and invite you to celebrate the thirteenth World Day of Peace with a resolute effort of mind and action so as to stabilize from within the tottering and ever threatened edifice of peace by putting its content of truth back into it. Truth, the power of peace! Let us join together to strengthen peace through the resources of peace itself. The foremost resource is truth, for it is preeminently truth that is the serene and powerful driving force of peace, radiating unimpededly by its own power. A diagnosis: non-truth serves the cause of war

134

1. It is a fact, and no-one doubts it, that truth serves the cause of peace; it is also beyond discussion that non-truth in all its forms and at all levels (lies, partial or slanted information, sectarian propaganda, manipulation of the communications media, and so on) goes hand in hand with the cause of war. Is there any need here to list all the different forms that non-truth takes? Let it sufhce to give just a few examples. For, although there is justifiable disquiet at the increase of violence in national and international society and at open threats to peace, public opinion is often less sensitive to the various forms of non-truth that underlie violence and that create a fertile soil for it. Violence flourishes in lies, and needs lies. It seeks to gain respectability in the eyes of the world by pretexts that have nothing to do with its reality and are often contradictory. What should one say of the practice of skeptical or silencing those who do not share the same views by 135keptica them as enemies, attributing to them hostile intentions and using skilful and constant propaganda to brand them as aggressors? Another form of non-truth consists in refusing to recognize and respect the objectively legitimate and inalienable rights of those who refuse to accept a particular ideology, or who appeal to freedom of thought. Non-truth is at work when oppressive intentions are attributed to those who clearly show that their one concern is to protect and defend themselves against real threats, threats which, alas, are still to be found both within a country and between countries. Selective indignation, sly insinuations, the manipulation of information, the systematic discrediting of opponentstheir persons, intentions and actionsblackmail and intimidation: these are forms of non-truth working to develop a climate of uncertainty aimed at forcing individuals, groups, governments, and even international organizations to keep silence in helplessness and complicity, to surrender their principles in part or to react in an irrational way. All these attitudes are equally capable of favouring the murderous game of violence and of attacking the cause of peace. 2. Underlying all these forms of non-truth, and fostering and feeding upon them, is a mistaken ideal of man and of the driving forces within him. The first lie, the basic falsehood, is to refuse to believe in man, with all his capacity for greatness but at the same time with his need to be redeemed from the evil and sin within him. Encouraged by differing and often contradictory ideologies, the idea is spreading that the individual and all humanity achieve progress principally through violent struggle. It has been thought that this could be demonstrated historically. Ingenious efforts have been made to build it into a theory. It has become more and more the custom to analyse everything
135

The first lie, the basic falsehood, is to refuse to believe in man, with all his capacity for greatness but at the same time with his need to be redeemed from the evil and sin within him.

in social and international life exclusively in terms of relationships of power and to organize accordingly in order to impose ones own interests. Of course, this widespread tendency to have recourse to trials of strength in order to make justice is often held in check by tactical or strategic pauses. But, as long as threats are permitted to remain, as long as selective support is given to certain forms of violence in line with interests or ideologies, as long as support is given to the claim that the advance of justice comes, in the final analysis, through violent struggleas long as these things happen, then niceties, restraint and selectivity will periodically give way in the face of the simple and brutal logic of violence, a logic which can go as far as the suicidal exaltation of violence for its own sake. Peace needs sincerity and truth 3. With minds so confused, building up peace by works of peace is difficult. It demands that truth be restored, in order to keep individuals, groups and nations from losing confidence in peace and from consenting to new forms of violence. Restoring peace means in the first place calling by their proper names acts of violence in all their forms . Murder must be called by its proper name: murder is murder; political or ideological motives do not change its nature, but are on the contrary degraded by it. The massacre of men and women, whatever their race, age or position, must be called by its proper name. Torture must be called by its proper name; and, with the appropriate qualifications, so must all forms of oppression and exploitation of man by man, of man by the State, of one people by another people. The purpose of doing so is not to give oneself a clear conscience by means of loud allembracing denunciationsthis would no longer be calling things by their proper namesnor to brand and condemn individuals and peoples, but to help to change peoples 136keptica and attitudes, and in order to give peace a chance again. 4. To promote truth as the power of peace means that we ourselves must make a constant effort not to use the weapons of falsehood, even for a good purpose. Falsehood can cunningly creep in anywhere. If sinceritytruth with ourselvesis to be securely maintained, we must make a patient and courageous effort to seek and find the higher and universal truth about man, in the light of which we shall be able to evaluate different situations, and in the light of which we will first judge ourselves and our own sincerity. It is impossible to take up an attitude of doubt, suspicion and 136keptical relativism without very quickly slipping into insincerity and falsehood. Peace, as I said earlier, is threatened when uncertainty, doubt and suspicion reign, and violence makes good use of this. Do we really want peace? Then we must dig deep within ourselves and, going beyond the divisions we find within us and between us, we must find the areas in which we can strengthen our conviction that mans basic driving forces and the recognition of his real nature carry him towards openness to others, mutual respect, brotherhood and peace. The course of this laborious search for the objective and universal truth about man and the result of the search will develop men and women of peace and dialogue, people who

136

draw both strength and humility from a truth that they realize they must serve, and not make use of for partisan interests. Truth illumines the ways of peace 5. One of violences lies is to try to justify itself by systematically and radically discrediting opponents, their actions, and the social and ideological structures within which they act and think. But the man of peace is able to detect the portion of truth existing in every human undertaking, and moreover to discern the capacity for truth to be found within every human being. The desire for peace does not cause the man of peace to shut his eyes to the tension, injustice and strife that are part of our world. He looks at them squarely. He calls them by their proper name, out of respect for truth. And since he is closely attuned to the things of peace, he is necessarily all the more sensitive to whatever is inconsistent with peace. This impels him to push courageously ahead and investigate the real causes of evil and in justice, in order to look for appropriate remedies. Truth is a force for peace because it sees the factors of truth that the other hasfactors that share the nature of truthand tries to link up with them. Truth does not allow

6. Truth does not allow us to despair of our opponents. The man of peace inspired by truth does not equate his opponent with the error into which he sees him fall. Instead he reduces the error to its real proportions and appeals from it to mans reason, heart and conscience, in order to help him to recognize and accept truth. This gives the denunciation of injustice a specific tone: such denunciation cannot always prevent those responsible for injustice from stubbornly disregarding the obvious truth, but at least it does not set out to provoke such stubbornness, the cost of which is often paid by the victims of the injustice. One of the big lies that poison relations between individuals and groups consists in ignoring all aspects of an opponents action, even the good and just ones, for the sake of condemning him more completely. Truth follows a different path; that is why truth does not throw away any of the chances for peace.

us to despair of our opponents.

7. Above all, truth gives us all the more reason not to despair of the victims of injustice. It does not allow us to drive them to the despair of resignation or violence. It encourages us to count on the forces for peace that suffering individuals or peoples have deep within them. It believes that by confirming them in awareness of their dignity and inalienable rights it gives them the strength to exercise upon the forces of oppression effective pressure for transformation, pressure more effective than acts of violence, which generally lack any future prospectexcept one of greater suffering. It is because I am convinced of this that I keep proclaiming the dignity and the rights of the person. Moreover, as I wrote in my Encyclical Redemptor Hominis, the logic behind the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the very
137

establishment of the United Nations Organization was aimed at creating the basis for continual revision of programmes, systems and regimes precisely from this single fundamental point of view, namely the welfare of manor, let us say, of the person in the community (no. 17, 4). Since the man of peace draws from the light of truth and sincerity, he has clear ideas about existing injustices, tensions and conflicts. But instead of exacerbating frustration and strife he places his trust in mans higher faculties, his reason and his heart, in order to devise peaceful ways to a truly human and lasting result. Truth strengthens the means of peace 8. The path from a less human to a more human situation, both in national and in international life, is a long one, and it has to be travelled in stages. The man of peace knows this, he says so and he finds in the efforts for truth that I have just described the light he needs to keep his course set correctly. The man of violence knows it also, but he does not say so, and he deceives public opinion by holding up the glittering prospect of a radical and speedy solution, and then settles into his lie and explains away the constantly repeated delays in the arrival of the freedom that had been promised and the abundance that had been assured. There is no peace without readiness for sincere and continual dialogue. Truth too requires dialogue, and therefore reinforces this indispensable means for attaining peace. Truth has no fear, either, of honourable agreements, because truth brings with it the light that enables it to enter into such an agreement without sacrificing essential convictions and values. Truth causes minds to come together; it shows what already unites the parties that were previously opposed; it causes the mistrust of yesterday to decrease, and prepares the ground for fresh advances in justice and brotherhood and in the peaceful co-existence of all human beings. In this context I cannot fail to say a word about the arms race. The situation in which humanity is living today seems to include a tragic contradiction between the many fervent declarations in favour of peace and the no less real vertiginous escalation in weaponry. The very existence of the arms race can even cast a suspicion of falsehood and hypocrisy on certain declarations of the desire for peaceful coexistence. What is worse, it can often even justify the impression that such declarations serve only as a cloak for opposite intentions. 9. We cannot sincerely condemn recourse to violence unless we engage in a corresponding effort to replace it by courageous political initiatives which aim at eliminating threats to peace by attacking the roots of injustice. The profound truth of politics is contradicted just as much when it settles into passivity as when it hardens and degenerates into violence. Promoting the truth that gives strength to peace in politics means having the courage to detect in good time latent conflicts and to reexamine at suitable moments problems that have been tempor arily defused by laws or agreements that have prevented them from getting worse. Promoting truth also means having the courage to foresee the future: to take into account the new aspirations, compatible with what is good, that
138

individuals and peoples begin to experience as culture progresses, in order to adjust national and international institutions to the reality of humanity on the march. Statesmen and international institutions therefore have an immense fleld for building a new and more just world order, based on the truth about man and established upon a just distribution not only of wealth but also of power and responsibility. Yes, I am convinced of this: truth gives strength to peace within, and an atmosphere of greater sincerity makes it possible to mobilize human energies for the one cause that is worthy of them: full respect for the truth about mans nature and destiny, the source of true peace in justice and friendship. For Christians: the truth of the Gospel 10. To work for peace is the concern of all individuals and of all peoples. And because everyone is endowed with a heart and with reason and has been made in the image of God, he or she is capable of the effort of truth and sincerity which strengthens peace. I invite all Christians to bring to the common task the specific contribution of the Gospel which leads to the ultimate source of truth, to the Incarnate Word of God. Violence is a lie, for it goes against the truth The Gospel places in striking relief the bond between of our faith, the truth falsehood and murderous violence, in the words of Christ: of our humanity ... do As it is, you want to kill me when I tell you the truth as I not believe in violence; have learnt it from God ... What you are doing is what your do not support father does ... The devil is your father, and you prefer to do violence. It is not the what your father wants. He was a murderer from the start; he Christian way. It is was never grounded in the truth; there is no truth in him at all; not the way of the when he lies he is drawing on his own store, because he is a Catholic Church. liar, and the father of lies (Jn 8: 40, 41, 44 ). This is why I was able to say with such conviction at Drogheda in Ireland and why I now repeat: Violence is a lie, for it goes against the truth of our faith, the truth of our humanity ... do not believe in violence; do not support violence. It is not the Christian way. It is not the way of the Catholic Church. Believe in peace and forgiveness and love; for they are of Christ (nos. 9-10).

Yes, the Gospel of Christ is a Gospel of peace: Blessed are the peacemakers; they shall be called children of God (Mt 5: 9). And the driving force of evangelical peace is truth. Jesus revealed to man the full truth about man; he restores man in the truth about himself by reconciling him with God, by reconciling him with himself and by reconciling him with others. Truth is the driving power of peace because it reveals and brings about the unity of man with God, with himself and with others. Forgiveness and reconciliation are constitutive elements of

139

the truth which strengthens peace and which builds up peace. To refuse forgiveness and reconciliation is for us to lie and to enter into the murderous logic of falsehood. Final appeal 11. I know that all men and women of good will can understand all this from personal experience, when they listen to the profound voice of their hearts. For this reason I invite you all, all of you who wish to strengthen peace by putting back into it its content of truth which dispels all falsehoods: join in the effort of reflection and of action which I propose to you for this thirteenth World Day of Peace by examining your own readiness to forgive and be reconciled, and by making gestures of forgiveness and reconciliation in the domain of your own family, social and political responsibilities. You will be doing the truth and the truth will make you free. The truth will release unsuspected light and energy and give a new opportunity for peace in the world. From the Vatican, 8 December 1979. JOANNES PAULUS P.P. II

140

1981: TO SERVE PEACE, RESPECT FREEDOM

Peace requires freedom, and cannot exist without freedom. But what is freedom, true freedom? It is not power over other or over the world. It is not found in oppressionwhether political or economic. It is not found in wealth or poverty. It is not found where persons are manipulated by media ,or disabled in mind and body. Freedom is found when it is sought not only for oneself, but for all whose freedom is endangered. Freedom is found in the conscience, in the heart, where man makes his choices, the most basic choice being that of faith. Hence, all freedom and all rights flow from our freedom of religion. We must protect this freedom, for freedom is not only a right, but a duty. But freedom is threatened by consumerism, materialism, totalitarianism, and relativism. And within such false freedom, injustices flourish, blooming into war. Only by cultivating a climate of personal and national and international solidarity can trust be restored. Within that trust, freedom can develop. As Christians, we realize that God is the source of our true freedomfreedom from evil, lurking in every human heart. Only in conversion will freedom, and peace, be won!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1981 TO SERVE PEACE, RESPECT FREEDOM

To all of you who are building peace, To all of you who are the leaders of the nations, To you, brothers and sisters, citizens of the world, To you young people, who dare to dream of a better world, It is to all of you, men and women of good will, that I address myself today, in order to invite you, on the occasion of the Fourteenth World Day of Peace (1 January 1981), to think about the state of the world and about the great cause of peace. I do this from a powerful conviction: that peace is possible, but that it is also something that has to be continually won, a good thing that has to be attained through ever renewed efforts. Each generation feels in a new way the permanent need for peace in the face of the daily problems of life. Yes, it is every day that the ideal of peace has to be made into a concrete reality by each one of us .
141

To serve peace, respect freedom 1. In presenting to you today the theme of freedom as the subject of your thoughts, I am following the line of Pope John XXIII in his Encyclical Pacem in Terris, when he put forward freedom as one of the four pillars that support the house of peace. Freedom responds to a deep and widespread aspiration of the modern world, and this is shown for example by the frequency with which the term freedom is used, even though not always in the same sense, by believers and non-believers, scientists and economists, those who live in democratic societies and those who live under totalitarian regimes. Each one gives the term a special nuance, and even a profoundly different meaning. As we seek to develop our service of peace, we must therefore understand clearly the real nature of this true freedom that is at one and the same time the root of peace and its fruit. Conditions that call for a fresh examination today 2. Peace must be realized in truth; it must be built upon justice; it must be animated by love; it must be brought to being in freedom (cf . Pacem in Terris). Without a deep and universal respect for freedom, peace will elude man. We have only to look around us to be convinced of this . For the spectacle that meets our eyes at the beginning of the Eighties seems hardly reassuring, although large numbers of men and women, Whether ordinary citizens or leaders of society, are very worried about peace, often to the point of desperation. Their aspirations do not find realization in true peace, because of the absence of freedom, or the violation of freedom, or again because of the ambiguous or mistaken way in which freedom is exercised. For what can be the freedom of nations, whose existence, aspirations and reactions are conditioned by fear instead of mutual trust, by oppression instead of the free pursuit of their common good? Freedom is wounded when the relationships between peoples are based not upon respect for the equal dignity of each but upon the right of the most powerful, upon the attitude of dominant blocs and upon military or political imperialism. The freedom of nations is wounded when small nations are forced to align themselves with large ones, in order to ensure their right to independent existence or to survival. Freedom is wounded when dialogue between equal partners is no longer possible, by reason of economic or financial domination exercised by privileged and powerful nations. And within a nation, on the political level, does peace have a real chance when the free sharing in collective decisions or the free enjoyment of individual liberties is not guaranteed? There is no true freedomwhich is the foundation of peacewhen all powers are concentrated in the hands of a single social class, a single race or a single group, or when the common good is merged with the interests of a single party that is identified with the State. There is no true freedom vvhen the freedoms of individuals are absorbed by a collective group denying all transcendence to man and his personal and collective history (Octogesima Adveniens, 26). True freedom is also absent when various forms of anarchy, set up as a theory, lead to the systematic denial or challenging of
142

all authority, leading in extreme cases to political terrorism or to blind acts of violence, vvhether spontaneous or organized. Nor is there any true freedom when internal security is set up as the single and supreme norm regulating relationships between authority and the citizens, as if it were the only meansor the main oneof maintaining peace. In this context, one cannot ignore the problem of systematic or selective repressionaccompanied by assassination and torture, cases of disappearance or banishmentsuffered by so many people, including bishops, priests, religious and Christian lay people working in the service of their neighbor. 3. On the social level, it is hard to describe as truly free those men and women who lack the guarantee of honest and adequate employment, or all those people in country villages who are still the victims of regrettable servitude, of ten the heritage of a dependent past or colonial mentality. Nor is there enough freedom for those who, as the result of uncontrolled industrial, urban or bureaucratic development, find themselves caught up in a gigantic machine, in a tangle of unwanted or unmanageable procedures that leave no room for a social development worthy of man. Freedom is also reducedand more than appears at first sightin a society that lets itself be guided by the dogma of indefinite material growth, by the pursuit of wealth or by the arms race. The economic crisis now affecting all societies, if it is not faced with principles of another order, could easily lead to the adoption of measures that would reduce still further the measure of freedom that peace needs if it is to blossom and flourish. At the level of the mind, freedom can also suffer from manipulation of various kinds. This is the case when the social communications media misuse their power and disregard strict objectivity. It is also the case when psychological procedures are used without regard for the dignity of the person. Moreover, freedom will always remain very incomplete, or at least hard to exercise, in the case of men, women and children for whom illiteracy constitutes a kind of daily slavery in a world that presupposes education. At the beginning of 1981, which has been declared by the United Nations the Year of the Disabled, it is also fitting to include in this picture those of our brothers and sisters who have suffered damage to their physical or mental completeness. Is our society sufhciently aware of its duty to set in motion all means that will enable them to share more freely in life with others, to have access to the human advancement that corresponds to their rights as human beings and to their abilities, in accordance with their dignity? Encouraging efforts already being made and praiseworthy accomplishments 4. However, side by side with these typical examples in which more or less serious conditioning obstructs the proper exercise of freedom and could be changed, there is also another side to the picture of the modern world seeking peace in freedom, and it is a positive one. It is the image of a multitude of men and women who believe in this ideal, who are committed to placing freedom at the service of peace, to respecting it, to promoting it, to upholding and defending it, and who
143

are ready to make the efforts and even sacrifices that this commitment demands. I am thinking of all the Heads of State, Heads of Government, politicians, international officials and one only becomes civil leaders at all levels who are trying to make available to really free by striving everyone the freedoms that have been solemnly proclaimed. to obtain for others My thoughts also go to those who know that freedom cannot that same freedom be divided, and who as a result seek out, with full objectivity, in situations as they change, fresh attacks on freedom in the sphere of personal life, family life, cultural life, social and economic development and political life. I am thinking of men and women throughout the world, fired by a solidarity that knows no frontiers, for whom it is impossible, in a civilization that has become worldwide, to isolate their own freedom from the freedom that their brothers and sisters in other continents are struggling to gain and safeguard. I am thinking especially of the young people who believe that one only becomes really free by striving to obtain for others that same freedom.

Freedom is rooted in man 5. Freedom in its essence is within man, is connatural to the human person and is the distinctive sign of mans nature. The freedom of the individual finds its basis in mans transcendent dignity: a dignity given to him by God, his Creator, and which directs him towards God. Because he has been created in Gods image (cf. Gen 1:27), man is inseparable from freedom, that freedom which no external force or constraint can ever take away, and which constitutes his fundamental right, both as an individual and as a member of society. Man is free because he possesses the faculty of self-determination with regard to what is true and what is good. He is free because he possesses the faculty of choice, as moved and drawn in a personal way from within, and not by blind impulses in himself or by mere external constraint (Constitution Gaudiufm et Spes, 17). To be free is to be able to choose and to want to choose; it is to live according to ones conscience. Promoting free individuals in a free society 6. Man must therefore be able to make his choices in accordance with values to which he gives his support; this is the way in which he will show his resporisibility, and it is up to society to favour this freedom, while taking into account the common good. The first and the most fundamental of these values is always mans relationship to God as expressed in his religious convictions. Religious freedom thus becomes the basis of the other freedoms. On the eve of the meeting in Madrid on European security and cooperation, I had the occasion to repeat what I have not ceased to state since the beginning of my ministry: Freedom of conscience and religion... is... a primary and inalienable right of the person; far more, to the extent that it touches upon the most intimate sphere of the spirit, one can even say that it
144

underlies the raison detre, intimately anchored in each person, of the other freedoms (Religious freedom and the final Document of Helsinki, 5: cf . LOsservatore Romano, 15 November 1980). The various authorities in society must make possible the exercise of true freedom in all its manifestations. They must endeavour to guarantee each individuals possibility of realizing his or her human potential to the full. They must allow each person a juridically protected domain of independence, so that every human being can live, individually and collectively, in accordance with the demands of his or her conscience. Moreover, this freedom is called for in the major international pacts and other documents, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Conventions on the same subject, as also in the vast majority of national Constitutions. This is only right, since the State, as the recipient of a mandate given by its citizens, must not only recognize the basic freedoms of individuals but also protect and foster them. The State will play this positive role by respecting the rule of law and seeking the common good in accordance with the demands of the moral law. Similarly, the freely constituted intermediate groups will make their own contribution to safeguarding and advancing these freedoms. This noble task concerns all living forces in society. 7. But freedom is not merely a right that one claims for oneself. It is also a duty that one undertakes with regard to others. If it is really to serve peace, the freedom of each human individual and each community must respect the freedoms and rights of other individuals and communities. This respect sets a limit to freedom, but it also gives it its logic and its dignity, since we are by nature social beings. Some kinds of freedom do not really deserve the name, and we must take care to defend true freedom against various counterfeits. For example, the consumer societythat excess of goods not needed by mancan in a way constitute an abuse of freedom, when the more and more insatiable pursuit of goods is not subjected to the law of justice and of social love. Such consumerism involves a limitation of the freedom of others; and from the viewpoint of international solidarity it even affects whole societies which are unable to obtain the minimum of goods required for their essential needs. The existence of areas of absolute poverty in the world and the existence of hunger and malnutrition pose a serious question to the countries that have developed freely, without regard for those countries lacking even the minimum and perhaps at times at their expense. It could even be said that within the rich countries the uncontrolled pursuit of material goods and all kinds of services offers only an apparent increase of freedom to those who benefit from them, since it sets up as a basic human value the possession of things, instead of aiming at a certain material prosperity as the condition and means for the full development of the talents of the individual in collaboration with and in harmony with his fellowmen . Likewise, a society built on a purely materialistic basis denies people their freedom when it submits individual freedoms to economic domination, when it represses mans spiritual creativity
145

in the name of a false ideological harmony, when it denies people the exercise of their right of association, when in practice it reduces to nothing the power to participate in public affairs or acts in such a way that in this field individualism and civic and social non-participation become the general attitude. Finally, true freedom is not advanced in the per missive society, which confuses freedom with licence to do anything whatever and which in the name of freedom proclaims a kind of general amorality. It is a caricature of freedom to claim that people are free to organize their lives with no reference to moral values, and to say that society does not have to ensure the protection and advancement of ethical values. Such an attitude is destructive of freedom and peace. There are many examples of this mistaken idea of freedom, such as the elimination of human life by legalized or generally accepted abortion. Promoting free peoples in a free world 8. Respect for the freedom of peoples and nations is an integral part of peace. Wars continue to break out and destruction has fallen upon peoples and whole cultures The spirit of war, in because the sovereignty of a people or a nation was not its basic primordial respected. Every continent has seen and suffered from meaning, springs up fratricidal wars and struggles caused by one nations attempts and grows to maturity to limit anothers autonomy. One can even wonder if war may where the inalienable not becomeor remaina normal fact of our civilization, rights of man are with limited armed conflicts going on for long periods violated. without exciting public concern, or with a succession of civil wars. The direct causes are many and complex: territorial expansionism, ideological imperialism for the triumph of which weapons of total annihilation are stockpiled, economic exploitation deliberately perpetuated, obsession with territorial security, ethnic differences exploited by arms dealers, and many other causes as well. Whatever their reason, these wars contain elements of injustice, contempt or hatred, and attacks on freedom. I stressed this when speaking last year to the General Assembly of the United Nations: The spirit of war, in its basic primordial meaning, springs up and grows to maturity where the inalienable rights of man are violated. This is a new and deeply relevant vision of the cause of peace, one that goes deeper and is more radical. It is a vision that sees the genesis, and in a sense the substance, of war in the more complex forms emanating from injustice viewed in all its various aspects: this injustice first attacks human rights and thereby destroys the organic unity of the social order and it then affects the whole system of international relations (11).

9. Without a willingness to respect the freedom of every people, nation and culture, and without a worldwide consensus on this subject, it will be difficult to create the conditions for peace. But we must have the courage to believe they are possible. This presupposes a conscious public
146

commitment on the part of each nation and its government to renounce claims and designs injurious to other nations. In other words, it presupposes a refusal to accept any doctrine of national or cultural supremacy. There must also be a willingness to respect the internal processes of other nations, to recognize their personality within the human family, and therefore to be ready to question and correct any policy that would in fact be an interference or an exploitation in the economic, social or cultural spheres. In this context I would plead for a greater effort by the community of nations to aid young or developing nations to attain true control of their resources and self-sufficiency in food and the essential needs of life. I beg the rich countries to direct their aid with the primary aim of actively eliminating absolute poverty. The preparation of juridical documents has its place in improving relations between nations. In order that freedom may be respected, it is also necessary to contribute to the progressive codification of the applications that flow from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this matter of respecting the identity of each people, I would like to include particularly the right to see its religious traditions respected both internally and by other nations, and the right to participate in free exchanges in the religious, cultural, scientific and educational spheres. A climate of trust and responsibility 10. The best guarantee of freedom and its real attainment depends upon the responsibility of individuals and peoples, upon the concrete efforts of each person at his own level, in his immediate environment, nationally and internationally. For freedom is not something that is given. It is something to be constantly won. It goes hand in hand with the sense of responsibility that everyone must have. One does not make people free without at the same time making them more aware of the demands of the common good and making them more responsible. For this purpose, a climate of mutual trust must be established and strengthened. Without it freedom cannot develop. Everyone can see that this is an indispensable condition for true peace and the primary expression thereof. But, like freedom and peace, this trust is not something that is given: it is something that has to be gained, something that has to be deserved. When an individual does not accept his responsibility for the common good, when a nation does not feel that it has a share of responsibility for the destiny of the world, trust is jeopardized. This is even more so if one uses others for ones own selfish purposes, or simply indulges in manoeuvres aimed at making ones own interests prevail over the legitimate interests of others. Only trust merited by concrete action in favour of the common good will make possible, between individuals and nations, the respect for freedom which is a service to peace. The freedom of the children of God 11. Let me in conclusion address more especially those who are united with me in belief in Christ. Man cannot be genuinely free or foster true freedom unless he recognizes and lives the transcendence of his being over the world and his relationship with God; for freedom is always the freedom of man made in the image of his Creator. The Christian finds in the Gospel support
147

for this conviction and a deeper understanding of it. Christ, the Redeemer of man, makes us free. The Apostle John records the words: if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed (Jn 8: 36). And the Apostle Paul adds: Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor 3: 1? ). To be set free from injustice, fear, constraint and suffering would be useless, if we were to remain slaves in the depths of our hearts, slaves of sin. To be truly free, man must be set free from this slavery and transformed into a new creature. The radical freedom of man thus lies at the deepest level: the level of openness to God by conversion of heart, for it is in mans heart that the roots of every form of subjection, every violation of freedom, are found. Finally for the Christian, freedom does not come from man himself: it is manifested in obedience to the will of God and in fidelity to his love. It is then that the disciple of Christ finds the strength to fight for freedom in this world. Faced by the difficulties of this task, he will not allow himself to be driven to inertia and discouragement, for he places his hope in God, who supports and makes fruitful what is done in accordance with his Spirit. Freedom is the measure of the maturity of man and of the nation. So I cannot end this message without renewing the urgent appeal that I made to you at the beginning: like peace, freedom is an effort to be ceaselessly renewed in order to give man his full humanity. Let us not await the peace of the balance of terror. Let us not accept violence as the way to peace. Let us instead begin by respecting true freedom: the resulting peace will be able to satisfy the worlds expectations; for it will be a peace built on justice, a peace founded on the incomparable dignity of the free human being. From the Vatican, 8 December 1980. JOANNES PAULUS PP. II

Let us not await the peace of the balance of terror. Let us not accept violence as the way to peace.

148

1982: PEACE: A GIFT OF GOD ENTRUSTED TO US

What is peace, where does it come from, and what threats face it? New threats mount: worldwide conflicts that are total in destructiveness and radically threaten all of humanity. False political ideologies pit man against man as if peace were impossible, as if peace was the dominion of the most powerful amidst a law of the jungle. But peace comes through mans freedom and capacity for choosing righteousnessfrom our Godgiven nature and world. And so God is the foundation and source of all peace. But his gift of peace is our common task. We must eagerly seek to implement his gift, hopeful yet realistic. We must inform all, about the truth, even as we research the path to peace. We must all act, sharing in culture and the worlds goods and pushing political leaders to pursue and protect human rights, justice, and solidarity. Jesus reveals to us the radical nature of peacemaking, and through his love and sacrifice, reconciles us to become leaders of peace in the world. War still exists, as sin still exists, but even as we recognize the right to a war of defense, modern war forces us to seek to abolish war in practice, replacing it with law and negotiation. But this will take a miracleGods giftand so we must pray, and lead the world in praying, for peace!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1982 PEACE: A GIFT OF GOD ENTRUSTED TO US ! To the young who in the world of tomorrow will make the great decisions, to the men and women who today bear responsibility for life in society, to families and teachers, to individuals and communities, to Heads of State and Government leaders: It is to all of you that I address this message at the dawn of the year 1982. I invite you to reflect with me on the theme of the new World Day: peace is a gift of God entrusted to us. 1. This truth faces us when we come to decide our commitments and make our choices. It challenges the whole of humanity, all men and women who know that they are individually responsible for one another, and together responsible for the world.

149

At the end of the First World War my predecessor Pope Benedict XV devoted an Encyclical to this theme. Rejoicing at the cessation of hostilities and insisting on the need to remove hatred and enmity through reconciliation inspired by mutual charity, he began his Encyclical with a reference to peace, that magnificent gift from God: as Augustine says, even understood as one of the fleeting things of earth, no sweeter word is heard, no more desirable wish is longed for, and no better discovery can be made than this gift (De Civitate Dei, lib. XIX, c. x1) (Encyclical Pacem Dei Munus: AAS 12 [1920], p. 209). Efforts for peace in a divided world 2. Since then my predecessors have often had to recall this truth in their constant endeavours to educate for peace and to encourage work for a lasting peace. Today peace has become, throughout the world, a major preoccupation not only for those responsible for the destiny of nations but even more so for broad sections of the population and numberless individuals who generously and tenaciously dedicate themselves to creating an outlook of peace and to establishing genuine peace between peoples and nations. This is comforting. But there is no hiding the fact that, in spite of the efforts of all men and women of good will there are still serious threats to peace in the world. Some of these threats take the form of divisions within various nations; others stem from deep-rooted and acute tensions between opposing nations and blocs within the world community. In reality, the confrontations that we witness today are distinguished from those of past history by certain new characteristics. In the first place, they are worldwide: even a local conflict is often an expression of tensions originating elsewhere in the world. In the same way, it often happens that a conflict has profound effects far from where it broke out. Another characteristic is totality: present-day tensions mobilize all the forces of the nations involved; moreover, selfish monopolization and even hostility are to be found today as much in the way economic life is run and in the technological application of science as in the way that the mass media or military resources are utilized. Thirdly, we must stress the radical character of modern conflicts: it is the survival of the whole human race that is at stake in them, given the destructive capacity of present-day military stockpiles. In short, while many factors could contribute to uniting it, human society appears as a divided world: the forces for unity give way bef ore the divisions between East and West, North and South, friend and enemy. An essential problem 3. The causes of this situation are of course complex and of various orders. Political reasons are naturally the easiest to distinguish. Particular groups abuse their power in order to impose their yoke on whole societies. An excessive desire for expansion impels some nations to build their prosperity with a disregard forindeed at the expense ofothers happiness. Unbridled nationalism thus fosters plans for domination, which leave other nations with the pitiless
150

dilemma of having to make the choice: either accepting satellite status and dependence or adopting an attitude of competition and hostility. Deeper analysis shows that the cause of this situation is the application of certain concepts and ideologies that claim to offer the only foundation of the truth about man, society and history. When we come up against the choice between peace and war, we find ourselves face to face with ourselves, with our nature, with our plans for our personal and community lives, with the use we are to make of our freedom. Are relationships between people to continue inexorably along lines of incomprehension and merciless confrontation, because of a relentless law of human life? Or are human beingsby comparison with the animal species which fight one another according to the law of the junglespecifically called upon and given the fundamental capability to live in peace with their fellows and to share with them in the creation of culture, society and history? In the final analysis, when we consider the question of peace, we are led to consider the meaning and conditions of our own personal and community lives. Peace, a gift of God 4. Peace is not so much a superficial balance between diverging material interestsa balance pertaining to the order of quantity, of things. Rather it is, in its inmost reality, something that belongs to the essentially human order, the order of human subjects; it is thus of a rational and moral nature, the fruit of truth and virtue. It springs from the dynamism of free wills guided by reason towards the common good that is to be attained in truth, justice and love. This rational and moral order is based on a decision by the consciences of human beings seeking harmony in their mutual relationships, with respect for justice for everybody, and therefore with respect for the fundamental human rights inherent in every person. One cannot see how this moral order could ignore God, the first source of being, the essential truth and the supreme good. In this very sense peace comes from God as its foundation: it is a gift of God. When claiming the wealth and resources of the universe worked on by the human mindand it is often on their account that conflicts and wars have sprung upman comes up against the leading role of the gift made by nature, that is to say, in the final analysis, by the Creator (Encyclical Laborem Exercens, 12). And God does more than give creation to humanity to administer and develop jointly at the service of all human beings without any discrimination: he also inscribes in the human conscience the laws obliging us to respect in numerous ways the life and the whole person of our fellow human beings, created like us in the image and after the likeness of God. God is thus the guarantor of all these fundamental human rights. Yes indeed, God is the source of peace: he calls to peace, he safeguards it, and he grants it as the fruit of justice. Moreover, God helps us interiorly to achieve peace or to recover it. In our limited life, which is subject to error and evil, we human beings go gropingly in search of peace, amid many difficulties. Our faculties are darkened by mere appearances of truth, attracted by false goods and led astray by irrational and selfish instincts. Hence we need to open ourselves to the transcendent
151

light of God that illuminates our lives, purifies them from error and frees them from aggressive passion. God is not far from the heart of those who pray to him and try to fulfil his justice: when they are in continual dialogue with him, in freedom, God offers them peace as the fullness of the communion of life with God and with their brothers and sisters. In the Bible the word peace recurs again and again in association with the idea of happiness, harmony, well-being, security, concord, salvation and justice, as the outstanding blessing that God, the Lord of peace (2 Thess 3:16), already gives and promises in abundance: Now towards her I send flowing peace, like a river (Is 66: 12). A gift of God, entrusted to us 5. While peace is a gift, man is never dispensed from responsibility for seeking it and endeavouring to establish it by individual and community effort, throughout history. Gods gift of peace is therefore also at all times a human conquest and achievement, since it is offered to us in order that we may accept it freely and put it progressively into operation by our creative will. Furthermore, in his love for man, God never abandons us but even in the darkest moments of history drives us forward or leads us back mysteriously along the path of peace. Even the difficulties, failures and tragedies of the past and the present must be studied as providential lessons from which we may draw the wisdom we need in order to find new ways, more rational and courageous ways, for building peace. It is by drawing inspiration from the truth of God that we are given the ideal and the energy we require in order to overcome situations of injustice, to free ourselves from ideologies of power and domination, and to make our way towards true universal fraternity. Christians, faithful to Christ who proclaimed the Good News of peace and established peace within hearts by reconciling them with God, have still more decisive reasonsas I shall stress at the end of this messagefor looking on peace as a gift of God, and for courageously helping to establish it in this world, in accordance with this longing for its complete fulfillment in the Kingdom of God. They also know that they are called upon to join their efforts with those of believers in other religions who tirelessly condemn hatred and war and who devote themselves, using different approaches, to the advancement of justice and peace. We should first consider in its natural basis this deeply hopeful view of humanity as directed towards peace, and stress moral responsibility in response to Gods gift. This illuminates and stimulates mans activity on the level of information, study and commitment for peace, three sectors that I would now like to illustrate with some examples. Information 6. At a certain level, world peace depends on better self-knowledge on the part of both individuals and societies. This self-knowledge is naturally conditioned by information and by the quality of the information. Those who seek and proclaim the truth with respect for others and with charity are working for peace. Those who devote themselves to pointing out the values in
152

the various cultures, the individuality of each society and the human riches of individual peoples, are working for peace. Those who by providing information remove the barrier of distance, so that we feel truly concerned at the fate of faraway men and women who are victims of war or injustice, are working for peace. Admittedly, the accumulation of such information, especially if it concerns catastrophes over which we have no control, can in the end produce indifference and surfeit in those who remain mere receivers of the information without ever doing whatever is within their power. But, in itself, the role of the mass media continues to be a positive one: each one of us is now called upon to be the neighbor of all his or her brothers and sisters of the human race (cf. Lk 10: 29-37). High-quality information even has a direct influence upon education and political decisions. If the young are to be made aware of the problems of peace, and if they are to prepare to become workers for peace, educational programmes must necessarily give a special place to information about actual situations in which peace is under threat, and about the conditions needed for its advancement. Peace cannot be built by the power of rulers alone. Peace can be firmly constructed only if it corresponds to the resolute determination of all people of good will. Rulers must be supported and enlightened by a public opinion that encourages them or, where necessary, expresses disapproval. Consequently, it is also right that rulers should explain to the public those matters that concern the problems of peace. Studies that help to build peace 7. Building peace also depends upon the progress of research about it. Scientific studies on war, its nature, causes, means, objectives and risks have much to teach us on the conditions for peace. Since they throw light on the relationships between war and politics, such studies show that there is a greater future in negotiation than in arms for settling conflicts. It follows that the role of law in preserving peace is called upon to expand. It is well known that within individual States the work of jurists contributes greatly to the advancement of justice and respect for human rights. But their role is just as great for the pursuit of the same objectives on the international level and for refining the juridical instruments for building and preserving peace. However, since concern for peace is inscribed in the inmost depths of our being, progress along the path of peace also benefits from the researches of psychologists and philosophers. Admittedly, the science of war has already been enriched by studies on human aggressiveness, death-impulses and the herd instinct that can suddenly take possession of whole societies. But much remains to be said about the fear we human beings have of taking possession of our freedom, and about our insecurity before ourselves and others. Better knowledge of lifeimpulses, of instinctive sympathy with other people, of readiness to love and share undoubtedly helps us to grasp better the psychological mechanisms that favour peace.

153

By these researches psychology is thus called upon to throw light on and to complement the studies of the philosophers. Philosophers have always pondered the questions of war and peace. They have never been without responsibility in this matter. The memory is all too much alive of those famous philosophers who saw man as a wolf for his fellow man and war as a historical necessity. However, it is also true that many of them wished to lay the foundation for a lasting or even everlasting peace by, for instance, setting forth a solid theoretical basis for international law. All these efforts deserve to be resumed and intensified. The thinkers who devote themselves to such endeavours can benefit from the copious contribution of a present-day philosophical current that gives unique prominence to the theme of the person and devotes itself in a singular manner to an examination of the themes of freedom and responsibility. This can provide light for reflection on human rights, justice and peace. Indirect action 8. While the advancement of peace in a sense depends on information and research, it rests above all on the action that people take in its favour. Some forms of action envisaged here have only an indirect relationship with peace. However, it would be wrong to think of them as unimportant: as we shall briefly indicate through some examples, almost every section of human activity offers unexpected occasions for advancing peace. Such is the case of cultural exchanges, in the broadest sense. Anything that enables people to get to know each other better through artistic activity breaks down barriers. Where speech is unavailing and diplomacy is an uncertain aid, music, painting, drama and sport can bring people closer together. The same holds for scientific research: science, like art, creates and brings together a universal society which gathers all who love truth and beauty, without division. Thus science and art are, each at its own level, an anticipation of the emergence of a universal peaceful society.

science, like art, creates and brings together a universal society which gathers all who love truth and beauty, without division

Even economic life should bring people closer together, by making them aware of the extent to which they are interdependent and complementary. Undoubtedly, economic relationships often create a field of pitiless confrontation, merciless competition and even sometimes shameless exploitation. But could not these relationships become instead relationships of service and solidarity, and thereby defuse one of the most frequent causes of discord? Justice and peace within nations

154

9. While peace should be everyones concern, the building of peace is a task that falls directly and principally to political leaders. From this point of view the chief setting for the building up of peace is always the nation as a politically organized society. Since the purpose for which a political society is formed is the establishment of justice, the advancement of the common good and participation by all, that society will enjoy peace only to the extent that these three demands are respected. Peace can develop only where the elementary requirements of justice are safeguarded. Unconditional and effective respect for each ones imprescriptible and inalienable rights is the necessary condition in order that peace may reign in a society. I these basic rights all others are in a way derivatory and secondary. In a society in which these rights are not protected, the very idea of universality is dead, as soon as a small group of individuals set up for their own exclusive advantage a principle of discrimination whereby the rights and even the lives of others are made dependent on the whim of the stronger. Such a society cannot be at peace with itself: it has within it a principle leading to division. For the same reason, a political society can really collaborate in building international peace only if it is itself peaceful, that is to say if it takes seriously the advancement of human rights at home. To the extent that the rulers of a particular country apply themselves to building a fully just society, they are already contributing decisively to building an authentic, firmly based and lasting peace (cf. Encyclical Pacem in Terris, 11). Justice and peace between nations 10. While peace within individual nations is a necessary condition for the development of true peace, it is not enough in itself. The building of peace on a world scale cannot be the result of the separate desires of nations, for they are often ambiguous and sometimes contradictory. It was to make up for this lack that States provided themselves with appropriate international organizations, one of the chief aims of which is to harmonize the desires of different nations and cause them to .converge for the safeguarding of peace and for an increase of justice between nations. By the authority that they have gained and by their achievements, the great International Organizations have done remarkable work for peace. They have of course had failures; they have not been able to prevent all conflicts or put a speedy end to them. But they have helped to show the world that war, bloodshed and tears are not the way to end tensions. They have provided, so to speak, experimental proof that even on the world level people are able to combine their efforts and seek peace together. The peace dynamism of Christianity 11. At this point in my message I wish to address more especially my brothers and sisters in the Church. The Church supports and encourages all serious efforts for peace. She unhesitatingly proclaims that the activity of all those who devote the best of their energies to peace forms part

155

of Gods plan of salvation in Jesus Christ. But she reminds Christians that they have still greater reasons for being active witnesses of Gods gift of peace. In the first place, Christs word and example have given rise to new attitudes in favour of peace. Christ has taken the ethics of peace far beyond the ordinary attitudes of justice and understanding. At the beginning of his ministry he proclaimed: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God (Mt 5: 9). He sent his disciples to bring peace from house to house, from town to town (Mt 10: 11-13). He exhorted them to prefer peace to vengeance of any kind and even to certain legitimate claims on othersso great was his desire to tear from the human heart the roots of aggressiveness (Mt 5:38-42). He asked them to love those whom barriers of any sort have turned into enemies (Mt 5:43-48). He set up as examples people who were habitually despised (Lk 10:33; 17: 16). He exhorted people to be always humble and to forgive without any limit (cf. Mt 18:21-22). The attitude of sharing with those in utter wanton which he made the last judgment hinge (cf. Mt 25:31-46)was to make a radical contribution to the establishment of relations of fraternity. These appeals of Jesus and his example have had a widespread influence on the attitude of his disciples, as two millennia of history testify. But Christs work belongs to a very deep level, of the order of a mysterious transformation of hearts. He really brought peace among men with whom God is pleased in the words of the proclamation made at his birth (cf. Lk 2: 14), and this not only by revealing to them the Fathers love but above all by reconciling them with God through his sacrifice. For it was sin and hatred that were an obstacle to peace with God and with others: he destroyed them by the offering of his life on the Cross; he reconciled in one body those who were hostile (cf. Eph 2: 16; Rom 12: 5). His first words to his Apostles after he rose were: Peace be with you (Jn 20: 19). Those who accept the faith form in the Church a prophetic community: with the Holy Spirit communicated by Christ, after the Baptism that makes them part of the Body of Christ, they experience the peace given by God in the sacrament of Reconciliation and in Eucharistic communion; they proclaim the gospel of peace (Eph 6: 15); they try to live it from day to day, in actual practice; and they long for the time of total reconciliation when, by a new intervention of the living God who raises the dead, we shall be wholly open to God and our brothers and sisters. Such is the vision of faith which supports the activity of Christians on behalf of peace. Thus, by her very existence, the Church exists within the world as a society of people who are reconciled and at peace through the grace of Christ, in a communion of love and life with God and with all their brothers and sisters, beyond human barriers of every sort; in herself she is already, and she seeks to become ever more so in practice, a gift and leaven of peace offered by God to the whole of the human race. Certainly, the members of the Church are well aware that they are of ten still sinners, in this sphere too; at least they feel the grave responsibility of putting into practice this gift of peace. For this they must first overcome their own divisions, in order to set out without delay towards the fullness of unity in Christ; thus they collaborate with God in order to offer his peace to the world. They must also of course combine their efforts with the
156


The Church wishes her children to join, through their witness and their initiatives, the first rank of those preparing peace and causing it to reign.

efforts of all men and women of good will working for peace in the different spheres of society and international life. The Church wishes her children to join, through their witness and their initiatives, the first rank of those preparing peace and causing it to reign. At the same time, she is very aware that, on the spot, it is a difficult task, one that calls for much generosity, discernment and hope, as a real challenge. Peace as a constant challenge to Christians

12. Christian optimism, based on the glorious Cross of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, is no excuse for selfdeception. For Christians, peace on earth is always a challenge, because of the presence of sin in mans heart. Motivated by their faith and hope, Christians therefore apply themselves to promoting a more just society; they fight hunger, deprivation and disease; they are concerned about what happens to migrants, prisoners and outcasts (cf. Mt 25: 35-36). But they know that, while all these undertakings express something of the mercy and perfection of God (cf. Lk 6: 36; Mt 4: 48), they are always limited in their range, precarious in their results and ambiguous in their inspiration. Only God the giver of life, when he unites all things in Christ (cf. Eph 1: 10), will fulfil our ardent hope by himself bringing to accomplishment everything that he has undertaken in history according to his Spirit in the matter of justice and peace.

Although Christians put all their best energies into preventing war or stopping it, they do not deceive themselves about their ability to cause peace to triumph, nor about the effect of their efforts to this end. They therefore concern themselves with all human initiatives in favour of peace and very often take part in them; but they regard them with realism and humility. One could almost say that they relativize them in two senses: they relate them both to the sinful condition of humanity and to Gods saving plan. In the first place, Christians are aware that plans based on aggression, domination and the manipulation of others lurk in human hearts, and sometimes even secretly nourish human intentions, in spite of certain declarations or manifestations of a pacifist nature. For Christians know that in this world a totally and permanently peaceful human society is unfortunately a utopia, and that ideologies that hold up that prospect as easily attainable are based on hopes that cannot be realized, whatever the reason behind them. It is a question of a mistaken view of the human condition, a lack of application in considering the question as a whole; or it may be a case of evasion in order to calm fear, or in still other cases a matter of calculated self-interest. Christians are convinced, if only because they have learned from personal experience, that these deceptive hopes lead straight to the false peace of totalitarian regimes. But this realistic view in no way prevents Christians from working for peace; instead, it stirs up their ardour, for they also know that Christs victory over deception, hate and death gives those in love with peace a more decisive motive for action than what the
157

most generous theories about man have to offer; Christs victory likewise gives a hope more surely based than any hope held out by the most audacious dreams. This is why Christians, even as they strive to resist and prevent every form of warfare, have no hesitation in recalling that, in the name of an elementary requirement of justice, peoples have a right and even a duty to protect their existence and freedom by proportionate means against an unjust aggressor (cf. Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 79). However, in view of the difference between classical warfare and nuclear or bacteriological war a difference so to speak of nature and in view of the scandal of the arms race seen against the background of the needs of the Third World, this right, which is very real in principle, only underlines the urgency for world society to equip itself with effective means of negotiation. In this way the nuclear terror war is the most that haunts our time can encourage us to enrich our common barbarous and least heritage with a very simple discovery that is within our effective way of reach, namely that war is the most barbarous and least resolving conflicts effective way of resolving conflicts. More than ever before, human society is forced to provide itself with the means of consultation and dialogue which it needs in order to survive, and therefore with the institutions necessary for building up justice and peace.

May it also realize that this work is something beyond human powers! Prayer for peace 13. Throughout this message, I have appealed to the responsibility of people of good will, especially Christians, because God has indeed entrusted peace to men and women. With the realism and hope that faith makes possible, I have tried to draw the attention of citizens and leaders to a certain number of achievements or attitudes that are already feasible and capable of giving a solid foundation to peace. But, over and above or even in the midst of this necessary activity, which might seem to depend primarily on people, peace is above all a gift of God something that must never be forgottenand must always be implored from his mercy. This conviction is certainly seen to have animated people of all civilizations who have given peace the first place in their prayers. Its expression is found in all religions. How many men, having experienced murderous conflicts and concentration camps, how many women and children, distressed by wars, have in times past turned to the God of peace! Today, when the perils have taken on a seriousness all their own by reason of their extent and radical nature, and when the difficulties of building peace have taken on a new nature and seem often insoluble, many individuals may spontaneously find themselves resorting to prayer, even though prayer may be something unfamiliar.

158

Yes, our future is in the hands of God, who alone gives true peace. And when human hearts sincerely think of work for peace it is still Gods grace that inspires and strengthens those thoughts. All people are in this sense invited to echo the sentiments of Saint Francis of Assisi, the eighth centenary of whose birth we are celebrating: Lord, make us instruments of your peace: where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; when discord rages, let us build peace. Christians love to pray for peace, as they make their own the prayer of so many psalms punctuated by supplications for peace and repeated with the universal love of Jesus. We have here a shared and very profound element for all ecumenical activities. Other believers all over the world are also awaiting from Almighty God the gift of peace, and, more or less consciously, many other people of good will are ready to make the same prayer in the secret of their hearts. May fervent supplications thus rise to God from the four corners of the earth! This will already create a fine unanimity on the road to peace. And who could doubt that God will hear and grant this cry of his children: Lord, grant us peace! Grant us your peace! From the Vatican, 8 December 1981. JOANNES PAULUS PP. II

159

1983: DIALOGUE FOR PEACE, A CHALLENGE FOR OUR TIME

Dialogue is necessary for peace. Lack of dialogue leads to war, for when men prefer weapons to understanding, peace is lost. We must give everything to avoid the horror of war. We must turn to the strength of dialogue, which stops war by reconciling legitimate differences. This dialogue is always possible, even once war has begun. For only dialogue settles a war for good. Dialogue is always possible, amidst sin and failure, because human nature is always capable of reason and goodness. Sin makes dialogue demanding, but sin cannot destroy our hopes for peace. True dialogue is a form of ethical thinking, where two parties listen carefully to one another in order to find the s9olution that will ensure the good of all. We must not refuse to listen, to think of ourselves as the ultimate standard of Justice, to even lie to get what we want. Ideologies try to prevent dialogue and peace and brotherhood, and we must resist them. For dialogue can lead to the protection of rights, the advancement of justice, and the demilitar4ization of our world. We are all called to dialogue, especially those redeemed by the Holy Spirit, and made capable of speaking and listening to all, no matter what obstacle present.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1983 DIALOGUE FOR PEACE, A CHALLENGE FOR OUR TIME 1. In the threshold of the New Year 1983, for the sixteenth World Day of Peace, I present to you this message on the theme Dialogue for Peace, a challenge for our time. I am addressing it to all those who are, on the one hand, a people responsible for peace: those who preside over the destiny of peoples, international officials, politicians, diplomats. But I am also addressing it to the citizens of each country. All are in fact called by the need to prepare true peace, to maintain it or to reestablish it, on solid and just foundations. Now I am deeply convinced that dialogue - true dialogue - is an essential condition for such peace. Yes, this dialogue is necessary, not only opportune. It is difficult, but it is possible, inspite of the obstacles that realism obliges us to consider. It therefore represents a true challenge, which I invite you to take up. And I do this without any other purpose than that of contributing, myself and the Holy See, to peace, by taking

160

very much to heart the destiny of humanity, as the heir of the message of Christ and as the first one responsible for that message, which is above all a message of Peace for all men. People's aspiration for peace and dialogue 2. I am sure that in this I am voicing the basic aspiration of the men and women of our time. Is not this desire for peace affirmed by all leaders in their good wishes to their nations or in the declarations which they address to other countries? What political party will abstain from including in its programme the quest for peace? As for the International Organizations, they were created to promote and guarantee peace, and they maintain this objective inspite of setbacks. Public opinion itself, when it is not artificially aroused by some passionate feeling of pride or unjust frustration, opts for peaceful solutions. In addition, more and more movements work, even with a lucidity or sincerity that can sometimes leave much to be desired, in order to cause people to realize the need to eliminate, not only all war, but everything which can lead to war. Citizens, in general, wish there to be a climate of peace which will guarantee their search for well-being, particularly when they find themselves faced - as in our own days - by an economic crisis which threatens all workers. But it would be necessary to go to the logical conclusion of this aspiration, which is happily very widespread: peace will not be established, nor will it be maintained, unless one takes the means. And the means par excellence is adopting an attitude of dialogue, that is of patiently introducing the mechanisms and phases of dialogue wherever peace is threatened or already compromised, in families, in society, between countries or between blocs of countries. Past experience shows the importance of dialogue 3. The experience of history, even recent history, shows in fact that dialogue is necessary for true peace. It would be easy dialogue is necessary to find cases where the conflict seemed fatal, but where war for true peace was avoided or abandoned, because the parties believed in the value of dialogue and practised this dialogue, in the course of long and honest discussions. On the contrary, where there have been conflicts - and, contrary to a widespread opinion, one can, alas, number more than a hundred and fifty armed conflicts since the Second World War - it was that dialogue did not really take place, or that it was falsified, made into a snare, or deliberately reduced. The year which has just ended has once more offered the spectacle of violence and war. People have shown that they preferred to use their arms rather than to try to understand one another. Yes, side by side with signs of hope, the year 1982 will leave in many human families a memory of desolation and ruin, a bitter taste of tears and death.

Dialogue for peace is necessary

161

4. Now, who then would dare to make light of such wars, some of which are still going on, or of states of war, or of the deep frustrations that wars leave behind? Who would dare to envisage, without trembling, yet more extensive and much more terrible wars, which still threaten? Is it not necessary to give everything in order to avoid war, even the "limited war" thus euphemistically called by those who are not directly concerned in it, given the evil that every war represents its price that has to be paid in human lives, in suffering, in the devastation of what would be necessary for human life and development, without counting the upset of necessary tranquillity, the deterioration of the social fabric, the hardening of mistrust and hatred which wars maintain towards one's neighbour? And today when even conventional wars become so murderous, when one knows the tragic consequences that nuclear war would have, the need to stop war or to turn aside its threat is all the more imperious. And thus we see as more fundamental the need to have recourse to dialogue, to its political strength, which must avoid recourse to arms. Dialogue for peace is possible

Is it not necessary to give everything in order to avoid war, even the "limited war" thus euphemistically called by those who are not directly concerned in it, given the evil that every war represents its price that has to be paid in human lives, in suffering

5. But some people today, who consider themselves realists, are doubtful about the possibility of dialogue and its effectiveness, not least when the positions are so tense and irreconcilable that they seem to allow no space for any agreement. How many negative experiences, how many repeated setbacks, would seem to support this disillusioned viewpoint! And yet, dialogue for peace is possible, always possible. It is not a utopia. Moreover, even when dialogue has not seemed possible, and when one has come to the point of armed confrontation, has it not been necessary, after all, after the devastation of war, which has shown the power of the conqueror, but has resolved nothing regarding the rights which were contested, has it not been necessary to seek for dialogue? To tell the truth the conviction which I am affirming here does not repose upon this fatality, but upon a reality: on a consideration of the profound nature of the human person. Those who share the Christian faith will be more easily persuaded of this, even if they also believe in the congenital weakness and sin which mocks the human heart since the beginning. But every person, whether a believer or not, while remaining prudent and clearsighted concerning the possible hardening of his brother's heart, can and must preserve enough confidence in man, in his capacity of being reasonable, in his sense of what is good, of justice, of fairness, in his possibility of brotherly love and hope, which are never totally perverted, in order to aim at recourse to dialogue and to the possible resumption of dialogue. Yes, people are finally capable of overcoming divisions, conflicts of interests, even if the oppositions would seem radical ones - especially when each party is convinced that it is
162

defending a just cause - if they believe in the virtue of dialogue, if they accept to meet face to face to seek a peaceful and reasonable solution for conflicts. It is even more necessary that they should not allow themselves to be discouraged by real or apparent failures. It is all the more necessary that they should consent to begin again ceaselessly to propose true dialogue - by removing obstacles and by eliminating the defects of dialogue which I shall speak about later and to travel to the end this single road which leads to peace, with all its demands and conditions. The virtues of true dialogue 6. I therefore consider it useful to recall at this point the qualities of true dialogue. They apply in the first place to dialogue between individuals. But I am thinking also and especially of dialogue between social groups, between political forces in a nation, between States within the international community. They also apply to dialogue between the vast human groupings which are distinguished from one another and which face one another on the levels of race, culture, ideology or religion. So the students of warfare recognize that most conflicts find their roots here, at the same time as being connected with the great present day antagonisms of East-West on the one hand, North-South on the other. Dialogue is a central and essential element of ethical thinking among people, whoever they may be. Under the aspect of an exchange, of communication between human beings that language makes possible, it is in fact a common quest. Basically, it presupposes the search for what is true, good and just for every person, for every group and every society, in the grouping which one is a member of or in the grouping which presents itself as the opposing one. In therefore demands first of all openness and welcome: that each party should explain its thoughts, but should also listen to the explanation of the situation such as the other party describes it, sincerely feels it, with the real problems which are proper to the party, its rights, the injustices of which it is aware, the reasonable solutions which it suggests. How could peace become established while one party has not even taken the trouble to consider the conditions of the other party's existence! To engage in dialogue thus presupposes that each party should accept the difference and the specific nature of the other party. It also presupposes that each party should become really aware of what separates it from the other, and that it should assume it, with a risk of tension that comes from it, without renouncing through cowardice or constraint what it knows to be true and just, for this would result in a shaky compromise. And, on the other hand, one should not attempt to reduce the other party to a mere object, but one should consider the party to be an intelligent, free and responsible subject. Dialogue is at the same time the search for what is and which remains common to people, even in the midst of tensions, opposition and conflicts. In this sense, it is to make the other party a
163

neighbour. It is to accept its contribution, it is to share with it responsibility before truth and justice. It is to suggest and to study all the possible formulas for honest reconciliation, while being able to link to the just defence of the interests and honour of the party which one represents the no less just understanding and respect for the reasons of the other party, as well as the demands of the general good which is common to both. Furthermore, is it not more and more obvious that all the peoples of the earth find themselves in a situation of mutual interdependence on the economic, political and cultural levels? Any one who attempted to free himself from this solidarity would soon suffer from it: himself.

Finally, true dialogue is the search for what is good by peaceful means.

Finally, true dialogue is the search for what is good by peaceful means. It is the persistent determination to have recourse to all the possible formulas of negotiation, mediation and arbitration, to act in such a way that the factors which bring people together will be victorious over the factors of division and hate. It is a recognition of the inalienable dignity of human beings. It rests upon respect for human life. It is a wager upon the social nature of people, upon their calling to go forward together, with continuity, by a converging meeting of minds, wills, hearts, towards the goal that the Creator has fixed for them. This goal is to make the world a place for everybody to live in and worthy of everybody.

The political virtue of such a dialogue could not fail to bear fruit for peace. My esteemed predecessor Paul VI devoted to dialogue a large part of his first Encyclical Ecclesiam Suam. He wrote: "Openness to dialogue which is disinterested, objective and frank, is in itself a declaration in favour of free and honest peace. It excludes pretense, rivalry, deceit and betrayal" (AAS 56, 1964, p. 654). This virtue of dialogue demands of the political leaders of today much clearsightedness, honesty and courage, not only with regard to other peoples, but with regard to the public opinion of their own people. It presupposes often a true conversion. But there is no other possibility in the face of the threat of war. And once again, it is not an illusion. It would be easy to quote those of our contemporaries who have gained honour by practising it thus. Obstacles to dialogue, false forms of dialogue 7. On the other hand, it seems to me salutary also to condemn particular obstacles to the dialogue for peace. I am not speaking about the difficulties inherent in political dialogue such as the frequent difficulty of reconciling concrete interests which oppose one another; there is also the frequent difficulty of emphasizing too precarious conditions of existence without being able to point to injustice properly speaking on the part of others.

164

I am thinking of what damages or prevents the normal process of dialogue. I have already let it be understood that dialogue is blocked by an a priori decision to concede dialogue is blocked by nothing, by a refusal to listen, by a claim to be - oneself an a priori decision to and only oneself - the measure of justice. This attitude can concede nothing, by a conceal quite simply the blind and deaf selfishness of a refusal to listen, by a people, or more often the will to power of its leaders. It claim to be - oneself and also happens that this attitude coincides with an only oneself - the exaggerated and out-of-date concept of the sovereignty and measure of justice security of the State. The State then runs the risk of becoming the object of a so to speak unquestionable worship. It runs the risk of justifying the most questionable undertaking. Orchestrated by the powerful means at the disposal of propaganda, such worship which is not to be confused with properly understood patriotic attachment to one's own nation can inhibit the critical sense and moral sense of the more aware citizens and can encourage them to go to war.

For all the more reason one must mention the tactical and deliberate lie, which misuses language, which has recourse to the most sophisticated techniques of propaganda, which deceives and distorts dialogue and incites to aggression. Finally, while certain parties are fostered by ideologies which, in spite of their declarations, are opposed to the dignity of the human person, to his or her just aspirations according to the healthy principles of reason, of the natural and eternal law (cf. Pacem in Terris, AAS 55, 1963, p. 300), ideologies which see in struggle the motive force of history, that see in force the source of rights, that see in the discernment of the enemy the ABC of politics, dialogue is fixed and sterile. Or, if it still exists, it is a superficial and falsified reality. It becomes very difficult, not to say impossible, therefore. There follows almost a complete lack of communication between countries and blocs. Even the international institutions are paralyzed. And the setback to dialogue then runs the risk of serving the arms race. However, even in what can be considered as an impasse to the extent that individuals support such ideologies, the attempt to have a lucid dialogue seems still necessary in order to unblock the situation and to work for the possible establishment of peace on particular points. This is to be done by counting upon common sense, on the possibilities of danger for everyone and on the just aspirations to which the peoples themselves largely adhere. Dialogue on the national level 8. Dialogue for peace must be established in the first place on the national level in order to resolve social conflicts, in order to seek the common good. While bearing in mind the interests of different groups, the common effort for peace must be made ceaselessly, in the exercise of
165

freedoms and duties which are democratic for all, thanks to the structures of participation and thanks to the many means of reconciliation between employers and workers, in the manner of respecting and associating the cultural, ethnic and religious groups which make up a nation. When unfortunately dialogue between government and people is absent, social peace is threatened or absent; It is like a state of war. But history and present day observation show that many countries have succeeded or are succeeding in establishing a true working together, to resolve the conflicts which arise within them, or even to prevent them, by acquiring means of dialogue which are truly effective. They also give themselves a legislation which is in constant evolution, which appropriate jurisdictions cause to be respected in order to correspond to the common good. Dialogue for peace on the international level 9. If dialogue has shown itself to be producing results on the national level why should it not be so on the international level. It is true that the problems are more complicated, the parties and interests in question are more numerous and less homogeneous. But the means par excellence always remains honest and patient dialogue. Where this is missing between nations, every effort must be made to restore it. Where it is insufficient, it must be perfected, dialogue should never be set aside by having recourse to the force of arms in order to resolve conflicts. And the great responsibility which is here engaged is not only that of the opposing parties, whose passion it is difficult to dominate. It is also and much more the responsibility of more powerful countries which fail to help them to restore dialogue, which push them into war, or which tempt them by arms trading. Dialogue between nations must be based upon the strong conviction that the good of the people cannot be finally accomplished against the good of another people: all have the same rights, the same claims to a worthy life for their citizens. It is also essential to make progress in overcoming artificial divisions, inherited from the past, and the antagonism of blocs. Greater recognition must be given to the increasing interdependence between the nations. The object of international dialogue 10. If one wishes to state exactly the object of international dialogue, one can say that it must be notably concerned with the rights of man, with justice between peoples, with economics, with disarmament, and with the common international good. Yes, it must be directed towards the recognition of individuals and human groups in their specific nature; in their original character, with the area of freedom which they need, and notably in the exercise of their basic rights. On this subject, one can hope for an international juridical system which is more receptive to the appeals of those whose rights are violated and one can hope for jurisdictions which have effective means capable of making their authority respected.

166

If injustice in all its forms is the first source of violence and war it goes without saying that, in a general way, dialogue for peace cannot be dissociated from dialogue for justice, on behalf of peoples who suffer frustration and domination by others. Dialogue for peace will also necessarily involve a discussion of the rules which govern economic life. For the temptation to violence and war will always be present in societies where greed and the search for material goods impels a wealthy minority to refuse the mass of people the satisfaction of the most elementary rights to food, education, health and life (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 69). This is true at the level of every country; but also in the relationships between countries, especially if bilateral relations continue to be prevalent. It is here that openness to multilateral relationships, notably in the framework of the International Organizations, brings an opportunity for dialogue which is less burdened by inequalities and therefore more favourable to justice. Obviously the object of international dialogue will also concern itself with the dangerous arms race in such a way as to reduce it progressively, as I suggested in the message I sent to the United Nations Organization last June, and in conformity with the message that the learned members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences took on my behalf to the leaders of the nuclear powers. Instead of being at the service of people, the economy is becoming militarized. Development and well-being are subordinated to security. Science and technology are being degraded into the auxiliaries of war. The Holy See will not grow weary in insisting upon the need to put a stop to the arms race through progressive negotiations, by appealing for a reciprocity. The Holy See will continue to encourage all steps, even the smallest one, of reasonable dialogue in this very important sphere. But the object of dialogue for peace cannot be reduced to a condemnation of the arms race; it is a question of searching for a whole more just international order, consensus on the more equitable sharing of goods, services, knowledge, information, and a firm determination to order these latter to the common good. I know that such a dialogue of which the North-South dialogue forms a part, is very complex; it must be resolutely pursued, in order to prepare the conditions for true peace as we approach the third millennium. Appeals to leaders 11. After these considerations my message is intended to be above all an appeal to take up the challenge to dialogue for peace. I address it in the first place to you, the Heads of State and Government! May you be able, in order that your people may know real social peace, to permit all the conditions for dialogue and common effort which, when justly established, would not compromise but would favour, in the long term, the common good of the nation, in freedom and independence! May you be able to conduct this dialogue on equal terms with the other countries, and assist the parties in conflict to find the paths of dialogue, of reasonable reconciliation and of just peace!
167

I also appeal to you, the diplomats, whose noble profession it is, among other things, to deal with disputed points and to seek to resolve them through dialogue and negotiation, in order to avoid recourse to arms, or to take the place of the belligerents. It is a work of patience and perseverance, which the Holy See values all the more in view of the fact that it itself is engaged in diplomatic relationships, in which it seeks to cause dialogue to be adopted as the most suitable means of overcoming differences . I wish above all to repeat my confidence in you, the leaders and members of the International Organizations, and in you, the international officials! In the course of the last ten years, your Organizations have too often been the object of attempts at manipulation on the part of nations wishing to exploit such bodies. However it remains true that the present multiplicity of violent clashes, divisions and blocks on which bilateral relations founder, offer the great International Organizations the opportunity to engage upon a qualitative change in their activities, even to reform on certain points their own structures in order to take into account new realities and to enjoy effective power. Whether they are regional or worldwide, your Organizations have an exceptional chance to seize: to regain, in all its fullness, the mission which is theirs by virtue of their origin, their charter and their mandate; to become the places and instruments par excellence for true dialogue for peace. Far from allowing themselves to be overcome by paralyzing pessimism and discouragement, they have the possibility of affirming themselves still more as centres of encounter, where one can envisage the most audacious questioning of the practices which today prevail in political, economic, monetary and cultural exchanges. I also make a particular appeal to you who work in the mass media! The sad events which the world has experienced in recent times have confirmed the importance of enlightened opinion in order that a conflict might not degenerate into war. Public opinion, in fact, can put a brake on warlike tendencies or, on the contrary, support these same tendencies to the point of blindness . Now, as those responsible for radio and television broadcasts, and for the press, you have an ever more preponderant role in this sphere; I encourage you to weigh your responsibility and to show with the greatest objectivity, the rights, the problems and the attitudes of each of the parties in order to promote understanding and dialogue between groups, countries and civilizations. Finally, I must address myself to every man and woman and also to you, the young; you have many opportunities to break down the barriers of selfishness, lack of understanding and aggression by your way of carrying on a dialogue, every day, in your family, your village, your neighbourhood, in the associations in your city, your region, without forgetting the Nongovernmental Organizations. Dialogue for peace is the task of everyone. Particular reasons for christians to take up the challenge of dialogue 12. And now, I exhort you especially, the Christians, to take your part in this dialogue in accordance with the responsibilities that are yours, to pursue them with that quality of openness,
168

frankness and justice that is called for by the charity of Christ, to take them up again ceaselessly, with the tenacity and hope which faith enables you to have. You also know the need for conversion and prayer, for the main obstacle to the establishment of justice and peace is to be found in man's heart, in sin (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 10), as it was in the heart of Cain when he refused dialogue with his brother Abel (cf . Genesis 4: 6-9). Jesus has taught us how to listen, to share, to act towards other people as one would wish for oneself, to settle differences while one travels together (cf. Mt 5: 25 ), to pardon. And above all, by his death and Resurrection, he came to deliver us from the sin which sets up one against the other, to give us his peace, to break down the wall which separates the peoples. This is why the Church does not cease to implore the Lord to grant people the gift of his Peace, as the Message of last year emphasized. People are no longer vowed to not understanding one another or to being divided from one another, as at Babel (cf. Genesis 11:7-9). In Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit caused the first disciples of the Lord to rediscover, beyond the diversity of languages, the royal road to peace in brotherhood. The Church remains the witness of this great hope. *** May Christians be ever more aware of their vocation to be, against winds and tides, the humble shepherds of that peace which, on Christmas night, God entrusted to us! And, with them, may all men and women of good will be enabled to take up this challenge for our time, even in the midst of the most difficult situations, that is to say, may they be enabled to do everything in order to avoid war and to commit themselves for this purpose, with increased conviction, to the path which removes the threat of war: dialogue for peace! From the Vatican, 8 December 1982. JOANNES PAULUS PP. II

169

1984: FROM A NEW HEART, PEACE IS BORN

Many threats face our world. War seems inevitable. We feel helpless to stop it. Why? Where do our conflicts come from? From the human heart, broken, sinful. We are seduced in our deepest self by passions, ideologies, and lies. Injustices fuel hatred, and even worldly liberation changes nothing, for evil remains in hearts. We must repeat, convert, change our hearts through giving in to truth, to a new freedom of spirit that respects the rights of every person, that seeks solidarity with the poor, that rejects war as a solution, that is compelled by love for all. War must be made an unthinkable choice, having been replaced by cooperation dialogue and disarmament. Christians know that this new heart is a gift of God found in prayer and Christs redemption and love. We must be agents of conversion and peace with the world. We must act. No to war! No to hatred! Yes to love, Yes to God!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1984 "FROM A NEW HEART, PEACE IS BORN" To the political leaders of the nations, To those active in economic, social and cultural life, To the young, who hope for a world of fraternity and solidarity, To all of you, men and women, who desire peace! I address myself to you at the dawn of the year 1984 which presents itself everywhere full of questions and anxiety, but at the same time rich in hope and prospects. My appeal on the occasion of the l7th World Day of Peace springs from the depths of my heart, and I know that I re-echo the desire of many men and women who yearn for fraternity in a divided world . The message that I send to you is both simple and demanding, for it concerns each of you personally. It invites each one to do his or her share in the establishment of peace in the world without passing this duty on to others. The theme that I propose today for your consideration and action is this: "From a new heart, peace is born". 1. A paradoxical situation

170

Today, one cannot help being struck by shadows and threats, but at the same time without forgetting the lights and hopes. Truly, peace is fragile, and injustice abounds. Implacable wars are being waged in several countries; and they continue despite the accumulation of death, grief and ruin; and without any apparent progress towards a solution. Violence and fanatical terrorism do not spare other countries, and it is the innocent who too often pay the price, while passions increase and fear risks leading to all sorts of extremism. In many regions human rights are violated, freedom is mocked, people are imprisoned unjustly, summary executions are perpetrated for partisan reasons and, in this twentieth century which has seen a multiplication of Declarations and of courts of appeal, humanity is ill-informed, or if it is informed, it remains almost helpless to stop these abuses. Numerous countries are engaged in the painful struggle to overcome hunger, disease and underdevelopment, while the rich countries reinforce their position and the arms race continues to absorb unjustifiably resources that could be better used. The build-up of conventional, chemical, bacteriological and, especially, nuclear weapons causes an oppressive threat to weigh upon the future of the nations, notably in Europe, and causes justifiable concern to their population. A new and grave uneasiness fills public opinion, and I understand it. The contemporary world is, as it were, imprisoned in a web of tensions. The tension between what is commonly called East and West affects not only relations between the countries directly involved; it also affects and even aggravates many other difficult situations in other parts of the world. Faced with such a situation, we must take note of the formidable danger represented by this growing tension and large-scale polarization, especially when we consider the unprecedented means of massive and unheard-of destruction which are available. And yet, though fully aware of this danger, the protagonists experience great difficulty, not to say helplessness, in halting this process, in finding ways to reduce these tensions by means of concrete steps towards deescalation, towards the reduction of the levels of armaments, towards agreements which would make it possible to devote more efforts to the priority aims of economic, social and cultural progress. Although the tension between East and West, with its ideological background, monopolizes the attention and fuels the apprehension of a great number of countries, especially in the northern hemisphere, it should not overshadow another more fundamental tension between North and South which affects the very life of a great part of humanity. Here it is the question of the growing contrast between the countries that have had an opportunity to accelerate their development and increase their wealth, and the countries locked in a condition of underdevelopment. This is another gigantic source of opposition, bitterness, revolt or fear, especially as it is fed by many kinds of injustice. It is in the face of these enormous problems that I propose the theme of a renewal of "heart". It may be thought that the proposal is too simple and the means disproportionate. And yet, if one reflects well on it, the analysis outlined here permits us to go to the very depths of the problem
171

and is capable of calling into question the presuppositions that precisely constitute a threat to peace. Humanity's helplessness to resolve the existing tensions reveals that the obstacles, and likewise the hopes, come from something deeper than the systems themselves. 2. War springs from the human spirit

war has its origins in the human heart. It is man who kills and not his sword, or in our day, his missiles.

It is my deep conviction, it is the leitmotiv of the Bible and of Christian thought, and is, I hope, the intuition of many men and women of good will, that war has its origins in the human heart. It is man who kills and not his sword, or in our day, his missiles. The "heart" in the biblical sense is the innermost depth of the human person, in his or her relationship to good, to others, to God. It is not primarily a question of affectivity, but of conscience, of convictions, of the system of thought to which one is bound, as also the passions which influence one. In his heart, man is sensitive to the absolute values of good, to justice, brotherhood and peace.

The disorder of the heart is notably the disorder of the conscience when the latter calls good or bad what it intends to choose for the satisfaction of its material interests or its desire for power. Even the complex nature of the exercise of power does not exclude that there exists always the responsibility of the individual conscience in the preparation, beginning or extension of a conflict. The fact that responsibility is shared by a group does not alter this principle. But this conscience is often solicited, not to say subjugated, by socio-political and ideological systems that are themselves the work of the human spirit. To the extent to which people allow themselves to be seduced by systems that present a global vision of humanity that is exclusive and almost Manichean, to the extent that they make the struggle against others, their elimination or enslavement the condition of progress, they shut themselves up within a war mentality which aggravates tensions and they reach the point of being almost incapable of dialogue. Sometimes their unconditional attachment to these systems becomes a form of power-worship, the worship of strength and wealth, a form of slavery that takes away freedom from the leaders themselves. Over and above ideological systems properly so-called, the passions that disturb the human heart and incline it to war are also of many kinds. People can allow themselves to be carried away by a sense of racial supremacy and by hatred of others for this reason, or by jealousy, envy of the land and resources of others, or in a general way, by the desire for power, by pride, by a desire to extend their control over other peoples whom they despise. Certainly, passions are often born of the real frustrations of individuals and peoples when others have refused to guarantee their existence or when social conditions are slow to adopt democracy or the sharing of wealth. Injustice is already a great vice in the heart of the exploiter. But passions are sometimes fed deliberately. It is difficult for wars to start if the people on both sides
172

do not have powerful feelings of mutual hostility, or if they are not convinced that the claims of their opponents threaten their vital interests. This explains the ideological manipulations resorted to by those with aggressive intentions. Once fighting has begun, hostility is bound to increase, for it is nourished by the sufferings and atrocities experienced by each side. Psychoses of hatred can then result. In the final analysis, therefore, the fact of recourse to violence and to war comes from man's sin, from his blindness of spirit and the disorder of his heart, which invoke the motive of injustice in order to spread or harden tension or conflict. Yes, war is born from the sinful heart of man, ever since the jealousy and violence that filled the heart of Cain when he met his brother Abel, according to the ancient biblical narrative. Is it not a question really of an even more profound rupture, when people become incapable of agreeing on what is good and evil, on the values of life of which God is the source and guarantor? Does not this explain the drifting of man's "heart", when he fails to make peace with his fellowman on the basis of truth, with uprightness of spirit and goodness of heart? The re-establishment of peace would itself be of short duration and quite illusory if there were not a true change of heart. History has taught us that, even in the case of countries that have been occupied or where rights have been suppressed, the "liberation" for which people had yearned for so long has proved a disappointment, in that the leaders and the citizens have held on to their narrowness of spirit, their intolerance and their hardness, without overcoming their antagonisms. In the Bible itself, the Prophets denounced these ephemeral liberations when there was no real change of heart, no real "conversion". 3. From a new heart, peace is born If the present systems generated by the "heart" of man turn out to be incapable of ensuring peace, then it is the "heart" of man that must be renewed, in order to renew systems, institutions and methods. Christian faith has a word for this fundamental change of heart: it is "conversion". Speaking generally, it is a matter of rediscovering clearsightedness and impartiality with freedom of spirit, the sense of justice with respect for the rights of man, the sense of equity with global solidarity between the rich and the poor, mutual trust and fraternal love. In the first place individuals and nations must acquire a true freedom of spirit in order to become conscious of the sterile attitudes of the past, of the biased and partial character of philosophical and social systems which begin from debatable pnemises and which reduce man and history to a closed system of materialistic forces, which rely on nothing but the force of
173

it is the "heart" of man that must be renewed, in order to renew systems, institutions and methods. Christian faith has a word for this fundamental change of heart: it is "conversion".

arms and the power of the economy, which shut human beings into categories in opposition to each other, which present onesided solutions, which ignore the complex reality of the life of nations and hinder their being treated as free. So a re-examination is needed of these systems that manif estly lead to deadlock, that f reeze dialogue and understanding, develop mistrust, increase threats and dangers, without resolving the real problems, without offering true security, without making people truly happy, peaceful and free. This transformation in depth of the spirit and the heart certainly calls for great courage, the courage of humility and clearmindedness. It must influence the collective mind, by first touching the conscience of the individual. Is this an impossible hope? The impotence and danger in which our contemporaries find themselves urge them not to put off this return to the truth which alone will make them free and capable of better systems. This is the first condition for creating the "new heart". The other positive elements are well known. It is enough to mention them. Peace is authentic if it is the fruit of justice, Opus iustitiae pax, as the Prophet Isaiah said (cf. Is 32, 17): justice between social partners and between peoples. And a society is just and human if it respects the fundamental rights of the human person. Moreover, the spirit of war rises and grows strong where the inalienable rights of man are violated. Even if dictatorship and totalitarianism temporarily suppress the complaint of exploited and oppressed human beings, the just person clings to the conviction that nothing can justify this violation of the rights of man; he has the courage to intercede for others who suffer and he refuses to surrender in the face of injustice, to compromise with it; and likewise, however paradoxical it may appear, the person who deeply desires peace rejects any kind of pacifism which is cowardice or the simple preservation of tranquillity. In fact those who are tempted to impose their domination will always encounter the resistance of intelligent and courageous men and women, prepared to defend freedom in order to promote justice.

the new heart seeks to banish the fear and psychosis of war. It replaces the axiom which holds that peace results from the balance of arms, with the principle that true peace can be built up only in mutual trust

Equality also demands a strengthening of the relationships of justice and solidarity with poor countries, and especially those experiencing poverty and famine. The phrase of Paul VI has become henceforth the conviction of many: "Development is the new name for peace". The rich countries then emerge from their collective egoism in order to think in new terms about exchanges and mutual aid, opening themselves to a worldwide horizon. Still more, the new heart seeks to banish the fear and psychosis of war. It replaces the axiom which holds that peace results from the balance of arms, with the principle that true peace can be built up only in mutual trust (cf. Ioannis XXIII, Pacem in Terris, 113 ). Certainly, it remains alert and clearsighted in order to detect lies and manipulation, and in order to go forward
174

with prudence. But it dares to undertake and ceaselessly resume dialogue, which was the subject of my message last year. In a word, the new heart is the heart which allows itself to be inspired by love. Already Pius XI stated that there cannot "be true external peace between individuals and peoples where the spirit of peace does not possess minds and hearts..., minds, in order to recognize and respect the rights of justice; hearts, in order that justice be linked with charity and that charity may even prevail over justice, for if peace must be the work and fruit of justice..., it belongs rather to charity than to justice" (Pii XI, Allocutio, die 24 dec. 1930: AAS 22 [1930], p. 535). It is a question of renouncing violence, falsehood and hatred, of becoming - in intentions, feelings and whole conduct - a fraternal being, one who recognizes the dignity and the needs of the other person, and seeks to cooperate with him or her in order to create a world of peace. 4. Appeal to political leaders and those who form public opinion As it is necessary to acquire a new heart, to promote a new mentality of peace, all men and women, whatever their place in society, truly can and must assume their share of responsibility in the construction of a true peace, in the circle where they live, in the family, at school, in business, in the city. In their cares, conversations and actions, they must feel concerned for all their brothers and sisters who are part of the same human family, even if they live at the other end of the world. But obviously responsibility has various degrees. The responsibility of Heads of State, of political leaders, is primary for the establishment and development of peaceful relations between the different parts of the nation and between peoples. They more than others must be convinced that war is in itself irrational and that the ethical principle of the peaceful settlement of conflicts is the only way worthy of man. Of course, one is obliged to take into consideration the massive presence of violence in human history. It is the sense of reality in the service of the fundamental concern for justice which forces one to maintain the principle of legitimate defence in this history. But the dreadful risks of the arms of massive destruction must lead to the working out of processes of cooperation and disarmament which will make war in practice unthinkable. Peace must be won. All the more so, the conscience of political leaders must forbid them to allow themselves to be carried away in dangerous adventures in which passion overrides justice. They must not sacrifice uselessly the lives of their fellow-citizens in such adventures, or provoke conflicts among others, or use the pretext of the
175

war is in itself irrational . . . the dreadful risks of the arms of massive destruction must lead to the working out of processes of cooperation and disarmament which will make war in practice unthinkable.

precariousness of peace in one region in order to extend their authority into new territories. These leaders must weigh all this in their minds and consciences, and exclude political opportunism; they will render account for this to their peoples and to God. But I say again that peace is the duty of everyone. The International Organizations also have a large role to play in order to make universal solutions prevail, above partisan points of view. And my appeal is directed especially to all those who exercise through the media an influence on public opinion, all those who are engaged in the education of young people and adults: it is to them that is entrusted the formation of the spirit of peace. In society, can one not count especially on the young? In the face of the threatening future which they foresee, they certainly aspire more than others to peace, and many of them are prepared to devote their generosity and their energies to peace. Let them show inventiveness at its service, without abandoning clearsightedness, and so let them show the courage to weigh up all the aspects of long-term solutions! In short, everyone, all men and women, must contribute to peace, contributing their particular sensitivities and playing their particular roles, Thus women, who are intimately connected to the mystery of life, can do much to advance the spirit of peace, in their care to ensure the preservation of life and in their conviction that real love is the only power which can make the world liveable for everyone. 5. Appeal to Christians Christians, disciples of Jesus, caught up in the tensions of our age, we must recall that there is no happiness except for the "peacemakers" (cf. Mt 5, 9). The Catholic Church is celebrating the Holy Year of the Redemption: the whole Church is invited to allow herself to be taken over by the Saviour who said to the people, as he went to the extreme of love: "My peace I give you" (cf . Jn 14, 27). In her, all must share with their brothers and sisters the proclamation of salvation and the vigour of hope. The Synod of Bishops on Reconciliation and Penance recently recalled the first words of Christ: "Repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mk 1, 15). The message of the Synod Fathers shows us on which road we must go forward in order to be true peacemakers: "The Word calls us to repent. 'Change your heart, it tells us, seek pardon, and be reconciled with the Father'. The plan of the Father for our society is that we live as one family in justice, truth, freedom and love" (Cf. Nuntius Patrum Synodalium ad Populum Dei, die 29 oct. 1983). This family will only be united in deep peace if we hear the call to return to the Father, to be reconciled with God himself . Answering this call, cooperating with God's plan is to allow the Lord to convert us . Let us not count on our power alone, nor only on our so often failing will. Let us allow our lives to be transformed, for "all this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor 5, 18).

176

Let us rediscover the power of prayer: to pray is to be reconciled with him whom we invoke, whom we meet, who makes us live. To experience prayer is to accept the grace which changes us; the Spirit, united to our spirit, commits us to conform our life with the Word of God. To pray is to enter into the action of God upon history: he, the sovereign actor of history, has wished to make people his collaborators.

If Christ's law of love is our law, shall we remain silent and inert while the wounded world looks to us to join the front ranks of those who are building peace?

Paul says to us about Christ: "For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility" (Eph 2, 14). We know what a great power of mercy transforms us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This gift overwhelms us. In that case, in all loyalty, we cannot remain resigned to the divisions and confrontations which set us against one another even though we share the same faith; we cannot accept, without reacting, the fact that conflicts are dragging on which are destroying the unity of humanity, which is called to become one single body. If we celebrate forgiveness, can we fight one another endlessly? Can we remain enemies while we invoke the same living God? If Christ's law of love is our law, shall we remain silent and inert while the wounded world looks to us to join the front ranks of those who are building peace?

Humble and conscious of our weakness, let us come to the Eucharistic table, where he who gives his life for the multitude of his brethren gives us a new heart, where he puts into us a new spirit (cf . Ezek 36, 26). In the depth of our poverty and disarray, through him let us give thanks, for he unites us by his presence and the gift of himself, he "who came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near" (Eph 2, 17). And if it is given to us to welcome him, it is up to us to be his witnesses through our fraternal work in all the workshops of peace. Conclusion Peace has many different forms. There is peace between nations, peace in society, peace between citizens, peace between religious communities, peace within undertakings, neighbourhoods, villages and, especially, peace inside families. In addressing myself to Catholics, and also to other Christian brethren and to men and women of good will, I have deplored a certain number of obstacles to peace. They are grave, they present serious threats. But since they depend on the spirit, the will, the human "heart", with the help of God people can overcome them. They must refuse to give in to fatalism and discouragement. Positive signs are already piercing the darkness. Humanity is becoming aware of the indispensable solidarity which links peoples and nations, for the solution of the majority of the great problems: employment, the use of terrestrial and cosmic resources, the advancement of less favoured nations, and security. The reduction of arms, controlled and worldwide, is considered by many a vital necessity. There are many calls to use every means in order to banish war from the horizon of humanity. There are also many new
177

appeals for dialogue, cooperation and reconciliation, and numerous fresh initiatives. The Pope is anxious to encourage them. "Blessed are the peacemakers!" Let us always unite clearsightedness with generosity! Let peace be more genuine and let it take root in man's very heart! Let the cry of the afflicted who await peace be heard! Let every individual commit all the energy of a renewed and fraternal heart to the building of peace throughout the universe! From the Vatican, 8 December 1983. JOANNES PAULUS PP. II

178

1985: PEACE AND YOUTH GO FORWARD TOGETHER

A grave situation threatens our future. At root, false ideologies that reject transcendent meanings also reject human rights and dignity, destroying nations and families. Yet there is hope! The youth specially, must hold on to their hopes of a just and peaceful world! But the young must ask themselves what it means to be human, and in turn, who their God is. For we cannot live without God, for God gives us the true values that form a life that leads to good choices and peace. The future hinges on the answer of the youth! We must not be afraid to ask the hard questions, to seek the truth, and having found it, to hand over our lives to this truth, committing ourselves to peace and justice. The Christian youth, as stewards of a great grace of treasurepeace of heart must lead their peers to the real peace of God!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1985 PEACE AND YOUTH GO FORWARD TOGETHER To all of you who believe in the urgency of peace, To you, parents and educators, who want to be the promoters of peace, To you, political leaders, who bear direct responsibility for the cause of peace, To you, men and women of culture, who seek to build peace in todays civilization, To all of you who suffer for the sake of peace and justice, And above all to you, the young people of the world, whose decisions about yourselves and your vocation in society will determine the prospects for peace today and tomorrow, To all of you, and to all people of good will, I send my message on the Eighteenth World Day of Peace because peace is an overriding concern, an unavoidable challenge, an immense hope. 1. The problems and the hopes ot the world confront us every day It is true: the challenge of peace remains with us. We are living in a difficult time when the threats of destructive violence and war are many. Profound disagreements pit different social groups, peoples and nations one against the other. There are many situations of injustice that do
179

not break forth into open conflicts solely because the violence of those who retain power is so great that it deprives the powerless of the energy and opportunity to claim their rights. Yes, there are people today who are prevented by totalitarian regimes and ideological systems from exercising their fundamental right to decide for themselves about their own future. Men and women today suffer insupportable insults to their human dignity through racial discrimination, forced exile and torture. They are victims of hunger and disease. They are prevented from 180racticing their religious beliefs or from developing their own culture. It is important to discern the ultimate causes of this state of conflict that makes peace precarious and unstable. The effective promotion of peace demands that we should not limit ourselves to deploring the negative effects of the present situation of crisis, conflict and injustice; what we are really required to do is to destroy the roots that cause these effects. Such ultimate causes are to be found especially in the ideologies that have dominated our century and continue to do so, manifesting themselves in political, economic and social systems and taking control of the way people think. These ideologies are marked by a totalitarian attitude that disregards and oppresses the dignity and transcendent values of the human person and his or her rights. Such an attitude seeks political, economic and social domination with a rigidity of purpose and method that is closed to any authentic dialogue or real sharing. Some of these ideologies have even become a sort of false secularistic religion, claiming to bring salvation to the whole of humanity but without providing any proof of its own truth. But violence and injustice have deep roots in the heart of each individual, of each one of us, in peoples everyday ways of thinking and behaving. We have only to think of the conflicts and divisions within families, between married couples, between parents and children, in the schools, in professional life, in the relationships between social groups and between the generations. We have only to think of the cases where the basic right to life of the weakest and most defenceless human beings is violated. Faced with these, and many more evils, it is still not right to lose hopeso abundant are the energies that continually spring up in the hearts of people who believe in justice and peace. The present crisis can and must become the occasion for conversion and for the renewal of mentalities. The time we are living in is not just a period of danger and worry. It is an hour for hope. 2. Peace and youth go forward together The present difficulties are really a test of our humanity. They can be turning points on the road to lasting peace for they kindle the boldest dreams and unleash the best energies of mind and heart. Difficulties are a challenge to all; hope is an imperative for all. But today I want to draw your attention to the role that youth is called upon to play in the endeavour to bring about peace. As we prepare to enter a new century and a new millennium, we must be aware that the future of peace and therefore the future of humanity have been entrusted, in a special way, to the
180

fundamental moral choices that a new generation of men and women are being called upon to make. In a very few years, the young people of today will hold responsibility for family life and for the life of nations, for the common good of all and for peace. Young people have already begun to ask themselves all over the world: What can I do? What can we do? Where does our path take us? They want to make their contribution to the healing of a wounded and weakened society. They want to offer new solutions to old problems. They want to build a new civilization of fraternal solidarity. Taking inspiration from these young people, I wish to invite everyone to reflect on those realities. But I want to address myself in a special and direct way to the young people of today and tomorrow. 3. Young people, do not be afraid of your own youth The first appeal I want to address to you, young men and women of today, is this: Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid of your own youth, and of those deep desires you have for happiness, for truth, for beauty and for lasting love! Sometimes people say that society is afraid of these powerful desires of young people, and that you yourselves are afraid of them. Do not be afraid! When I look at you, the young people, I feel great gratitude and hope. The future far into the next century lies in your hands. The future of peace lies in your hearts. To construct history, as you can and must, you must free history from the false paths it is pursuing. To do this, you must be people with a deep trust in man and a deep trust in the grandeur of the human vocationa vocation to be pursued with respect for truth and for the dignity and inviolable rights of the human person.

The future of peace lies in your hearts. To construct history, as you can and must, you must free history from the false paths it is pursuing. To do this, you must be people with a deep trust in man

What I see arising in you is a new awareness of your responsibility and a fresh sensitivity to the needs of your fellow human beings. You are touched by the hunger for peace that so many share with you. You are troubled by so much injustice around you. You sense overwhelming danger in the gigantic stockpiles of arms and in the threats of nuclear war. You suffer when you see widespread hunger and malnutrition. You are concerned about the environment today and for the coming generations. You are threatened by unemployment, and many of you are already without work and without the prospect of meaningful employment. You are upset by the large number of people who are oppressed politically and spiritually and who cannot enjoy the exercise of their basic human rights as individuals or as a community. All this can give rise to a feeling that life has little meaning. In this situation, some of you may be tempted to take flight from responsibility: in the fantasy worlds of alcohol and drugs, in shortlived sexual relationships without commitment to marriage and family, in indifference, in cynicism and even in violence. Put yourselves on guard against the
181

fraud of a world that wants to exploit or misdirect your energetic and powerful search for happiness and meaning. But do not avoid the search for the true answers to the questions that confront you. Do not be afraid! 4. The inevitable question: What is your idea of man? Among the inevitable questions that you must ask yourselves, the first and foremost is this: What is your idea of man? What, to you, makes up the dignity and the greatness of a human being? This is a question that you young people have to ask yourselves but which you also put to the generation that has preceded you, to your parents and to all those who at various levels have had the responsibility of caring for the goods and values of the world. In the attempt to respond to this question honestly and openly, young and old can be led to reconsider their own actions and their own histories. Is it not true that very of ten, especially in the more developed and richer nations, people have given in to a materialistic idea of life? Is it not true that parents sometimes feel that they have fulfilled their obligations to their children by offering them, beyond the satisfaction of basic necessities, more material goods as the answer for their lives? Is it not true that, by doing this, they are passing on to the younger generations a world that will be poor in essential spiritual values, poor in peace and poor in justice? Is it not equally true that in other nations, the fascination with certain ideologies has left to the younger generations a legacy of new forms of enslavement without the freedom to pursue the values that truly enhance life in all its aspects? Ask yourselves what kind of people you want yourselves and your fellow human beings to be, what kind of culture you want to build. Ask yourselves these questions and do not be afraid of the answers, even if they will require of you a change of direction in your thoughts and loyalties. 5. The fundamental question: Who is your God? The first question leads to an even more basic and fundamental one: Who is your God? We cannot define our notion of man without defining an Absolute, a fullness of truth, of beauty and of goodness by which we allow our lives to be guided. Thus it is true that a human being, the visible image of the invisible God, cannot answer the question about who he or she is without at the same time declaring who his or her God is. It is impossible to restrict this question to the that wherever God sphere of peoples private existence. It is impossible to separate dies in the conscience this question from the history of nations. Today, a person is of the human person, exposed to the temptation to refuse God in the name of his or there follows her own humanity. Wherever this refusal exists, there the inevitably the death of shadow of fear casts its ever darkening pall. Fear is born man, the image of God wherever God dies in the consciences of human beings. Everyone knows, albeit obscurely and with dread, that wherever God dies in the conscience of the human person, there follows

182

inevitably the death of man, the image of God. 6. Your answer: Choices based on values Whatever answers you give to these two interconnected questions will set the direction for the rest of your lives. Each of us, during the years of our youth, has had to struggle with these questions and, at some point, has had to come to some conclusion that has shaped our future choices, our future paths, our future lives. The answers which you, young people, give to these questions will also determine how you respond to the great challenges of peace and justice. If you have decided that your God will be yourself with no regard for others, you will become instruments of division and enmity, even instruments of warfare and violence. In saying this, I wish to point out to you the importance of choices that incorporate values. Values are the underpinnings of the choices that determine not only your own lives but also the policies and strategies that build life in society. And remember that it is not possible to create a dichotomy between personal and social values. It is not possible to live in inconsistency: to be demanding of others and of society and then decide to live a personal life of permissiveness. You must then decide what values you want to build society upon. Your choices now will decide whether in the future you will suffer the tyranny of ideological systems that reduce the dynamics of society to the logic of class struggle. The values that you choose today will decide whether relations between nations will continue to be overshadowed by tragic tensions that are the product of undeclared or openly touted designs to subdue all peoples to regimes where God does not count, and where the dignity of the human person is sacrificed to the demands of an ideology that attempts to deify the collectivity. The values that you commit yourselves to in your youth will determine whether you will be satisfied with the heritage of a past in which hatred and violence suffocate love and reconciliation. Upon the choices of each one of you today will depend the future of your brothers and sisters. 7. The value of peace The cause of peace, the constant and unavoidable challenge of our day, helps you to discover yourselves and your values. The realities are stark and frightening. Millions spent on weapons. Resources of material and intellectual talent devoted solely to the production of arms. Political stances that at times do not reconcile and bring peoples together, but rather erect barriers and isolate nation from nation. In such circumstances a just sense of patriotism can fall victim to overzealous partisanship, and honourable service in defence of ones country can become the subject of misinterpretation and even ridicule (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 79). In the midst of many siren calls of self-interest, the man and woman of peace must learn to heed first the values of life and then move with confidence to put those values into practice. The call to be peacemakers will then rest firmly on the call to conversion of heart, as I suggested in last years World Day of Peace Message. It will then be strengthened by a commitment to honest dialogue and sincere negotiations based on mutual respect, coupled with a realistic assessment of the just demands
183

and legitimate interests of all partners. It will seek to diminish the weapons whose existence in great numbers strikes fear into peoples hearts. It will devote itself to building the bridges cultural, economic, social, politicalthat will allow greater exchange among nations. It will promote the cause of peace as the cause of everyone, not by slogans that divide or by actions that needlessly arouse passions, but by the calm confidence that is the fruit of a commitment to true values and to the good of all humanity. 8. The value of justice The good of all humanity is ultimately the reason why you must make the cause of peace your own. In saying this, I invite you to direct your attention away from an exclusive concentration on the threat to peace usually referred to as the East-West problem and, instead, to think about the whole world, and thus the socalled North-South tensions as well. As in the past, so today I wish to affirm that these two issuespeace and developmentare interrelated and must be addressed together if the young people of today are to inherit a better world tomorrow. One aspect of this relationship is the deployment of resources for one purpose (armaments), rather than for another (development). But the real connection is not simply the use of resources, important as that may be. It is between the values that commit one to peace and the values that commit one to development in the true sense. For as certainly as true peace demands more than just the absence of war or merely the dismantling of weapons systems, so too development, in its true and integral sense, can never be reduced solely to an economic plan or to a series of technological projects, no matter how good they may be. In the whole area of progress that we call peace and justice, the same values have to be applied that spring from the idea we have about who man is and who God is in relation to the whole human race. The same values that commit one to be a peacemaker will be the values that impel one to foster the integral development of every human being and of all peoples. 9. The value of participation A world of justice and peace cannot be created by words alone and it cannot be imposed by outside forces: it must be desired and must come about through the contribution of all. It is essential for every human being to have a sense of participating, of being a part of the decisions and endeavours that shape the destiny of the world. Violence and injustice have often in the past found their root causes in peoples sense of being deprived of the right to shape their own lives. Future violence and injustice cannot be avoided when and where the basic right to participate in the choices of society is denied. But this right must be exercised with discernment. The complexity of life in modern society demands that people delegate the power of decisionmaking to their leaders. They must be able to trust that their leaders will make decisions for the good of their own people and of all peoples. Participation is a right, but it carries with it obligations: to exercise it with respect for the dignity of the human person. The mutual trust between citizens

184

and leaders is the fruit of the practice of participation, and participation is a cornerstone for building a world of peace. 10. Life: a pilgrimage of discovery I invite all of you, young people of the world; to take up your responsibility in this greatest of spiritual adventures that a person will face: to build human life, as individuals and in society, with respect for the vocation of man. For it is true to say that life is a pilgrimage of discovery: the discovery of who you are, the discovery of the values that shape your lives, the discovery of the peoples and nations to which all are bound in solidarity. While this voyage of discovery is most evident in the time of youth, it is a voyage that never ends. During your whole lifetime, you must affirm and reaffirm the values that form yourselves and that form the world: the values that favour life, that reflect the dignity and vocation of the human person, that build a world in peace and justice.

life is a pilgrimage of discovery: the discovery of who you are, the discovery of the values that shape your lives

A remarkable worldwide consensus exists among young people about the necessity of peace, and this constitutes a tremendous potential force for the good of all. But young people must not be satisfied with an instinctive desire for peace: this desire must be transformed into a firm moral conviction that encompasses the full range of human problems and builds on deeply treasured values. The world needs young people who have drunk deeply at the sources of truth. You have to listen to the truth and for this you need purity of heart; you have to understand it, and for this you need deep humility; you have to surrender to it and share it, and for this you need the strength to resist the temptations of pride, selfishness and manipulation. You must form in yourselves a deep sense of responsibility. 11. The responsibility of Christian youth I wish earnestly to commend this sense of responsibility and commitment to moral values to you, the Christian youth, and together with you, to all our brothers and sisters who confess the Lord Jesus. As Christians you are conscious of being children of God, sharing in the divine nature, being enveloped in the fullness of God in Christ. The Risen Christ gives you peace and reconciliation as his first gift. God, who is eternal peace, has made peace with the world through Christ, the Prince of Peace. That peace has been poured into your hearts and it lies deeper than all the unrest of your minds, all the torments of your hearts. Gods peace takes charge of your minds and hearts. God gives you his peace not as a possession which you can hoard, but as a treasure which you possess only when you share it with others. In Christ, you can believe in the future even though you cannot discern its shape. You can hand yourselves over to the Lord of the future, and thus overcome your discouragement at the
185

magnitude of the task and the price to be paid. To the dismayed disciples on the way to Emmaus, the Lord said: Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? (Lk 24: 26). The Lord speaks those same words to each one of you. So do not be afraid to commit your lives to peace and justice, for you know that the Lord is with you in all your ways. 12. International Youth Year In this year which the United Nations Organization has declared International Youth Year, it has been my wish to address my annual message for the World Day of Peace to all of you, the young people around the world. May this Year be for everyone a year of deeper commitment to peace and justice. May you make every choice with courage and live it with fidelity and responsibility. Whatever paths you set out upon, do so with hope and trust: hope in the future that, with Gods help, you can shape; trust in the God who watches over you in all that you say and do. Those of us who have preceded you want to share with you a deep commitment to peace. Those who are your contemporaries will be united with you in your efforts. Those who come after you will be inspired by you so long as you seek the truth, and live by authentic moral values. The challenge of peace is great, but greater is the reward; for in committing yourselves to peace you will discover the best for yourselves as you seek the best for everyone else. You are growing, and with you peace is growing. May this International Youth Year also be a time for parents and educators to take a new look at their responsibilities towards young people. Too often their guidance is refused and their achievements questioned. Yet they have so much to offer in wisdom, strength and experience. Their task of accompanying youth in the search for meaning cannot be assumed by anyone else. The values and models which they hold up to the young must, however, be clearly seen in their own lives, lest their words lack conviction and their lives be a contradiction which the young will rightly reject. At the close of this Message I pledge my prayers every day of this International Youth Year that young people will respond to the call of peace. I urge all my brothers and sisters to join with me in this prayer to our Father in heaven that he may enlighten all of us who bear the responsibility for peace, but especially the young, so that youth and peace may indeed go forward together! From the Vatican, 8 December 1984. JOANNES PAULUS PP. II

186

1986: PEACE IS A VALUE WITH NO FRONTIERS: ONLY ONE PEACE

The world is interconnected and interdependent. There can be no peace anywhere without peace everywhere, not in any true sense. And so peace is an ethical imperative in our very dangerous world, with the threats of ideology, self-interest, grace weaponry, worldwide poverty, and fears that peace is impossible. Some think we can have peace on in parts of the world that dominate through force and war. But this is false. Peace must be formed through a conversion of hearts and people that makes us devoted to one another in concrete actions of brotherhood: solidarity and dialogue. Foreign policy must be primarily concerned with addressing the basic needs of our brother and sisters, not in devoting resources to arms and war. The poor nations need us as a loyal friends willing to sacrifice much for their pursuit of development. Accordingly, such a mission must be sustained by ceaseless dialogue, in which we discover ourselves and one another. Christians know that sin is real, but also that grace is stronger, and that the love of Christ may conquer all false ideologies, and that the person must be defended as the glory of God himself!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1986 PEACE IS A VALUE WITH NO FRONTIERS NORTH-SOUTH, EAST-WEST: ONLY ONE PEACE 1. Peace as a universal value At the beginning of the New Year, taking my inspiration from Christ, the Prince of Peace, I renew my commitment and that of the whole Catholic Church to the cause of peace. At the same time I extend to every individual and to all peoples of the earth my earnest greeting and my good wishes: Peace to all of you! Peace to all hearts! Peace is a value of such importance that it must be proclaimed anew and promoted by all. There is no human being who does not benefit from peace. There is no human heart that is not uplifted when peace prevails. All the nations of the world can fully realize their interlinked destinies only if, together, they pursue peace as a universal value.

187

On the occasion of this l9th World Day of Peace, in the International Year of Peace proclaimed by the United Nations Organization, I offer to everyone as a message of hope my profound conviction: "Peace is a value with no frontiers". It is a value that responds to the hopes and aspirations of all people and all nations, of young and old, and of all men and women of good will. This is what I proclaim to everyone, and especially to the leaders of the world. The question of peace as a universal value needs to be faced with extreme intellectual honesty, sincerity of spirit and an acute sense of responsibility to oneself and to the nations of the earth. I would ask those responsible for political decisions affecting the relationships between North and South, between East and West, to be convinced that there can be ONLY ONE PEACE. Those upon whom the future of the world depends, regardless of their political philosophy, economic system or religious commitment, are all called to help construct a single peace on the basis of social justice and the dignity and rights of every human person. This task requires a radical openness to all humanity and a conviction of the interrelatedness of all the nations of the world. This interrelatedness is expressed in an interdependence that can prove either profoundly advantageous or profoundly destructive. Hence, worldwide solidarity and cooperation constitute ethical imperatives that appeal to the consciences of individuals and to the responsibilities of all nations. And it is in this context of ethical imperatives that I address the whole world for 1 January 1986, proclaiming the universal value of peace. 2. Threats to peace In putting forward this vision of peace at the dawn of a new year we are deeply aware that in the present situation peace is also a value that rests on foundations that are very fragile. At first glance our goal to make peace an absolute imperative may seem to be utopian, since our world gives such ample evidence of excessive self-interest in the context of opposed political, ideological and economic groups. Caught in the grip of these systems, leaders and various groups are led to pursue their particular aims and their ambitions of power, progress and wealth, without taking sufficiently into account the necessity and duty of international solidarity and cooperation for the benefit of the common good of all peoples who make up the human family. In this situation blocs are formed and maintained which divide and oppose peoples, groups and individuals, making peace precarious and setting up grave obstacles to development. Positions harden and the excessive desire to maintain one's advantage or to increase one's share often becomes the overriding rationale for action. This leads to exploitation of others and the spiral grows towards a polarization that feeds on the fruits of self-interest and the increasing mistrust of others. In such a situation, it is the small and the weak, the poor and the voiceless who suffer most. This can happen directly when a poor and comparatively defenceless people is held in subjection by the force of power. It can happen indirectly when economic power is used to disenfranchise people of their rightful share and to hold them in social and economic subjection, generating dissatisfaction and violence. The examples are sadly too numerous today.
188

The spectre of nuclear weapons, which has its origin precisely in the opposition of East and West, remains the most dramatic and compelling example of this. Nuclear weapons are so powerful in their destructive capacities, and nuclear strategies are so inclusive in their designs, that the popular imagination is often paralyzed by fear. This fear is not groundless. The only way to respond to this legitimate fear of the consequences of nuclear destruction is by progress in negotiations for the reduction of nuclear weapons and for mutually agreed upon measures that will lessen the likelihood of nuclear warfare. I would ask the nuclear powers once again to reflect on their very grave moral and political responsibility in this matter. It is an obligation that some have also juridically accepted in international agreements; for all it is an obligation by reason of a basic co-responsibility for peace and development. But the threat of nuclear weapons is not the way that conflict is made permanent and increased. The increasing sale and purchase of arms - conventional but very sophisticated - is causing dire results. While the major powers have avoided direct conflict, their rivalries have often been acted out in other parts of the world. Local problems and regional difference are aggravated and perpetuated through armaments supplied by wealthier countries and by the ideologizing of local conflicts by powers that seek regional advantage by exploiting the condition of the poor and defenceless. Armed conflict is not the only way that the poor bear an unjust share of the burden of today's world. The developing countries must face formidable challenges even when free of such a scourge. In its many dimensions, underdevelopment remains an ever growing threat to world peace. In fact, between the countries which form the "North bloc" and those of the "South bloc" there is a social and economic abyss that separates rich from poor. The statistics of recent years show signs of improvement in a few countries but also evidence of a widening of the gap in too many others. Added to this is the unpredictable and fluctuating financial situation with its direct impact on countries with large debts struggling to achieve some positive development. In this situation peace as a universal value is in great danger. Even if there is no actual armed conflict as such, where injustice exists, it is in fact a cause and potential factor of conflict. In any case a situation of peace in the full sense of its value cannot coexist with injustice. Peace cannot be reduced to the mere absence of conflict; it is the tranquillity and completeness of order. It is lost by the social and economic exploitation by special interest groups which operate internationally or function as elites within developing countries. It is lost by the social divisions that pit rich against poor between States or within States. It is lost when the use of force produces the bitter fruit of hatred and division. It is lost when economic exploitation and internal strains on the social fabric leave the people defenceless and disillusioned, a ready prey to the destructive forces of violence. As a value, peace is continually endangered by vested interests, by diverging and opposing interpretations, and even by clever manipulations for the service of ideologies and political systems that have domination as their ultimate aim.
189

3. Overcoming the current situation There are those who claim that the present situation is natural and inevitable. Relations between individuals and between States are said to be characterized by permanent conflict. This doctrinal and political outlook is translated into a model of society and a system of international relations that are dominated by competition and antagonism, in which the strongest prevails. Peace born from such an outlook can only be an "arrangement", suggested by the principle of Realpolitik, and as an "arrangement" it seeks not so much to resolve tensions through justice and equity as to manage differences ahd conflicts in order to maintain a kind of balance that will preserve whatever is in the interests of the dominating party. It is clear that "peace" built and maintained on social injustices and ideological conflict will never become a true peace for the world. Such a "peace" cannot deal with the substantial causes of the world's tensions or give to the world the kind of vision and values which can resolve the divisions represented by the poles of North-South and East-West. To those who think that blocs are inevitable we answer that it is possible, indeed necessary, to set up new types of society and of international relations which will ensure justice and peace on stable and universal foundations. Indeed, a healthy realism suggests that such types cannot be simply imposed from above or from outside, or effected only by methods and techniques. This is because the deepest roots of the opposition and tensions that mutilate peace and development are to be found in the heart of man. It is above all the hearts and the attitudes of people that must be changed, and this needs a renewal, a conversion of individuals. If we study the evolution of society in recent years we can see, not only deep wounds, but also signs of a determination on the part of many of our contemporaries and of peoples to overcome the present obstacles in order to bring into being a new international system. This is the path that humanity must take if it is to enter into an age of universal peace and integral development. 4. The path of solidarity and dialogue Any new international system capable of overcoming the logic of blocs and opposing forces must be based on the personal commitment of everyone to make the basic and primary needs of humanity the first imperative of international policy. Today countless human beings in all parts of the world have acquired a vivid sense of their fundamental equality, their human dignity and their inalienable rights. At the same time there is a growing awareness that humanity has a profound unity of interests, vocation and destiny, and that all peoples, in the variety and richness of their different national characteristics, are called to form a single family. Added to this is the realization that resources are not unlimited and that needs are immense. Therefore, rather than waste resources or devote them to deadly weapons of destruction, it is necessary to use them above all to satisfy the primary and basic needs of humanity.

190

It is likewise important to note that an awareness is gaining ground of the fact that reconciliation, justice and peace between individuals and between nations given the stage that humanity has reached and the very grave threats that hang over its future - are not merely a noble appeal meant for a few idealists but a condition for survival of life itself . Consequently, the establishment of an order based on justice and peace is vitally needed today, as a clear moral imperative valid for all people and regimes; above ideologies and systems. Together with and above the particular common good of a nation, the need to consider the common good of the entire family of nations is quite clearly an ethical and juridical duty.

reconciliation, justice and peace between individuals and between nations given the stage that humanity has reached and the very grave threats that hang over its future - are not merely a noble appeal meant for a few idealists but a condition for survival of life itself

The right path to a world community in which justice and peace will reign without frontiers among all peoples and on all continents is the path of solidarity, dialogue and universal brotherhood. This is the only path possible. Political, economic, social and cultural relations and systems must be imbued with the values of solidarity and dialogue which, in turn, require an institutional dimension in the form of special organisms of the world community that will watch over the common good of all peoples. It is clear that, in order effectively to achieve a world community of this kind, mental outlooks and political views contaminated by the lust for power, by ideologies, by the defence of one's own privilege and wealth must be abandoned, and replaced by an openness to sharing and collaboration with all in a spirit of mutual trust. That call to recognize the unity of the human family has very real repercussions for our life and for our commitment to peace. It means first of all that we reject the kind of thinking that divides and exploits. It means that we commit ourselves to a new solidarity, the solidarity of the human family. It means looking at the North-South tensions and replacing them with a new relationship, the social solidarity of all. This social solidarity faces up honestly to the abyss that exists today but it does not acquiesce in any kind of economic determinism. It recognizes all the complexities of a problem that has been allowed to get out of hand for too long, but which can still be rectified by men and women who see themselves in fraternal solidarity with everyone else on this earth. It is true that changes in economic growth patterns have affected all parts of the world and not just the poorest. But the person who sees peace as a universal value will want to use this opportunity to reduce the differences between North and South and foster the relationships that will bring them closer together. I am thinking of the prices of raw materials, of the need for technological expertise, of the training of the work force, of the potential productivity of the millions of unemployed, of the debts poor nations are carrying, and of a better and more responsible use of funds within developing countries. I am thinking of so many elements which individually have
191

created tensions and which combined together have polarized North-South relations. All this can and must be changed. If social justice is the means to move towards a peace for all peoples, then it means that we see peace as an indivisible fruit of just and honest relations on every level - social, economic, cultural and ethical - of human life on this earth. This conversion to an attitude of social solidarity also serves to highlight the deficiencies in the current East-West situation. In my message to the Second Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Disarmament, I explored many of the elements that are needed to improve the situation between the two major power blocs of East and West. All of the measures recommended then and reaffirmed since that time rest on the solidarity of the human family travelling together along the path of dialogue. Dialogue can open many doors closed by the tensions that have marked EastWest relations. Dialogue is a means by which people discover one another and discover the good hopes and peaceful aspirations that too often lie hidden in their hearts. True dialogue goes beyond ideologies, and people meet in the reality of their human lives. Dialogue breaks down preconceived notions and artificial barriers. Dialogue brings human beings into contact with one another as members of one human family, with all the richness of their various cultures and histories. A conversion of heart commits people to promoting universal brotherhood; dialogue helps to effect this goal. Today this dialogue is more needed than ever. Left to themselves, weapons and weapons systems, military strategies and alliances become the instruments of intimidation, mutual recrimination and the consequent dread that affects so much of the human race today. Dialogue considers these instruments in their relationship to human life. I am thinking first of all of the various dialogues in Geneva that are seeking to negotiate reductions and limitations in armaments. But also there are the dialogues being conducted in the context of the multilateral process initiated with the Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, a process which will be reviewed once again next year in Vienna and continued. Concerning the dialogue and cooperation between North and South one can think of the important role entrusted to certain bodies such as UNCTAD, and of the Conventions of Lom, to which the European Community is committed. I am thinking too of the kinds of dialogue that take place when borders are open and people can travel freely. I am thinking of the dialogue that takes place when one culture is enriched by contact with another culture, when scholars are free to communicate, when workers are free to assemble, when young people join forces for the future, when the elderly are reunited with their loved ones. The path of dialogue is a path of discoveries, and the more we discover one another, the more we can replace the tensions of the past with bonds of peace. 5. New relationships built on solidarity and dialogue In the spirit of solidarity and with the instruments of dialogue we will learn:

192

- respect for every human person; - respect for the true values and cultures of others; respect for the legitimate autonomy and selfdetermination of others; - to look beyond ourselves in order to understand and support the good of others; - to contribute our own resources in social solidarity for the development and growth that come from equity and justice; - to build the structures that will ensure that social solidarity and dialogue are permanent features of the world we live in. The tension born of the two blocs will be successfully replaced by the interconnected relations of solidarity and dialogue when we learn to insist on the primacy of the human person. The dignity of the person and the defence of his or her human rights are in the balance, because they always suffer in one way or another from those tensions and distortions of the blocs which we have been examining. This can happen in countries where many individual liberties are guaranteed but where individualism and consumerism warp and distort the values of life. It happens in societies where the person is submerged into the collectivity. It can happen in young countries which are eager to take control of their own affairs but which are often forced into certain policies by the powerful, or seduced by the lure of immediate gain at the expense of the people themselves. In all this we must insist on the primacy of the person. 6. The Christian vision and commitment My brothers and sisters in the Christian faith find in Jesus Christ, in the Gospel message and in the life of the Church lofty reasons and even more inspiring motives for striving to bring about one single peace in today's world. The Christian faith has as its focus Jesus Christ, who stretches out his arms on the Cross in order to unite the children of God who were scattered (cf. Jn 11:52), to break down the walls of division, (cf . Eph 2:14), and to reconcile the peoples in fraternity and peace. The Cross raised above the ultimate reason why the world is the world symbolically embraces and has the scene of divisions, tensions, the power to reconcile North and South, rivalries, blocs and unjust East and West. inequalities, instead of being a place

Christians, enlightened by faith, know that the ultimate reason why the world is the scene of divisions, tensions, rivalries, blocs and unjust inequalities, instead of being a place of genuine fraternity, is sin, that is to say human moral disorder. But Christians

of genuine fraternity, is sin . . . But Christians also know that the grace of Christ, which can transform this human condition, is continually being offered to the world

193

also know that the grace of. Christ, which can transform this human condition, is continually being offered to the world, since "where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Rom 5:20). The Church, which carries on Christ's work and dispenses his redeeming grace, has precisely as her purpose the reconciling of all individuals and peoples in unity, fraternity and peace. "The promotion of unity", says the Second Vatican Council, "belongs to the innermost nature of the Church, since she is 'by her relationship with Christ, both a sacramental sign and an instrument of intimate union with God, and of the unity of all mankind' " (Gaudium et Spes, 42). The Church, which is one and universal in the variety of the peoples that she brings together, "can form a very close unifying effect on the various communities of individuals and nations, provided they have trust in the Church and guarantee her true freedom to carry out her mission" (ibid.). This vision and these demands which arise from the very heart of faith, should above all cause all Christians to become more aware of situations that are out of harmony with the Gospel, in order to purify and rectify them. At the same time Christians should recognize and value the positive signs attesting that efforts are being made to remedy these situations, efforts which they must effectively support, sustain and strengthen. Animated by a lively hope, capable of hoping against hope (cf. Rom 4:18), Christians must go beyond the barriers of ideologies and systems, in order to enter into dialogue with all people of good will, and create new relationships and new forms of solidarity. In this regard I would like to say a word of appreciation and praise to all those who are engaged in international volunteer work and other forms of activity aimed at creating links of sharing and fraternity at a level higher than the various blocs. 7. International Year of Peace and final appeal Dear friends, brothers and sisters all: at the beginning of a new year I renew my appeal to all of you to put aside hostilities, to break the fetters of the tensions that exist in the world. I appeal to you to turn those tensions of North and South, East and West into new relationships of social solidarity and dialogue. The United Nations Organization has proclaimed 1986 the International Year of Peace. This noble effort deserves our encouragement and support. What better way could there be to further the aims of the Year of Peace than to make the relationships of North-South and East-West the basis of a peace that is universal! To you, politicians and statesmen, I appeal: to give the leadership that will incite people to renewed effort in this direction. To you, businessmen, to you who are responsible for financial and commercial organizations, I appeal: to examine anew your responsibilities towards all your brothers and sisters. To you, military strategists, officers, scientists and technologists, I appeal: to use your expertise in ways that promote dialogue and understanding.
194

To you, the suffering, the handicapped, those who are physically limited, I appeal: to offer your prayers and your lives in order to break down the barriers that divide the world. To all of you who believe in God I appeal that you live your lives in the awareness of being one family under the fatherhood of God. To all of you and to each one of you, young and old, weak and powerful, I appeal: embrace peace as the great unifying value of your lives. Wherever you live on this planet I earnestly exhort you to pursue in solidarity and sincere dialogue: Peace as a value with no frontiers: North-South, East-West, everywhere one people united in only one Peace. From the Vatican, 8 December 1985. JOANNES PAULUS PP. II

195

1987: DEVELOPMENT AND SOLIDARITY: TWO KEYS TO PEACE

We are all one family, and peace can only be established when we recognize and act upon this truth. Our world-wide response to tragedies and sufferings must expand to include every human being, so that all seek to serve all, excluding no one. Solidarity, is this spirit of unity that seeks the good of every person and the entire personan integral development that addressee not only the body, but also the soulwith its wealth of values that makes society and community possible. We must not promote development that includes counter-values and ideologies that destroy the family and attack the dignity of the person. We must learn to share and to cooperate, especially to help the undeveloped nations. We must distribute technology and stop spending money on weapons instead of sustaining basic needs. We must love not only in heart, but in deed, and prayer for the grace to be like Christpeacemakers through reconciliation, the liberator of the poor and suffering in both body and spirit.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1987 DEVELOPMENT AND SOLIDARITY: TWO KEYS TO PEACE 1. An Appeal to All ... My predecessor Pope Paul VI issued an appeal to all people of good will to celebrate a World Day of Peace on the first day of each civil year, as both a hope and promise that peace "would dominate the development of events to come" (AAS 59, 1967, p. 1098). Twenty years later, I repeat this appeal, addressing myself to every member of the human family. I invite you to join with me in reflecting on peace and in celebrating peace. To celebrate peace in the midst of difficulties - such as those of today - is to proclaim our trust in humanity. Because of this trust, I address my appeal to everyone, confident that together we can learn to celebrate peace as the universal desire of all peoples everywhere. All of us who share that desire can thus become one in our thoughts and in our efforts to make peace a goal that can be attained by all for all.

196

The theme I have chosen for this year's Message takes its inspiration from that deep truth about humanity: we are one human family. By simply being born into this world, we are of one inheritance and one stock with every other human being. This oneness expresses itself in all the richness and diversity of the human family: in different races, cultures, languages and histories. And we are called to recognize the basic solidarity of the human family as the fundamental condition of our life together on this earth.

we are one human family

1987 also marks the twentieth anniversary of the publication of Populorum Progressio. This celebrated Encyclical of Paul VI was a solemn appeal for concerted action in favour of the integral development of peoples (cf. Populorum Progressio, 5). Paul VI's phrase - "Development is the new name for peace" ( ibid., 76, 87) - specifies one of the keys in our search for peace. Can true peace exist when men, women and children cannot live in full human dignity? Can there be a lasting peace in a world ruled by relations - social, economic and political - that favour one group or nation at the expense of another? Can genuine peace be established without an effective recognition of that wonderful truth that we are all equal in dignity, equal because we have been formed in the image of God who is our Father? 2. ... to Reflect on Solidarity ... This Message for the Twentieth World Day of Peace is closely linked to the Message I addressed to the world last year on the theme North-South, East-West: Only One Peace. In that Message, I said: " ... the unity of the human family has very real repercussions for our life and for our commitment to peace ... It means that we commit ourselves to a new solidarity, the solidarity of the human family ... a new relationship, the social solidarity of all" (No. 4). To recognize the social solidarity of the human family brings with it the responsibility to build on what makes us one. This means promoting effectively and without exception the equal dignity of all as human beings endowed with certain fundamental and inalienable human rights. This touches all aspects of our individual life, as well as our life in the family, in the community in which we live, and in the world. Once we truly grasp that we are brothers and sisters in a common humanity, then we can shape our attitudes towards life in the light of the solidarity which makes us one. This is especially true in all that relates to the basic universal project: peace. In the lifetime of all of us, there have been moments and events that have bound us together in a conscious recognition of the oneness of humanity. From the time that we were first able to see pictures of the world from space, a perceptible change has taken place in our understanding of our planet and of its immense beauty and fragility. Helped by the accomplishments of space exploration, we found that the expression "the common heritage of all mankind" has taken on a
197

new meaning from that date. The more we share in the artistic and cultural riches of one another, the more we discover our common humanity. Young people especially have deepened their sense of oneness through regional and worldwide sports events and similar activities, deepening their bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood. 3. ... as Put into Practice ... At the same time, how often in recent years have we had occasion to reach out as brothers and sisters to help those struck by natural disaster or subjected to war and famine. We are witnessing a growing collective desire - across political, geographical or ideological boundaries - to help the less fortunate members of the human family. The suffering, still so tragic and protracted, of our brothers and sisters in Sub-Saharan Africa is giving rise to forms and concrete expressions of this solidarity of human beings everywhere. Two of the reasons why I was pleased in 1986 to confer the Pope John XXIII International Peace Prize on the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR) of Thailand were first, to be able to call the attention of the world to the continuing plight of those who are forced from their homelands; and secondly to highlight the spirit of cooperation and collaboration that so many groups - Catholic and otherwise - have displayed in responding to the need of these sorely tried homeless people. Yes, the human spirit can and does respond with great generosity to the suffering of others. In these responses we can find a growing realization of the social solidarity that proclaims in word and deed that we are one, that we must recognize that oneness, and that it is an essential element for the common good of all individuals and nations. These examples illustrate that we can and do cooperate in many ways, and that we can and do work together to advance the common good. However, we must do more. We need to adopt a basic attitude towards humanity and the relationships we have with every person and every group in the world. Here we can begin to see how the commitment to the solidarity of the whole human family is a key to peace. Projects that foster the good of humanity or good will among peoples are one step in the realization of solidarity. The bond of sympathy and charity that compels us to help those who suffer brings our oneness to the fore in another way. But the underlying challenge to all of us is to adopt an attitude of social solidarity with the whole human family and to face all social and political situations with this attitude. Thus, for example, the United Nations Organization has designated 1987 as the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless. By so doing it is calling attention to a matter of great concern, and supporting an attitude of solidarity - human, political and economic - towards millions of families deprived of the environment essential for proper family life. 4. ... and as Obstructed Examples unfortunately abound of obstacles to solidarity, of political and ideological positions which do in fact affect the achievement of solidarity. These are positions or policies that ignore

198

or deny the fundamental equality and dignity of the human person. Among these, I am thinking in particular of: - a xenophobia that closes nations in on themselves or which leads governments to enact discriminatory laws against people in their own countries; - the closing of borders in an arbitrary and unjustifiable way so that people are effectively deprived of the ability to move and to better their lot, to be reunited with their loved ones, or simply to visit their family or reach out in care and understanding to others; - ideologies that preach hatred or distrust, systems that set up artificial barriers. Racial hatred, religious intolerance, class divisions are all too present in many societies, both openly and covertly. When political leaders erect such divisions into internal systems or into policies regarding relationships with other nations, then these prejudices strike at the core of human dignity. They become a powerful source of counteractions that further foster division, enmity, repression and warfare. Another evil, which in this past year brought so much suffering to people and havoc to society, is terrorism. To all of these, effective solidarity offers an antidote. For if the essential note of solidarity is to be found in the radical equality of all men and women, then any and every policy that contradicts the basic dignity and human rights of any person or group of persons is a policy that is to be rejected. On the contrary, policies and programmes that build open and honest relationships among peoples, that forge just alliances, that unite people in honourable cooperation, are to be fostered. Such initiatives do not ignore the real linguistic, racial, religious, social or cultural differences among peoples; nor do they deny the great difficulties in overcoming long-standing divisions and injustice. But they do give pride of place to the elements that unite, however small they may appear to be. This spirit of solidarity is a spirit that is open to dialogue. It finds its roots in truth, and needs truth to develop. It is a spirit that seeks to build up rather than to destroy, to unite rather than to divide. Since solidarity is universal in its aspiration, it can take many forms. Regional agreements to promote the common good and encourage bilateral negotiations can serve to lessen tensions. The sharing of technology or information to avert disasters or to improve the quality of life of people in a particular area will contribute to solidarity and facilitate further measures on a wider level. 5. To Reflect on Development ... Perhaps in no other sector of human endeavour is there greater need of social solidarity than in the area of development. Much of what Paul VI said twenty years ago in his now celebrated Encyclical is especially applicable today. He saw with great clarity that the social question had become worldwide (cf. Populorum Progressio, 3 ). He was among the first to call attention to the fact that economic progress in itself is insufficient, that it demands social progress (cf. ibid., 35).
199

Above all, he insisted that development must be integral, that is, the development of every person and of the whole person (cf. ibid., 14-21 ). This was, for him, a complete humanism: the fully-rounded development of the person in all his or her dimensions and open to the Absolute, which "gives human life its true meaning" (ibid., 42). Such a humanism is the common goal that must be sought for everyone. "There can be no progress towards the complete development of man", he said, "without the simultaneous development of all humanity in the spirit of solidarity" (ibid., 43). Now, twenty years later, I wish to pay tribute to this teaching of Paul VI. In the changed circumstances of today, these profound insights, especially regarding the importance of a spirit of solidarity for development, are still valid and shed great light on new challenges. 6. ... and its Applications Today When we reflect on commitment to solidarity in the field of development, the first and most basic truth is that development is a question of people. People are the subjects of true development, and the aim of true development is people. The integral development of people is the goal and measure of all development projects. That all people are at the centre of development is a consequence of the oneness of the human family; and this is irrespective of any technological or scientific discoveries that the future may hold. People must be the focus of all that is done to improve the conditions of life. People must be active agents, not passive recipients, in any true development process. Another principle of development as it relates to solidarity is the need to promote values that truly benefit individuals and society. It is not enough to reach out and help those in need. We must help them to discover the values which enable them to build a new life and to take their rightful place in society with dignity and justice. All people have the right to pursue and attain what is good and true. All have the right to choose those things that enhance life, and life in society is by no means morally neutral. Social choices have consequences that either promote or debase the true good of the person in society. In the field of development, and especially of development assistance, programmes have been offered which claim to be "value free" but which in fact are countervalues to life. When one considers government programmes or aid packages that virtually force communities or countries to accept contraception programmes and abortion schemes as the price of economic growth, then one has to say clearly and forcefully that these offers violate the solidarity of the human family because they deny the values of human dignity and human freedom. What is true of personal development through the choice of values that enhance life applies also to the development of society. Whatever impedes true freedom militates against the development of society and of social institutions. Exploitation, threats, forced subjection, denials of opportunities by one sector of society to another are unacceptable and contradict the very notion of human solidarity. Such activities, both within a society and among nations, may unfortunately
200


The seeds of destruction are already sown in institutionalized injustice.

seem successful for a while. However, the longer such conditions exist, the more likely they are to be the cause of still further repression and increasing violence. The seeds of destruction are already sown in institutionalized injustice. To deny the means of achieving development to any sector of a given society or to any nation can only lead to insecurity and social unrest. It breeds hatred and division and destroys the hope for peace.

The solidarity that fosters integral development is that which protects and defends the legitimate freedom of every person and the rightful security of every nation. Without this freedom and security, the very conditions for development are missing. Not only individuals but also nations must be able to share in the choices which affect them. The freedom that nations must have to ensure their growth and development as equal partners in the family of nations is dependent on reciprocal respect among them. Seeking economic, military or political superiority at the expense of the rights of other nations places in jeopardy any prospects for true development or true peace. 7. Solidarity and Development: Two Keys to Peace For these reasons, I have proposed that we reflect this year on solidarity and development as keys to peace. Each of these realities has its own specific meaning. Both are necessary for the goals we seek. Solidarity is ethical in nature because it involves an affirmation of value about humanity. For this reason, its implications for human life on this planet and for international relations are also ethical: our common bonds of humanity demand that we live in harmony and that we promote what is good for one another. These ethical implications are the reason why solidarity is a basic key to peace. In this same light, development takes on its full meaning. It is no longer a question merely of improving certain situations or economic conditions. Development ultimately becomes a question of peace, because it helps to achieve what is good for others and for the human community as a whole. In the context of true solidarity, there is no danger of exploitation or the misuse of development programmes for the benefit of the few. Rather, development thus becomes a process involving different members of the same human family and enriching them all. As solidarity gives us the ethical basis to act upon, development becomes the offer that brother makes to brother, so that both can live more fully in all the diversity and complementarity that are the hallmarks of human civilization. Out of this dynamic comes the harmonious "tranquillity of order" which is true peace. Yes, solidarity and development are two keys to peace. 8. Some Modern Problems ...

201

Many of the problems that face the world in this beginning of 1987 are indeed complex, and seem almost insoluble. Yet, if we believe in the oneness of the human family, if we insist that peace is possible, our common reflection on solidarity and development as keys to peace can shed much light on these critical issues. Certainly the continuing problem of the external debt of many of the developing countries could be looked at with new eyes if everyone concerned would consciously include these ethical considerations in the evaluations made and the solutions proposed. Many aspects of this issue protectionism, prices of raw materials, priorities in investment, respect for obligations contracted as well as consideration of the internal condition of the debtor countries - would benefit from seeking in solidarity those solutions that promote stable development. With reference to science and technology, new and powerful divisions are appearing between the technological haves and have-nots. Such inequalities do not promote peace and harmonious development, but rather compound already existing situations of inequality. If people are the subject of development and the goal to which it tends, a more open sharing of applicable technological advances with less technologically advanced countries becomes an ethical imperative of solidarity, as does a refusal to make of such countries the testing area for doubtful experiments or a dumping ground for questionable products. International agencies and various States are making notable efforts in these fields. Such efforts are an important contribution to peace. Recent contributions on the relationship between disarmament and development - two of the most crucial problems facing the world today - point to the fact that current East-West tensions and North-South inequalities present serious threats to world peace. It is becoming increasingly clear that a peaceful world, one in which the security of peoples and of States is ensured, calls for active solidarity in efforts for both development and disarmament. All States are inevitably affected by the poverty of other States; all States inevitably suffer from the lack of peace cannot be results in disarmament negotiations. Nor can we forget the ensured until a so-called local wars that take a heavy toll of human life. All security based on arms States have responsibility for world peace and this peace is gradually replaced cannot be ensured until a security based on arms is gradually with a security based replaced with a security based on the solidarity of the human on the solidarity of the family. Once again, I appeal for further efforts to reduce arms human family to the minimum necessary for legitimate defence, and for increased measures to aid the developing countries to become self-reliant. Only thus can the community of States live in true solidarity.

There is yet another threat to peace, one that throughout the world saps the very roots of every society: the breakdown of the family. The family is the basic cell of society. The family is the
202

first place where development occurs or does not occur. If it is healthy and wholesome, then the possibilities for the integral development of the whole of society are great. Too often, however, this is not the case. In too many societies, the family has become a secondary element. It is relativized by various forms of interference and it often fails to find in the State the protection and support that it needs. Not infrequently it is deprived of the just means to which it has a right so that it can grow and provide an atmosphere where its members can flourish. The phenomena of broken families, of family members forced to separate for survival, or unable even to find shelter to begin or to maintain themselves as families, are all signs of moral underdevelopment and of a society that has confused its values. A basic measure of the health of a people or nation is the importance it gives to conditions for the development of families. Conditions that are beneficial to families promote the harmony of the society and nation, and this in turn fosters peace at home and in the world. Today we see the frightening spectre of young children who are abandoned or forced into the marketplace. We find children and young people in shanty towns and in large impersonal cities where they find meagre sustenance and little or no hope for the future. The breakdown of the family structure, the dispersal of its members, especially the very young, and the consequent ills visited upon them - drug abuse, alcoholism, transient and meaningless sexual relations, exploitation by others - all are countersigns to the development of the whole person that is fostered through the social solidarity of the human family. To look into the eyes of another person and to see the hopes and anxieties of a brother or sister is to discover the meaning of solidarity. 9. ... that Challenge Us All Peace is at stake: civil peace within nations and world peace among States (cf. Populorum Progressio, 55). Paul VI saw this clearly twenty years ago. He saw the intrinsic connection between the demands of justice in the world and the possibility of peace for the world. It is no mere coincidence that the very year of the publication of Populorum Progressio also marked the institution of the annual World Day of Peace, an initiative which I was glad to continue. Paul VI already expressed the heart of this year's reflection on solidarity and development as keys to peace when he stated: "Peace cannot be limited to a mere absence of war, the result of an ever precarious balance of forces. No, peace is something that is built up day after day in pursuit of an order intended by God, which implies a more perfect form of justice among people" (ibid., 76 ). 10. The Commitment of Believers and Especially Christians All of us who believe in God are convinced that this harmonious order for which all peoples long cannot come about solely through human efforts, indispensable though they be. This peace 203

personal peace and peace for others - must at the same time be sought in prayer and meditation. In saying this, I have before my eyes and in my heart the deep experience of the recent World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi. Religious leaders and representatives of the Christian Churches and Ecclesial Communities and the World Religions gave living expression to solidarity in prayer and meditation for peace. It was a visible commitment on the part of every participant - and of the many others who j oined with us in spirit - to seek peace, to be peacemakers, to do everything possible, in the deep solidarity of the spirit to work for a society in which justice will flourish and peace abound (cf. Ps 72:7). The Just Ruler whose description the Psalmist sets before us is one who deals out justice to the poor and suffering. " He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life ..." (vv. 13-14). These words are before our eyes today as we pray that the longing for peace which marked the meeting in Assisi may be the moving force for all believers and in a special way for Christians. For Christians can discern in these inspired words of the Psalms the figure of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who brought his peace to the world, the One who healed the wounded and afflicted, announced good news to the poor and set at liberty those who were oppressed (cf. Lk 4:18). Jesus Christ is the One whom we call "our peace", and who "has broken down the dividing wall of hostility" (Eph 2: 14), in order to make peace. Yes. Precisely this wish to make peace, seen at the Assisi meeting, also encourages us to give some thought to the manner of celebrating this World Day in the future. We too are called to be like Christ, to be peacemakers through reconciliation, to be cooperators with him in the task of bringing peace to this earth by furthering the cause of justice for all peoples and nations. And we must never forget those words of his which summarize every perfect expression of human solidarity: "Treat others the way you would have them treat you" (Mt 7:12). When this commandment is broken, Christians should realize that they are causing a division and committing a sin. This sin has serious effects on the community of believers and on the whole of society. It offends God himself, who is the creator of life and the one who keeps it in being.

We too are called to be like Christ, to be peacemakers through reconciliation, to be cooperators with him in the task of bringing peace to this earth by furthering the cause of justice for all peoples and nations.

The grace and wisdom that Jesus shows even from the time of hi s hidden lif e in Nazareth with Mary and Joseph (cf. Lk 2: 51f) is a model for our own relations with one another in the family, in our nations, in the world. The service of others through word and deed that marks the public life of Jesus is a reminder to us that the solidarity of the human family has been radically deepened. It has been given a transcendent aim that ennobles all our human efforts for justice
204

and peace. Finally, the ultimate act of solidarity that the world has known - the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross for all - opens up to us Christians the way we are to follow. If our work for peace is to be fully effective, it must share in the transforming power of Christ, whose death gives life to all people born into this world, and whose triumph over death is the final guarantee that the justice which solidarity and development require will lead to lasting peace. May the acceptance that Christians give to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord direct all their efforts. May their prayers sustain them in their commitment to the cause of peace through the development of peoples in the spirit of social solidarity. 11. Final Appeal And so together we begin another year: 1987. May it be a year in which humanity finally puts aside the divisions of the past, a year in which people seek peace with all their heart. My hope is that this Message may be an occasion for each one to deepen his or her commitment to the oneness of the human family in solidarity. May it be a spur encouraging us all to seek the true good of all our brothers and sisters in an integral development that fosters all values of the human person in society. At the beginning of this Message I explained that the theme of solidarity impelled me to address this to everyone, to every man and woman in this world. I now repeat this call to every one of you, but I wish to make a special appeal in the following way: - to all of you, Government leaders and those responsible for international agencies: in order to ensure peace I appeal to you to redouble your efforts for the integral development of individuals and nations; - to all of you who participated in the World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi or who were joined spiritually with us at that time: I appeal to you that we may bear witness together to peace in the world; - to all of you who travel or who are involved in cultural exchanges: I appeal to you to be conscious instruments of greater mutual understanding, respect and esteem; - to you, my younger brothers and sisters, the youth of the world: I appeal to you to use every means to forge new bonds of peace in fraternal solidarity with young people everywhere.

The way of violence cannot obtain true justice for you or for anyone else.

205

And dare I hope to be heard by those who practise violence and terrorism? Those of you who will at least listen to my voice, I beg you again, as I have in the past, to turn away from the violent pursuit of your goals - even if the goals themselves are just. I beg you to turn away from

killing and harming the innocent. I beg you to stop undermining the very fabric of society. The way of violence cannot obtain true justice for you or for anyone else. If you want, you can still change. You can profess your own humanity and recognize human solidarity. I appeal to all of you, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, to see the face of a brother or sister in every human being. What unites us is so much more than what separates and divides us : it is our common humanity. Peace is always a gift of God, yet it depends on us too. And the keys to peace are within our grasp. It is up to us to use them to unlock all the doors! From the Vatican, 8 December 1986. JOANNES PAULUS PP. II

206

1988: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: CONDITIONS FOR PEACE

Religious freedom is a cornerstone of all human rights. Its violation whether outright in law, or subtle in practice, undermine mans natural affinity for truth and goodness, from which all other freedoms and rights find their source. The person is a free beingnothing can claim to possess a persons conscience, their ability to find and follow the truth about man and God. True and deep religious convictions serve society by countering all forms of ideology, by building brotherhood, by countering violence, by building true values in social life. Religions must respect on another and prayer for peace together. We must all become converted. As Christians, as the body of Christthe way, truth, and love, we must commit ourselves to living the freedom that we have been graced with, to truly be disciples of Christ.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1988 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: CONDITION FOR PEACE On the first day of the year, I am happy to fulfil a task, now twenty years old, of addressing the Leaders of the Nations and the Heads of the International Organizations, as well as all my brothers and sisters throughout the world who have at heart the cause of peace. For I am deeply convinced that to reflect together on the priceless treasure of peace is in a way to begin to build it. The above mentioned theme which I would like to submit this year for everybody's consideration arises from three considerations. In the first place, religious freedom, an essential requirement of the dignity of every person, is a cornerstone of the structure of human rights, and for this reason an irreplaceable factor in the good of individuals and of the whole of society, as well as of the personal fulfilment of each individual. It follows that the freedom of individuals and of communities to profess and practise their religion is an essential element for peaceful human coexistence. Peace, which is built up and consolidated at all levels of human association, puts down its roots in the freedom and openness of consciences to truth.
207

Moreover, every violation of religious freedom, whether open or hidden, does fundamental damage to the cause of peace, like violations of the other fundamental rights of the human person. Forty years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to be commemorated next December , we have to admit that millions of people in various parts of the world are still suffering for their religious convictions: they are victims of repressive and oppressive legislation, victims sometimes of open persecution, but more often of subtle forms of discrimination aimed at believers and communities. This state of affairs, in itself intolerable, is also a bad omen for peace. Furthermore, I wish to recall and hold up as a treasured memory the experience of the Day of Prayer held in Assisi on 27 October 1986. That great gathering of brothers and sisters, brought together in prayer for peace, was a sign for the world. Without any confusion or syncretism, representatives of the major religious communities throughout the world sought to express together their conviction that peace is a gift from on high; they sought to evince an active commitment to pray for peace, to welcome it and make it fruitful through practical choices of respect, solidarity and fraternity. l. The Dignity and Freedom of the Human Person Peace is not only the absence of conflict and war but " the fruit of an order written into human society by its Divine Founder " (Gaudium et Spes, 78). It is a work of justice, and for that reason it demands respect for the rights of every person and the fulfilment of corresponding duties. There is an intrinsic connection between the demands of justice, truth and peace (cf. Pacem in Terris, I and III). In accordance with this order, which is willed by the Creator, society is called upon to organize itself and to carry out its task at the service of man and the common good. The essential lines of this order can be examined by reason and recognized in historical experience. The modern development of the social sciences has enriched humanity's awareness of this order, despite all the ideological distortions and the conflicts which sometimes seem to obscure that awareness. For this reason, the Catholic Church - while seeking to fulfil faithfully her mission of proclaiming the salvation that comes from Christ alone (cf. Acts 4: 12) - turns to all people without distinction and invites them to recognize the laws of the natural order that govern human association and determine the conditions for peace. The foundation and goal of the social order is the human person, as a subject of inalienable rights which are not conferred from outside but which arise from the person's very nature.Nothing and nobody can destroy them, and no external constraint can annihilate them, for they are rooted in what is most profoundly human. Likewise, the person is not merely the subject of social, cultural and historical conditioning, for it is proper to man, who has a spiritual soul, to tend towards a goal that transcends the changing conditions of his existence. No human power may obstruct the realization of man as a person.
208

From this first and fundamental principle of the social order, namely that society exists for the person, it follow,us that every society must be organized in such a way as to enable and indeed to help man to realize his vocation in full freedom. Freedom is man's most noble prerogative. Beginning with the most private options, all individuals must be able to express themselves in an act of conscious choice, each following his or her own conscience. Without freedom, human acts are empty and valueless. The freedom with which man has been endowed by the Creator is the capacity always given to him to seek what is true by using his intelligence and to embrace without reserve the good to which he naturally aspires, without being subjected to undue pressures, constraints or violence of any kind. It belongs to the dignity of the person to be able to respond to the moral imperative of one's own conscience in the search for truth. And the truth as the Second Vatican Council emphasized "is to be sought after in a manner proper to the dignity of the human person and his social nature" (Dignitatis Humanae, 3) and "cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth" (ibid., 1). The freedom of the individual in seeking the truth and in the corresponding profession of his or her religious convictions must be specifically guaranteed within the juridical structure of society; that is, it must be recognized and confirmed by civil law as a personal and inalienable right in order to be safeguarded from any kind of coercion by individuals, social groups or any human power (cf. ibid., 2). It is quite clear that freedom of conscience and of religion does not mean a relativization of the objective truth which every human being is mor ally obliged to seek. In an organized society, such freedom is only a translation, in institutional form, of that order within which God has ordained that his creatures should be able to know and accept his eternal offer of a covenant, and be able to correspond to it as free and responsible per sons. The civil and social right to religious freedom, inasmuch as it touches the most intimate sphere of the spirit, is a point of reference of the other fundamental rights and in some way becomes a measure of them. For it is a matter of respecting the individual's most jealously guarded autonomy, thus making it possible to act according to the dictates of conscience both in private choices and in social life. The State cannot claim authority, direct or indirect, over a person's religious convictions. It cannot arrogate to itself the right to impose or to impede the profession or public practice of religion by a person or a community. In this matter, it is the duty of civil authorities to ensure that the rights of individuals and communities are equally respected, and at the same time it is their duty to safeguard proper public order. Even in cases where the State grants a special juridical position to a particular religion, there is a duty to ensure that the right to freedom of conscience is legally recognized and effectively respected for all citizens, and also for foreigners living in the country even temporarily for reasons of employment and the like.
209

In no case may the civil organization set itself up as the substitute for the conscience of the citizens, nor may it remove or take the place of the freedom of action of religious associations. A right social order requires that all - as individuals and in groups - should be able to profess their religious convictions with full respect for others . On 1 September 1980, when I addressed the Heads of State who signed the Helsinki Final Act, I intended to emphasize, among other things, that authentic religious freedom requires that the rights deriving from the social and public dimension of the profession of faith and of belonging to an organized religious community must also be guaranteed. In this regard, speaking to the General Assembly of the United Nations, I expressed my conviction that "respect for the dignity of the human person would seem to demand that, when the exact tenor of the exercise of religious freedom is being discussed or determined with a view to national laws or international conventions, the institutions that are by their nature at the service of religion should also be brought in" (AAS [1979], p. 1158). 2. A common Patrimony It must be acknowledged that the principles of which we have spoken are the common patrimony of most civil societies today, as also of the organization of international society, which has drawn up appropriate norms. These form part of the culture of our time, as is demonstrated by the ever more accurate and detailed discussion which, especially in recent years, has taken place in meetings and congresses of scholars and experts on every practical aspect of religious freedom. Nonetheless, it frequently happens that the right to religious freedom is incorrectly understood and insufficiently respected. In the first place there are spontaneous outbreaks of intolerance, more or less haphazard, sometimes the result of ignorance or mistaken ideas, which attack individuals or communities and cause disputes, bad feelings and hostility, to the detriment of peace and a united commitment to the common good. In various countries, laws and administrative practices limit or in fact annul the rights formally recognized by the Constitution for individual believers and religious groups. Furthermore, there still exist today laws and regulations which do not recognize the fundamental right to religious freedom, or which envisage completely unjustified limitations, not to mention cases of provisions which are actually discriminatory in nature and which sometimes amount to open persecution. Various organizations, public and private, national and international, have been established, especially in recent years, for the defence of those who in many parts of the world are - by reason of their religious convictions - victims of situations which are illegal and detrimental to the

210

whole human family. Before public opinion these bodies rightly express the complaints and protests of those brothers and sisters who often have no voice of their own. The Catholic Church, for her part, constantly shows her solidarity with all those suffering from discrimination and persecution because of their faith. She works with steady resolve and patient persistence for the remedying of such situations. For this purpose the Holy See seeks to make its own specific contribution in international assemblies which discuss the safeguarding of human rights and of peace. In the same sense is to be understood the action, necessarily more discreet but no less solicitous, of the Apostolic See and its Representatives in contacts with the political authorities of the whole world. 3. Religious Freedom and Peace Everybody is aware that the religious dimension, rooted in the human conscience, has a specific impact on the subject of peace, and that every attempt to impede or to coerce its free expression inevitably has grave negative effects upon the possibility of a peaceful society. An obvious consideration presents itself. As I wrote in the already mentioned Letter to the Heads of State who signed the Helsinki Final Act, religious freedom, in so far as it touches the most intimate sphere of the spirit, sustains and is as it were the raison d'etre of other freedoms. And the profession of a religion, although it consists primarily in interior acts of the spirit, involves the entire experience of human life, and thus all its manifestations. Religious freedom also contributes decisively to producing citizens who are genuinely free: for by making possible the quest for and acceptance of the truth about man and the world it helps all individuals to gain a full understanding of their own dignity. It also helps them to take up their duties with greater responsibility. An honest relationship with the truth is an essential condition for authentic freedom (cf. Redemptor Hominis, 12).

By leading people to a new understanding of their human condition, religious faith brings people, through a sincere gift of themselves, to a complete fellowship with other human beings

In this sense it can be said that religious freedom is a very important means of strengthening a people's moral integrity. Civil society can count on believers who, because of their deep convictions, will not only not succumb readily to dominating ideologies or trends but will endeavour to act in accordance with their aspirations to all that is true and right, an essential condition for securing peace (cf . Dignitatis Humanae, 8). But there is more. By leading people to a new understanding of their human condition, religious faith brings people, through a sincere gift of themselves, to a complete fellowship with other human beings (cf. Dominum et Vivificantem, 59). Faith brings people together and unites them, makes them see others as their brothers and sisters; it makes them more attentive, more
211

responsible, more generous in their commitment to the common good. It is not just a matter of feeling better disposed to collaborating with others by reason of the fact that one's own rights are ensured and protected; it is rather a matter of drawing from the deepest resources of a right conscience higher incentives for the task of building a more just and more human society. Within each State - or rather within each people - this need for a shared sense of common responsibility is more keenly felt today. But, as my predecessor Pope Paul VI had occasion to ask, how can a State call for total trust and collaboration when, in a kind of "negative confessionalism", it proclaims itself atheistic and when, within a certain framework, it declares its respect for the beliefs of individuals but in fact takes up an attitude opposed to the faith of a part of its citizens? (cf. Speech to the Diplomatic Corps, 14 January 1978). On the contrary, an effort should be made to ensure that the opposition between the religious view of the world and the agnostic or even atheistic view, which is one of the "signs of the times" of our age, should be kept within human limits of fairness and respect, without doing harm to the fundamental rights of conscience of any man or woman living on this planet (cf. John Paul II, Speech to the United Nations, 2 October 1979, No. 20). Above and beyond persisting situations of war and injustice, we are witnessing today a movement towards an increasing union of peoples and nations, on the various levels of politics, economics, culture, etc. This tendency, which appears to be unstoppable but which meets with continuous and serious obstacles, receives a profound and not insignificant impulse from religious conviction. For the latter, by excluding recourse to violent methods for resolving conflicts and by educating to fraternal solidarity and love, fosters understanding and reconciliation, and can provide fresh moral resources for the solution of questions in the face of which humanity today seems weak and powerless. 4. The Responsibility of Religious People The State's duties regarding the exercise of the right of religious freedom are matched by the precise and grave responsibilities of men and women for both their individual religious profession and the organization and life of the communities to which they belong. In the first place, the leaders of religious bodies are obliged to present their teaching without allowing themselves to be conditioned by personal, political or social interests, and in ways that conform to the requirements of peaceful coexistence and respect for the freedom of each individual. Similarly, the followers of the various religions should, individually and collectively, express their convictions and organize their worship and all other specific activities with respect for the rights of those who do not belong to that religion or do not profess any creed. And it is precisely with regard to peace, mankind's supreme aspiration, that every religious community and every individual believer can test the genuineness of their commitment to
212

solidarity with their brother s and sisters. Today as perhaps never before, the world looks expectantly to the various religions, precisely in matters concerning peace. At the same time there is reason to rejoice that both the leaders of the religious bodies and the ordinary faithful are showing an ever keener interest and a livelier desire to work for peace. These intentions deserve to be encouraged and appropriately coordinated in order to increase their effectiveness. For this purpose, it is necessary to go to the roots. That is what happened last year at Assisi. In response to my fraternal invitation, the leaders of the world's main religions gathered in order to affirm together - while remaining faithful to each one's religious conviction - their common commitment to building peace. In the spirit of Assisi there is here a question of a binding and demanding gift, a gift to be cultivated and brought to maturity: in mutual acceptance and respect, renouncing ideological intimidation and violence, promoting institutions and methods of joint action and cooperation between peoples and nations, but especially in education for peace, considered at a level well above the necessary and hoped for reform of structures - peace that presupposes the conversion of hearts. 5. The Commitment of the Followers of Christ We recognize with joy that among the Christian Churches and Ecclesial Communions this process is already happily begun. I would like to express the hope that it will continue to receive a fresh impulse and that it will spread and bring about a broader involvement of all the adherents of the world's religions, in the great challenge of peace.

From this free and liberating act of faith there flow a new vision of the world, a new approach to our brethren, a new way of existing as a leaven in society.

As the Pastor of the universal Church I would be failing in my duty if I did not speak out in favour of respect for the inalienable right of the Gospel to be proclaimed "to the whole creation" (Mk 16: 15), and if I did not repeat that God has ordered civil society to the service of the human person, to whom belongs the freedom to seek and embrace the truth. The commitment to truth, freedom, justice and peace is a mark of the followers of Christ the Lord. For we bear in our hearts the revealed certainty that God the Father, through his crucified Son, who "is our peace" (Eph 2: 14), has made of us a new People, which has as a condition the freedom of the children of God and as a statute the precept of fraternal love.

As the People of the New Covenant, we know that our freedom fids its highest expression in total acceptance of the divine call to salvation, and with the Apostle John we profess: "we know and believe the love God has for us " (1 Jn 4:16), the love manifested in his Word made flesh. From this free and liberating act of faith there flow a new vision of the world, a new approach to
213

our brethren, a new way of existing as a leaven in society. It is the "new commandment" (Jn 13:34) which the Lord has given us; it is " his peace " (cf. Jn 14:27) - not the peace of the world that is always imperfect - which he has left us. We have to live completely and responsibly the freedom which comes to us from being children of God and which opens our eyes to transcendent prospects. We have to commit ourselves with all our strength to living the new commandment, allowing ourselves to be enlightened by the peace which has been given to us and radiating it to those around us. "By this ", the Lord admonishes us, "all men will know that you are my disciples" (Jn 13:35). I am well aware that this formidable commitment is beyond our poor powers. How many divisions and misunderstandings we Christians bear a certain responsibility for, and how much more remains for us to build, in our own spirits, in our families and communities, beneath the banner of reconciliation and fraternal charity! And, as we have to admit, the conditions of the world make the task no easier. The temptation to violence is always there. Selfishness, materialism and pride make man ever less free and society ever less open to the demands of brotherhood. Be this as it may, we must not become discouraged: Jesus, our Master and Lord, is with us always, to the close of the age (cf. Mt 28:20). My thoughts turn with particular affection to those brothers and sister s who are deprived of the freedom to profess their Christian faith, to all who are suffering persecution for the name of Christ, to those who for his sake must suffer rejection and humiliation. I want these brothers and sisters of ours to feel our spiritual closeness, our solidarity, and the comfort of our prayer. We know that their sacrifice, to the extent that it is joined to Christ's, bears fruits of true peace. Brothers and sister s in the faith: the commitment to peace is one of the testimonies which today makes us credible in the eyes of the world, and especially in the eyes of the younger generation. The great challenge facing modern man, the challenge to his true freedom, is found in the Gospel Beatitude: "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Mt 5: 9). The world needs peace, the world ardently desires peace. Let us pray that all men and women, enjoying religious freedom, may be able to live in peace. From the Vatican, 8 December 1987. JOANNES PAULUS PP. II

214

1989: TO BUILD PEACE, RESPECT MINORITIES

In the internal life of many nations, minorities exists which suffer from abuse, discrimination, exclusion, and sometimes outright genocide. But minorities have the right to not only exist, but to be protected and honored as a precious gift, as another beautiful expression of a united human family,. Minorities are not differences to be fear and assimilated and stripped, but are to be prized as cooperators in building a society of peace and justice. They have rights to land, culture, religion, and to full economic and political participation. They also have duties confront injustice with dialogue rather than violence, to work for the common good of all, and to respect the freedom of their peers who wish to join the majority culture. They must not isolate themselves, but rather join society bearing their full and proud identity. For Christians, we must oppose not only all discrimination in society, but especially with the body of Christ itself!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1989 TO BUILD PEACE, RESPECT MINORITIES Introduction 1. "From the 19th century a certain political trend has spread and taken hold in all parts of the world according to which people of the same extraction wish to be independent and to set themselves up as a nation apart. But since, for various reasons, this cannot always be achieved, it follows that ethnic minorities are often included within the national borders of a different ethnic group, and this leads to quite complex problems" (Encyclical Pacem in Terris, III). With these words, twenty-five years ago, my venerable predecessor Pope John XXIII pointed to one of the most delicate questions affecting contemporary society, a question which, with the passing of time, has become even more pressing since it is related to the organization of social and civil life within each country, as well as to the life of the international community. It is for this reason that, in choosing a specific theme for the World Day of Peace, I think it appropriate to present for general reflection the problem of minorities. For we are all aware that,
215

as the Second Vatican Council affirms, "peace is not merely the absence of war, nor can it be reduced solely to the maintenance of a balance of power between enemies" (Gaudium et Spes, 78). Rather, peace is a dynamic process which must take account of the many conditions and factors that can either favour it or disturb it. It is clear that at this time of increased international dtente resulting from agreements and mediations which allow us to look forward to solutions in favour of peoples who have been the victims of bloody conflicts, the question of minorities is assuming a notable importance. Consequently, it constitutes a matter for careful reflection on the part of political and religious leaders and all men and women of good will. 2. As communities which take their origin from separate cultural traditions, racial and ethnic stock, religious beliefs, or historical experiences, minority groups exist in almost all societies today. Some go very far back in time, others are of recent origin. The situations in which they live are so diverse that it is almost impossible to draw up a complete picture of them. On the one hand there are groups, even very small ones, which are able to preserve and affirm their own identity and are well integrated within the societies to which they belong. In neither passivity nor some cases, such minority groups even succeed in imposing violence represents their control on the majority in public life. On the other the proper path for hand one sees minorities which exert no influence and do creating conditions of not fully enjoy their rights, but rather find themselves in true peace situations of suffering and distress. This can lead them either to passive resignation or to unrest and even rebellion. Yet, neither passivity nor violence represents the proper path for creating conditions of true peace.

Some minority groups share another experience: that of separation or exclusion. While it is true that at times a group may deliberately choose to remain apart in order to protect its own way of life, it is more often true that minorities are confronted by barriers that keep them apart from the rest of society. While in such a context the minority group tends to become closed within itself, the majority group may foster a feeling of rejection towards this group as a whole or towards its individual members. When this happens, the latter are no longer in a position actively and creatively to contribute to building a peace based on the acceptance of legitimate differences. Fundamental principles 3. In a nation made up of various groups of people there are two general principles which can never be abrogated and which constitute the basis of all social organization. The first of these principles is the inalienable dignity of every human person, irrespective of racial, ethnic, cultural or national origin, or religious belief . Individuals do not exist for themselves alone, but achieve their full identity in relation to others. The same can be said about
216

groups of people. They indeed have a right to a collective identity that must be safeguarded, in accordance with the dignity of each member. Such a right remains intact even in cases in which the group, or one of its members, acts against the common good. In such situations, the alleged abuse must be addressed by the competent authorities, without the whole group being condemned, since that would be against justice. At the same time, the members of minority groups have the duty to treat others with the same respect and sense of dignity.

differences between the members of the human family should be used to strengthen unity, rather than serve as a cause of division

The second principle concerns the fundamental unity of the human race, which takes its origin from the one God, the Creator, who, in the language of Sacred Scripture, "made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth " (Acts 17:26) . The unity of the human family requires that l:he whole of humanity, beyond its ethnic, national, cultural and religious differences, should form a community that is free of discrimination between peoples and that strives for reciprocal solidarity. Unity also requires that differences between the members of the human family should be used to strengthen unity, rather than serve as a cause of division.

The obligation to accept and defend diversity belongs not only to the State and to the groups themselves. Every individual, as a member of the one human family, ought to understand and respect the value of human diversity and direct it to the common good. A mind that is open and desirous of knowing better the cultural heritage of the minority groups with which it comes into contact will help to eliminate attitudes of prejudice which hinder healthy social relations. This is a process which has to be continuously fostered, since such attitudes tend to reappear time and again under new forms. Peace within the one human family requires a constructive development of what distinguishes us as individuals and peoples, and of what constitutes our identity. Furthermore, on the part of all social groups, whether constituted as States or not, peace requires a readiness to contribute to the building of a peaceful world. The micro-community and the macro-community are bound by reciprocal rights and duties, the observance of which serves to consolidate peace. Rights and duties of minorities 4. One of the objectives of a State ruled by law is that all its citizens may enjoy the same dignity and the same equality before the law. Nonetheless, the existence of minorities as identifiable groups within a State raises the question of their specific rights and duties. Many of these rights and duties have to do precisely with the relationship of minority groups to the State. In some cases, these rights have been codified and minorities enjoy specific legal protection. But not infrequently, even where the State guarantees such protection, minorities can suffer discrimination and exclusion. In these cases, the State itself has an obligation to promote
217

and foster the rights of the minority groups, since peace and internal security can only be guaranteed through respect for the rights of all those for whom the State has responsibility. 5. The first right of minorities is the right to exist. This right can be ignored in many ways, including such extreme cases as its denial through overt or indirect forms of genocide. The right to life as such is inalienable, and the State which perpetrates or tolerates acts aimed at endangering the lives of its citizens belonging to minority groups violates the fundamental law governing the social order. 6. The right to exist can be undermined also in more subtle ways. Certain peoples, especially those identified as native or indigenous, have always maintained a special relationship to their land, a relationship connected with the group's very identity as a people having their own tribal, cultural and religious traditions. When such indigenous peoples are deprived of their land they lose a vital element of their way of life and actually run the risk of disappearing as a people. 7. Another right which must be safeguarded is the right of minorities to preserve and develop their own culture. It is not unheard of that minority groups are threatened with cultural extinction. In some places, in fact, laws have been enacted which do not recognize their right to use their own language. At times people are forced to change their family and place names. Some minorities see their artistic and literary expressions ignored, with their festivals and celebrations given no place in public life. All this can lead to the loss of a notable cultural heritage. Closely connected with this right is the right to have contact with groups having a common cultural and historical heritage but living in the territory of another State. 8. Here I will make only a brief mention of the right to religious freedom, since this was the theme of my Message for last year's World Day of Peace. This right applies to all religious communities, as well as to individuals, and includes the free manifestation of religious beliefs, both individually and collectively. Consequently, religious minorities must be able to worship as a community, according to their own rites. They must also be in a position to provide religious education through appropriate teaching programmes and to utilize the necessary means to this end. Moreover, it is very important that the State should effectively ensure and promote the observance of religious freedom, especially when, alongside the great majority who follow one religion, there exist one or more minority groups of another faith. Finally, religious minorities must be guaranteed a legitimate freedom of exchange and contacts with other communities, both within and outside their own national borders . 9. Today, fundamental human rights are enshrined in many international and national declarations. However essential these juridical instruments may be, they are still not enough to overcome deep-seated attitudes of prejudice and distrust, or to eliminate ways of thinking which lead to actions directed against minority groups. The translation of law into behaviour constitutes
218

a long and slow process, especially with a view to eradicating such attitudes. This does not make the process any less urgent. Not only the State, but also each individual has the obligation to do everything possible to achieve this goal. The State, though, can play an important role by favouring the promotion of cultural initiatives and exchanges which aid mutual understanding, as well as educational programmes which help to train young people to respect others and reject all prejudices, many of which stem from ignorance. Parents too have a great responsibility, since children learn much from observation and tend to adopt their parents' attitudes towards other peoples and groups. There is no doubt that the development of a culture based on respect for others is essential to the building of a peaceful society. But unfortunately the evidence today is that the effective exercise of this respect meets with considerable difficulties. In practice, the State must be alert to prevent new forms of discrimination, as for example in access to housing or employment. In this respect the policies of public authorities are often laudably complemented by the generous initiatives of voluntary groups, religious organizations and people of good will, working to lower tensions and promote greater social justice by helping so many brothers and sisters to find work and decent housing. 10. Delicate problems arise when a minority group puts forward claims which have particular political implications. A group may sometimes be seeking independence or at least greater political autonomy. I wish to restate that, in such delicate circumstances, dialogue and negotiation are the obligatory path to peace. The willingness of parties involved to meet and talk to one another is the indispensable condition for reaching an equitable solution to the complex problems that can seriously obstruct peace. And a refusal to enter into dialogue can open the door to violence. In some situations of conflict, terrorist groups unduly arrogate to themselves the exclusive right to speak in the name of a minority, depriving it of the possibility of freely and openly choosing, its own representatives and of seeking a solution without intimidation. In addition, the members of such minority communities too often suffer from the acts of violence wrongfully committed in their name. May those who follow the inhuman path of terrorism hear my voice: to strike blindly, kill innocent people or carry out bloody reprisals does not help a just evaluation of the claims advanced by the minorities for whom they claim to act! (cf. Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 24). 11. Every right carries with it corresponding duties . Members of minority groups also have their own duties towards society and the State in which they live: in the first place, the duty to cooperate, like all citizens, for the common good. Minorities, in fact, must offer their own specific contribution to the building of a peaceful world that will reflect the rich diversity of all its inhabitants.
219

Secondly, a minority group has the duty to promote the freedom and dignity of each one of its members and to respect the decisions of each one, even if someone were to decide to adopt the majority culture. In situations of real injustice it may be the duty of groups which have emigrated to other countries to demand respect for the legitimate rights of the members of their group who remain oppressed in their place of origin and who cannot themselves make their voice heard. In such cases great prudence and enlightened discernment must be exercised, especially when it is difficult to have objective information about the changing conditions of life of the people involved. All members of minority groups, wherever they may be, must conscientiously judge the correctness of their claims in the light of historical developments and present reality. Not to do so would involve the risk of remaining prisoners of the past without prospects for the future . Building peace 12. In the above reflections one can perceive the outline of a just and peaceful society, to the achievement of which all have a responsibility to contribute with every possible effort. Building this society requires a wholehearted commitment to eliminate not only evident discrimination but also all barriers that divide groups. Reconciliation according to justice and with respect for the legitimate aspirations of all sectors of the community must be the rule. Above all and in all, the patient effort to build a peaceful society finds strength and fulfilment in the love that embraces all peoples. Such a love can be expressed in countless concrete ways of serving the rich diversity of the human race, which is one in origin and destiny. The increased awareness which is found today at every level regarding the situation of minority groups constitutes for our own times a hopeful sign for the coming generations and for the aspirations of minority groups themselves. Indeed, in a sense, respect for minorities is to be considered the touchstone of social harmony and the index of the civic maturity attained by a country and its institutions. In a truly democratic society, to guarantee the participation of minorities in political life is a sign of a highly developed civilization, and it brings honour upon those nations in which all citizens are guaranteed a share in national life in a climate of true freedom. 13. Finally, I wish to address a special appeal to my brothers and sisters in Christ. Whatever our origin and wherever we live, all of us know through faith that in Christ "we all have access in one Spirit to the Father" for we have become "members of the household of God" (Eph 2:18, 19). As members of the one family of God we can tolerate no division or discrimination in our midst. When the Father sent his Son into the world he entrusted him with a mission of universal salvation. Jesus came that " all may have life and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10). No person, no group is excluded from this mission of unifying love which has now been entrusted to us. We too

220

must pray as Jesus did on the very eve of his death, with the simple and sublime words: " Father may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you" (Jn 17: 21 ). This prayer must be our life's work, our witness, since as Christians we acknowledge that we have a common Father who makes no distinction of persons and "loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing" (Dt 10:18). 14. When the Church speaks of discrimination in general or, as in this Message, of the particular discrimination that affects minority groups, she addresses her own members first of all, whatever their position or responsibility in society. Just as there can be no place for discrimination within the Church, so no Christian can knowingly foster or support structures and attitudes that unjustly divide individuals or groups. This same teaching must be applied to those who have recourse to violence or support it. 15. In closing, I would like to express my spiritual closeness to those members of minority groups who are suffering. I know their moments of pain and their reasons for legitimate pride. My prayer is that their trials may soon cease and that all may be secure in the enjoyment of their rights. I in turn ask for prayers, that the peace we seek may be an ever more genuine peace, built on the "cornerstone" which is Christ himself (cf. Eph 2:20-22). May God bless everyone with the gift of his peace and his love! From the Vatican, 8 December 1988. JOANNES PAULUS PP. II

221

1990: PEACE WITH GOD THE CREATOR, PEACE WITH ALL OF CREATION
The modern world faces an ecological crisis rooted in our moral failure to be good stewards of Gods good creation. This is a global problem that will take a global solution, starting with a re-appraisal of our attitudes and value. Our no to Godboth in the beginning and in today is also a no to Gods creation. Creation has an integrity and order which must be respected with wisdom and love. We must first respect lifefor in valuing production over persons, we have destroyed much of our environment. We even tinker with our genetics! We squander resources instead of sharing them. We must accept responsibility, and working in global solidarity, address this crisis. We must live simply, we must renounce the earth-killing wars of modern weapons, and protect what God has given us.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1990 PEACE WITH GOD THE CREATOR, PEACE WITH ALL OF CREATION Introduction 1. In our day, there is a growing awareness that world peace is threatened not only by the arms race, regional conflicts and continued injustices among peoples and nations, but also by a lack of due respect for nature, by the plundering of natural resources and by a progressive decline in the quality of life. The sense of precariousness and insecurity that such a situation engenders is a seedbed for collective selfishness, disregard for others and dishonesty. Faced with the widespread destruction of the environment, people everywhere are coming to understand that we cannot continue to use the goods of the earth as we have in the past. The public in general as well as political leaders are concerned about this problem, and experts from a wide range of disciplines are studying its causes. Moreover, a new ecological awareness is beginning to emerge which, rather than being downplayed, ought to be encouraged to develop into concrete programmes and initiatives.

222

2. Many ethical values, fundamental to the development of a peaceful society, are particularly relevant to the ecological question. The fact that many challenges facing the world today are interdependent confirms the need for carefully coordinated solutions based on a morally coherent world view. For Christians, such a world view is grounded in religious convictions drawn from Revelation. That is why I should like to begin this Message with a reflection on the biblical account of creation. I would hope that even those who do not share these same beliefs will find in these pages a common ground for reflection and action. I. "And God saw that it was good" 3. In the Book of Genesis, where we find God's first self-revelation to humanity (Gen 1-3), there is a recurring refrain: "And God saw that it was good". After creating the heavens, the sea, the earth and all it contains, God created man and woman. At this point the refrain changes markedly: "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good (Gen 1:31). God entrusted the whole of creation to the man and woman, and only then - as we read - could he rest "from all his work" (Gen 2:3). Adam and Eve's call to share in the unfolding of God's plan of creation brought into play those abilities and gifts which distinguish the human being from all other creatures. At the same time, their call established a fixed relationship between mankind and the rest of creation. Made in the image and likeness of God, Adam and Eve were to have exercised their dominion over the earth (Gen 1:28) with wisdom and love. Instead, they destroyed the existing harmony by deliberately going against the Creator's plan, that is, by choosing to sin. This resulted not only in man's alienation from himself, in death and fratricide, but also in the earth's "rebellion" against him (cf. Gen 3:17-19; 4:12). All of creation became subject to futility, waiting in a mysterious way to be set free and to obtain a glorious liberty together with all the children of God (cf. Rom 8:20-21). 4. Christians believe that the Death and Resurrection of Christ accomplished the work of reconciling humanity to the Father, who "was pleased ... through (Christ) to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross" (Col 1:19-20). Creation was thus made new (cf. Rev 21:5). Once subjected to the bondage of sin and decay (cf. Rom 8:21 ), it has now received new life while "we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Pt 3:13). Thus, the Father "has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery . . . which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, all things in heaven and things on earth" (Eph 1:9-10). 5. These biblical considerations help us to understand better the relationship between human activity and the whole of creation. When man turns his back on the Creator's plan, he provokes a disorder which has inevitable repercussions on the rest of the created order. If man is not at peace with God, then earth itself cannot be at peace: "Therefore the land mourns and all who dwell in it

223

languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and even the fish of the sea are taken away" (Hos 4:3). The profound sense that the earth is "suffering" is also shared by those who do not profess our faith in God. Indeed, the increasing devastation of the world of nature is apparent to all. It results from the behaviour of people who show a callous disregard for the hidden, yet perceivable requirements of the order and harmony which govern nature itself . People are asking anxiously if it is still possible to remedy the damage which has been done. Clearly, an adequate solution cannot be found merely in a better management or a more rational use of the earth's resources, as important as these may be. Rather, we must go to the source of the problem and face in its entirety that profound moral crisis of which the destruction of the environment is only one troubling aspect. II. The ecological crisis: a moral problem 6. Certain elements of today's ecological crisis reveal its moral character. First among these is the indiscriminate application of advances in science and technology. Many recent discoveries have brought undeniable benefits to humanity. Indeed, they demonstrate the nobility of the human vocation to participate responsibly in God's creative action in the world. Unfortunately, it is now clear that the application of these discoveries in the fields of industry and agriculture have produced harmful long-term effects. This has led to the painful realization that we cannot interfere in one area of the ecosystem without paying due attention both to the consequences of such interference in other areas and to the well-being of future generations. The gradual depletion of the ozone layer and the related "greenhouse effect"has now reached crisis proportions as a consequence of industrial growth, massive urban concentrations and vastly increased energy needs. Industrial waste, the burning of fossil fuels, unrestricted deforestation, the use of certain types of herbicides, coolants and propellants: all of these are known to harm the atmosphere and environment. The resulting meteorological and atmospheric changes range from damage to health to the possible future submersion of low-lying lands. While in some cases the damage already done may well be irreversible, in many other cases it can still be halted. It is necessary, however, that the entire human community - individuals, States and international bodies - take seriously the responsibility that is theirs. 7. The most profound and serious indication of the moral implications underlying the ecological problem is the lack of respect for life evident in many of the patterns of environmental pollution. Often, the interests of production prevail over concern for the dignity of workers, while economic interests take priority over the good of individuals and even entire peoples. In these cases, pollution or environmental destruction is the result of an unnatural and reductionist vision which at times leads to a genuine contempt for man.

224

On another level, delicate ecological balances are upset by the uncontrolled destruction of animal and plant life or by a reckless exploitation of natural resources. It should be pointed out that all of this, even if carried out in the name of progress and well-being, is ultimately to mankind's disadvantage. Finally, we can only look with deep concern at the enormous possibilities of biological research. We are not yet in a position to assess the biological disturbance that could result from indiscriminate genetic manipulation and from the unscrupulous development of new forms of plant and animal life, to say nothing of unacceptable experimentation regarding the origins of human life itself. It is evident to all that in any area as delicate as this, indifference to fundamental ethical norms, or their rejection, would lead mankind to the very threshold of selfdestruction. Respect for life, and above all for the dignity of the human person, is the ultimate guiding norm for any sound economic, industrial or scientific progress. The complexity of the ecological question is evident to all. There are, however, certain underlying principles, which, while respecting the legitimate autonomy and the specific competence of those involved, can direct research towards adequate and lasting solutions. These principles are essential to the building of a peaceful society; no peaceful society can afford to neglect either respect for life or the fact that there is an integrity to creation. III. In search of a solution 8. Theology, philosophy and science all speak of a harmonious universe, of a "cosmos" endowed with its own integrity, its own internal, dynamic balance. This order must be respected. The human race is called to explore this order, to examine it with due care and to make use of it while safeguarding its integrity. On the other hand, the earth is ultimately a common heritage, the fruits of which are for the benefit of all. In the words of the Second Vatican Council, "God destined the earth and all it contains for the use of every individual and all peoples" (Gaudium et Spes, 69). This has direct consequences for the problem at hand. It is manifestly unjust that a privileged few should continue to accumulate excess goods, squandering available resources, while masses of people are living in conditions of misery at the very lowest level of subsistence. Today, the dramatic threat of ecological breakdown is teaching us the extent to which greed and selfishness - both individual and collective - are contrary to the order of creation, an order which is characterized by mutual interdependence.

It is manifestly unjust that a privileged few should continue to accumulate excess goods, squandering available resources, while masses of people are living in conditions of misery at the very lowest level of subsistence.

225

9. The concepts of an ordered universe and a common heritage both point to the necessity of a more internationally coordinated approach to the management of the earth's goods. In many cases the effects of ecological problems transcend the borders of individual States; hence their solution cannot be found solely on the national level. Recently there have been some promising steps towards such international action, yet the existing mechanisms and bodies are clearly not adequate for the development of a comprehensive plan of action. Political obstacles, forms of exaggerated nationalism and economic interests - to mention only a few factors - impede international cooperation and long-term effective action. The need for joint action on the international level does not lessen the responsibility of each individual State. Not only should each State join with others in implementing internationally accepted standards, but it should also make or facilitate necessary socio-economic adjustments within its own borders, giving special attention to the most vulnerable sectors of society. The State should also actively endeavour within its own territory to prevent destruction of the atmosphere and biosphere, by carefully monitoring , among other things, the impact of new technological or scientific advances. The State also has the responsibility of ensuring that its citizens are not exposed to dangerous pollutants or toxic wastes. The right to a safe environment is ever more insistently presented today as a right that must be included in an updated Charter of Human Rights. IV. The urgent need for a new solidarity 10. The ecological crisis reveals the urgent moral need for a new solidarity, especially in relations between the developing nations and those that are highly industrialized. States must increasingly share responsibility, in complimentary ways, for the promotion of a natural and social environment that is both peaceful and healthy. The newly industrialized States cannot, for example, be asked to apply restrictive environmental standards to their emerging industries unless the industrialized States first apply them within their own boundaries. At the same time, countries in the process of industrialization are not morally free to repeat the errors made in the past by others, and recklessly continue to damage the environment through industrial pollutants, radical deforestation or unlimited exploitation of non-renewable resources. In this context, there is urgent need to find a solution to the treatment and disposal of toxic wastes. No plan or organization, however, will be able to effect the necessary changes unless world leaders are truly convinced of the absolute need for this new solidarity, which is demanded of them by the ecological crisis and which is essential for peace. This need presents new opportunities for strengthening cooperative and peaceful relations among States. 11. It must also be said that the proper ecological balance will not be found without directly addressing the structural forms of poverty that exist throughout the world. Rural poverty and unjust land distribution in many countries, for example, have led to subsistence farming and to the exhaustion of the soil. Once their land yields no more, many farmers move on to clear new
226

land, thus accelerating uncontrolled deforestation, or they settle in urban centres which lack the infrastructure to receive them. Likewise, some heavily indebted countries are destroying their natural heritage, at the price of irreparable ecological imbalances, in order to develop new products for export. In the face of such situations it would be wrong to assign responsibility to the poor alone for the negative environmental consequences of their actions. Rather, the poor, to whom the earth is entrusted no less than to others, must be enabled to find a way out of their poverty. This will require a courageous reform of structures, as well as new ways of relating among peoples and States. 12. But there is another dangerous menace which threatens us, namely war. Unfortunately, modern science already has the capacity to change the environment for hostile purposes. Alterations of this kind over the long term could have unforeseeable and still more serious consequences. Despite the international agreements which prohibit chemical, bacteriological and biological warfare, the fact is that laboratory research continues to develop new offensive weapons capable of altering the balance of nature. Today, any form of war on a global scale would lead to incalculable ecological damage. But even local or regional wars, however limited, not only destroy human life and social structures, but also damage the land, ruining crops and vegetation as well as poisoning the soil and water. The survivors of war are forced to begin a new life in very difficult environmental conditions, which in turn create situations of extreme social unrest, with further negative consequences for the environment.

Simplicity, moderation and discipline, as well as a spirit of sacrifice, must become a part of everyday life, lest all suffer the negative consequences of the careless habits of a few.

13. Modern society will find no solution to the ecological problem unless it takes a serious look at its life style. In many parts of the world society is given to instant gratification and consumerism while remaining indifferent to the damage which these cause. As I have already stated, the seriousness of the ecological issue lays bare the depth of man's moral crisis. If an appreciation of the value of the human person and of human life is lacking, we will also lose interest in others and in the earth itself. Simplicity, moderation and discipline, as well as a spirit of sacrifice, must become a part of everyday life, lest all suffer the negative consequences of the careless habits of a few.

An education in ecological responsibility is urgent: responsibility for oneself, for others, and for the earth. This education cannot be rooted in mere sentiment or empty wishes. Its purpose cannot be ideological or political. It must not be based on a rejection of the modern world or a vague desire to return to some "paradise lost" . Instead, a true education in responsibility entails a genuine conversion in ways of thought and behaviour. Churches and religious bodies, non227

governmental and governmental organizations, indeed all members of society, have a precise role to play in such education. The first educator, however, is the family, where the child learns to respect his neighbour and to love nature. 14. Finally, the aesthetic value of creation cannot be overlooked. Our very contact with nature has a deep restorative power; contemplation of its magnificence imparts peace and serenity. The Bible speaks again and again of the goodness and beauty of creation, which is called to glorify God (cf. Gen l:4ff; Ps 8:2; 104:1ff; Wis 13:3-5; Sir 39:16, 33; 43:1, 9). More difficult perhaps, but no less profound, is the contemplation of the works of human ingenuity. Even cities can have a beauty all their own, one that ought to motivate people to care for their surroundings. Good urban planning is an important part of environmental protection, and respect for the natural contours of the land is an indispensable prerequisite for ecologically sound development. The relationship between a good aesthetic education and the maintenance of a healthy environment cannot be overlooked. V. The ecological crisis: a common responsibility 15. Today the ecological crisis has assumed such proportions as to be the responsibility of everyone. As I have pointed out, its various aspects demonstrate the need for concerted efforts aimed at establishing the duties and obligations that belong to individuals, peoples, States and the international community. This not only goes hand in hand with efforts to build true peace, but also confirms and reinforces those efforts in a concrete way. When the ecological crisis is set within the broader context of the search for peace within society, we can understand better the importance of giving attention to what the earth and its atmosphere are telling us: namely, that there is an order in the universe which must be respected, and that the human person, endowed with the capability of choosing freely, has a grave responsibility to preserve this order for the well-being of future generations. I wish to repeat that the ecological crisis is a moral issue. Even men and women without any particular religious conviction, but with an acute sense of their responsibilities for the common good, recognize their obligation to contribute to the restoration of a healthy environment. All the more should men and women who believe in God the Creator, and who are thus convinced that there is a well-defined unity and order in the world, feel called to address the problem. Christians, in particular, realize that their responsibility within creation and their duty towards nature and the Creator are an essential part of their faith. As a result, they are conscious of a vast field of ecumenical and interreligious cooperation opening up before them. 16. At the conclusion of this Message, I should like to address directly my brothers and sisters in the Catholic Church, in order to remind them of their serious obligation to care for all of creation. The commitment of believers to a healthy environment for everyone stems directly from their belief in God the Creator, from their recognition of the effects of original and personal sin, and from the certainty of having been redeemed by Christ. Respect for life and for the
228

dignity of the human person extends also to the rest of creation, which is called to join man in praising God (cf. Ps 148:96). In 1979, I proclaimed Saint Francis of Assisi as the heavenly Patron of those who promote ecology (cf. Apostolic Letter Inter Sanctos: AAS 71 [1979], 1509f.). He offers Christians an example of genuine and deep respect for the integrity of creation. As a friend of the poor who was loved by God's creatures, Saint Francis invited all of creation - animals, plants, natural forces, even Brother Sun and Sister Moon - to give honour and praise to the Lord. The poor man of Assisi gives us striking witness that when we are at peace with God we are better able to devote ourselves to building up that peace with all creation which is inseparable from peace among all peoples. It is my hope that the inspiration of Saint Francis will help us to keep ever alive a sense of "fraternity" with all those good and beautiful things which Almighty God has created. And may he remind us of our serious obligation to respect and watch over them with care, in light of that greater and higher fraternity that exists within the human family. From the Vatican, 8 December 1989. IOANNES PAULUS PP. II

229

1991: IF YOU WANT PEACE, RESPECT THE CONSCIENCE OF EVERY PERSON

Conscience, that deep part of the person that seeks to know and follow truth, must be fully respected in order to achieve peace. For truth can never be imposed by coercive means. Truth is accepted or rejected in the soul. Conscience is not mere opinion, but is the capacity for truth. As such, conscience is the search for all truthGodand is intimately linked with freedom of religion. Conscience, then, must be formed according to truth and God, through family, school, the Church, and the media. Intolerance of conscience, of religion, of the quest for truth, leads to injustice, conflict and warespecially when a majority forces its conscience on a minority. Not only must international law protect freedom of conscience and religion, but states must foster the growth and respect of conscience. Only then can cultures reconcile in a joint effort to secure peace. As Christians, we know that our search for truth is the embrace of Christ as Lord and savior. In him, we can bring unity and truth to the world.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE XXIV WORLD DAY OF PEACE "IF YOU WANT PEACE, RESPECT THE CONSCIENCE OF EVERY PERSON" 1 JANUARY 1991

Today the many peoples who make up the one human family are increasingly concerned that freedom of conscience, which is essential for the freedom of every human being, be recognized in practice and safeguarded by law. I have already devoted two Messages for the World Day of Peace to various aspects of this freedom, which remains fundamental for peace in the world. In 1988 I proposed some reflections on religious freedom. It is essential that the right to express one's own religious convictions publicly and in all domains of civil life be ensured if human beings are to live together in peace. I noted on that occasion that "peace... puts down its roots in the freedom and openness of consciences to truth"1. The following year I continued this reflection by proposing some thoughts on the need to respect the rights of civil and religious minorities, "one of the most delicate questions affecting contemporary society... since it is related to the organization of social and civil life within each country, as well as to the life of the international community"2. This year I wish to consider specifically the importance of respect for the conscience of every person, as a necessary basis for peace in the world.
230

I. Freedom of Conscience and Peace The need to take concrete steps towards ensuring full respect for freedom of conscience, both legally and in ordinary human relations, has become even more urgent in the light of the events of last year. The rapid changes which have taken place show very clearly that a person may not be treated as a kind of object governed solely by forces outside of his or her control. Rather, the individual person, despite human frailty, has the ability to seek and freely know the good, to recognize and reject evil, to choose truth and to oppose error. In creating the person, God wrote on the human heart a law which everyone can discover (cf. Rom 2:15). Conscience for its part is the ability to judge and act according to that law: "To obey it is the very dignity of man"3. No human authority has the right to interfere with a person's conscience. Conscience bears witness to the transcendence of the person, also in regard to society at large, and, as such, is inviolable. Conscience, however, is not an absolute placed above truth and error. Rather, by its very nature, it implies a relation to objective truth, a truth which is universal, the same for all, which all can and must seek. It is in this relation to objective truth that freedom of conscience finds its justification, inasmuch as it is a necessary condition for seeking the truth worthy of man, and for adhering to that truth once it is sufficiently known. This in turn necessarily requires that each individual's conscience be respected by everyone else; people must not attempt to impose their own "truth" on others. The right to profess the truth must always be upheld, but not in a way which involves contempt for those who may think differently. Truth imposes itself solely by the force of its own truth. To deny an individual complete freedom of conscience and in particular the freedom to seek the truth or to attempt to impose a particular way of seeing the truth, constitutes a violation of that individual's most personal rights. This also Truth imposes itself aggravates animosities and tensions, which can easily lead to solely by the force of strained and hostile relations within society or even to open its own truth. conflict. In the end, it is on the level of conscience that the

difficult task of ensuring a firm and lasting peace is most effectively confronted. II. Absolute Truth is found only in God

The guarantee that objective truth exists is found in God, who is Absolute Truth; objectively speaking, the search for truth and the search for God are one and the same. This alone is enough to show the intimate relationship between freedom of conscience and religious freedom. It also explains why the systematic denial of God and the establishment of a regime which incorporates this denial in its very constitution are diametrically opposed to both freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. However, those who acknowledge the relationship between ultimate truth and God himself will also acknowledge the right, as well as the duty, of non-believers to seek the truth which can lead them to discover the Mystery of God and humbly accept it.

231

III. The Formation of Conscience Every individual has the grave duty to form his or her own conscience in the light of that objective truth which everyone can come to know, and which no one may be prevented from knowing. To claim that one has a right to act according to conscience, but without at the same time acknowledging the duty to conform one's conscience to the truth and to the law which God himself has written on our hearts, in the end means nothing more than imposing one's limited personal opinion. This hardly contributes in any useful way to the cause of world peace. On the contrary, the truth must be passionately pursued and lived to the best of one's ability. This sincere search for the truth will lead not only to respect for the search that others are making, but also to a desire to seek the truth together. The family plays a primary role in the important task of forming consciences. Parents have a grave duty to help their children to seek the truth from their earliest years and to live in conformity with the truth, to seek the good and to promote it. The school is also fundamental to the formation of conscience. It is there that children and young people come into contact with a world which is larger and often unlike the family environment. Education is in fact never morally indifferent, even when it claims to be neutral with regard to ethical and religious values. The way in which children and young people are brought up and educated will necessarily reflect certain values which in turn influence their understanding of others and of society as a whole. Hence, in a way consonant with the nature and dignity of the human person and with the law of God, young people should be helped during their years of schooling to discern and to seek the truth, to accept its demands and the limits of authentic freedom, and to respect the right of others to do the same. The formation of conscience is compromised if a thorough religious education is lacking. How can a young person fully understand the demands of human dignity if no reference is made to the source of that dignity, namely, God the Creator? In this regard, the role of the family, the Catholic Church, Christian communities and other religious institutions remains essential. The State, in compliance with international norms and Declarations,4 must guarantee their rights in this field and make it possible for them to exercise those rights. For their part, families and communities of believers ought to appreciate and ever deepen their commitment to the human person and to the objective values of the person. Among the many other institutions and bodies which play a specific role in forming consciences, the means of social communication must also be mentioned. In today's world of rapid communication, the mass media can play an extremely important and indeed essential role in furthering the search for the truth, provided that they avoid presenting merely the limited interests of certain individuals, groups or ideologies. For more and more people the media are often their only source of information. How important, then, that the media be used responsibly in the service of the truth!
232

IV. Intolerance: A Serious Threat to Peace A serious threat to peace is posed by intolerance, which manifests itself in the denial of freedom of conscience to others. The excesses to which intolerance can lead has been one of history's most painful lessons. Intolerance can creep into every aspect of social life. It becomes evident when individuals or minorities who seek to follow their conscience in regard to legitimate expressions of their own way of life are oppressed or relegated to the margins of society. In public life, intolerance leaves no room for a plurality of political or social options, and thus imposes a monolithic vision of civil and cultural life. As for religious intolerance, it cannot be denied that, despite the firm teaching of the Catholic Church according to which no one ought to be compelled to believe,5 throughout the centuries not a few misunderstandings and even conflicts have occurred between Christians and members of other religions6. This fact was formally acknowledged by the Second Vatican Council, which stated that "in the life of the People of God as it has made its pilgrim way through the vicissitudes of human history, there have at times appeared ways of acting which were less in accord with the ways of the Gospel"7. Even today much remains to be done to overcome religious intolerance, which in different parts of the world is closely connected with the oppression of minorities. Unfortunately, we are still witnessing attempts to impose a particular religious idea on others, either directly, by a proselytism which relies on means which are truly coercive, or indirectly, by the denial of certain civil or political rights. Extremely sensitive situations arise when a specifically religious norm becomes, or tends to become, the law of the State, without due consideration for the distinction between the domains proper to religion and to political society. In practice, the identification of religious law with civil law can stifle religious freedom, even going so far as to restrict or deny other inalienable human rights. In this regard, I wish to repeat what I stated in the Message for the 1988 World Day of Peace: "Even in cases where the State grants a special juridical position to a particular religion, there is a duty to ensure that the right to freedom of conscience is legally recognized and effectively respected for all citizens, and also for foreigners living in the country even temporarily for reasons of employment and the like"8. This holds true also for the civil and political rights of minorities, and for those situations in which an extreme and uncompromising separation of religion and political life, in the name of respect for conscience, effectively hinders believers from exercising their right to give public expression to their faith. Intolerance can also result from the recurring temptation to fundamentalism, which easily leads to serious abuses such as the radical suppression of all public manifestations of diversity, or even the outright denial of freedom of expression. Fundamentalism can also lead to the exclusion of others from civil society; where religion is concerned, it can lead to forced "conversions". However much one may remain convinced of the truth of one's own religion, no person or group
233

has the right to attempt to repress the freedom of conscience of those who have other religious convictions, or to induce them to betray their consciences by the offer or denial of certain social privileges and rights, should they change their religion. There are cases in which individuals are prevented even through the imposition of severe penalties from freely choosing a religion different from the one to which they presently belong. Manifestations of intolerance such as these clearly do not advance the cause of world peace. To eliminate the effects of intolerance, it is not sufficient for ethnic or religious minorities to be "protected", and thus reduced to the category of legal minors or wards of the State. This could result in a form of discrimination which hinders or even prevents the development of a harmonious and peaceful society. Rather, the inalienable right to follow one's conscience and to profess and practise one's own faith, individually or within a community, is to be acknowledged and guaranteed, always provided that the demands of public order are not violated. Paradoxically, those who were once victims of various forms of intolerance can in their turn be in danger of creating new situations of intolerance. In certain parts of the world, the end of long years of repression years when the conscience of individuals was not respected and everything that was most precious to the person was stifled must not prove an occasion for new forms of intolerance, no matter how difficult reconciliation with the former oppressor may be. Freedom of conscience, rightly understood, is by its very nature always ordered to the truth. As a result, it does not lead to intolerance, but to tolerance and reconciliation. This tolerance is not a passive virtue, but is rooted in active love and is meant to be transformed into a positive commitment to ensuring freedom and peace for all. V. Religious Freedom: A Force for Peace The importance of religious freedom leads me to stress once more that the right to religious freedom is not merely one human right among many others; "rather, (it) is the most fundamental, since the dignity of every person has its first source in his essential relationship with God the Creator and Father, in whose image and likeness he was created, since he is endowed with intelligence and freedom"9. "Religious freedom, an essential requirement of the dignity of every person, is a cornerstone of the structure of human rights"10. It is thus the most profound expression of freedom of conscience. It cannot be denied that the right to religious freedom has a bearing on a person's very identity. One of the most significant aspects of today's world is the role that religion has played in the awakening of peoples and in the search for freedom. In many cases it was religious faith that preserved intact and even strengthened the identity of entire peoples. In nations where religion was hindered or even persecuted in an attempt to treat it as a relic of the past, it has once more proved to be a powerful force for liberation.

234

Religious faith is so important for individuals and peoples that in many cases a person is ready to make any sacrifice in order to preserve it. In the end, every attempt to ban or crush what a person holds most dear risks fuelling open or latent rebellion. VI. The Need for a Just Legal Order Despite the various national and international Declarations which proclaim the right to freedom of conscience and religion, we still find too many attempts at religious repression. In the absence of corresponding legal guarantees expressed in appropriate forms, these Declarations are all too frequently doomed to remain a dead letter. Valuable indeed are the renewed efforts being made to confirm the existing legal order11 by creating new and effective agreements aimed at strengthening religious freedom. This sort of full legal protection must exclude the practice of any religious coercion as being a serious obstacle to peace. For "this freedom means that all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that in matters religious no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his beliefs. Nor is anyone to be restrained from acting in accordance with his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits"12. It is urgently necessary at this moment of history to strengthen juridical instruments capable of promoting freedom of conscience in the areas of political and social life. The gradual and constant development of an internationally recognized legal order could well provide one of the surest bases for the peace and orderly progress of the human family. It is likewise essential that comparable efforts be undertaken nationally and regionally to ensure that all individuals, wherever they live, enjoy the protection of internationally recognized legal norms.

The gradual and constant development of an internationally recognized legal order could well provide one of the surest bases for the peace and orderly progress of the human family.

The State is obliged not only to recognize the basic freedom of conscience, but also to foster it, always with a view to the natural moral law and the requirements of the common good, and with respect for the dignity of every human being. It should be noted that freedom of conscience does not confer a right to indiscriminate recourse to conscientious objection. When an asserted freedom turns into licence or becomes an excuse for limiting the rights of others, the State is obliged to protect, also by legal means, the inalienable rights of its citizens against such abuses. I wish to address a special and urgent appeal to all who are in positions of public responsibility Heads of State or of government, legislators, magistrates and others to ensure by every means necessary the authentic freedom of conscience of all those who live within the limits of their jurisdictions, and pay special attention to the rights of minorities. Besides being an issue of
235

justice, this serves to promote the development of a peaceful and harmonious society. Finally, it goes without saying that States are bound by a strict moral and legal obligation to observe international agreements which they have signed. VII. A Pluralistic Society and World The existence of recognized international norms does not preclude the existence of regimes or systems of government which correspond to certain socio-cultural situations. Such regimes, however, must ensure complete freedom of conscience for every citizen, and may in no way be used as an excuse for denying or restricting universally recognized rights. This is especially true when one considers that in today's world it is rare for the entire population of a country to have the same religious beliefs and to belong to the same ethnic group or culture. Mass migration and population shifts are resulting in the growth of multi-cultural and multireligious societies in various parts of the world. In this context, respect for the conscience of everyone takes on added urgency and presents new challenges to every sector and structure within society, as well as to legislators and government leaders. How can a country show respect for different traditions, customs, ways of life, and religious obligations, and yet maintain the integrity of its own culture? How can the culture which is predominant in a given society accept and integrate new elements without losing its own identity and without creating conflicts? The answer to these difficult questions can be found in a thorough education with regard to the respect due to the conscience of others; for example, through greater knowledge of other cultures and religions, and through a balanced understanding of such diversity as already exists. What better means is there of building unity within diversity than a commitment on the part of all to a common search for peace and a common affirmation of freedom which enlightens and esteems the conscience of everyone? For the sake of an orderly society, it is also to be hoped that the various cultures existing in a given area will show mutual respect and experience mutual enrichment. A genuine commitment to inculturation also serves to increase understanding between religions. In recent years much has been accomplished in the realm of inter-religious understanding to promote an active cooperation in the common tasks facing humanity, on the basis of the many values shared by the great religions. I wish to encourage this cooperation wherever it is possible, as well as the official dialogues currently underway between representatives of the major religious groups. In this regard, the Holy See has an Office the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue the specific purpose of which is to promote dialogue and cooperation with other religions, maintaining absolute fidelity to its own Catholic identity while fully respecting the identity of others. When undertaken in a spirit of trust, and with respect and sincerity, interreligious cooperation and dialogue make a real contribution to peace. "Man needs to develop his spirit and his conscience. This is often the very thing which is missing in people's lives these days. The lack of
236

concern for values and the overall identity crisis which our world is now experiencing demand that we move beyond our present situation and make renewed efforts to ask important questions and to seek understanding. An inner light will then start to shine in our conscience and will enable us to understand development in a meaningful way, directing it towards the good of each person and of all mankind, in accordance with God's plan"13. This common search carried out in the light of the law of conscience and of the precepts of one's own religion, and confronting the causes of present-day social injustices and wars will lay a solid foundation for cooperation in the search for needed solutions. The Catholic Church has willingly sought to encourage every form of honest cooperation for the sake of promoting peace. She will continue to make her own contribution towards this cooperation by forming the consciences of her members in openness towards others and respect for them, in that tolerance which accompanies the search for truth, and in a spirit of solidarity14. VIII. Conscience and the Christian Faced with the obligation of following their own consciences in the search for the truth, the disciples of Jesus Christ know that they may not trust only in their personal capacity for moral discernment. Revelation enlightens their consciences and enables them to know that freedom which is God's great gift to mankind15. Not only has he inscribed the natural law within the heart of each individual, in that "most secret core and sanctuary of a man (where) he is alone with God",16 but he has also revealed his own law in the Scriptures. Here we find the call, or rather the command, to love God and to observe his law. God has enabled us to know his will. He has revealed his commandments to us, and has set before us "life and good, death and evil"; he calls us to "choose life... loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him; for that means life to you and length of days..."17. In the fullness of his love, God respects a person's free choice regarding the highest values he or she seeks, and he thus reveals his full respect for the precious gift of freedom of conscience. God's laws bear witness to this, since they seek to assist and not hinder our use of freedom. In themselves, God's laws remain the perfect expression of his will and his absolute opposition to moral evil, and it is through them that he wishes to guide us in the search for our final end. Yet it was not enough for God to demonstrate his great love in the created world and in man. God "so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life... He who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God"18. The Son did not hesitate to proclaim that he is the Truth,19 and to assure us that this Truth would make us free20. In searching for the truth the Christian has recourse to divine revelation, which in Christ is present in all its fullness. Christ has entrusted the Church with the mission of proclaiming this truth, and the whole Church has the duty of remaining faithful to that truth. My most serious

237

responsibility as the Successor of Peter is precisely this: to ensure this constant fidelity by confirming my brothers and sisters in their faith21. More than anyone else, the Christian ought to feel the obligation to conform his conscience to the truth. Before the splendour of the free gift of God's revelation in Christ, how humbly and attentively must he listen to the voice of conscience! How modest must he be in regard to his own limited insight! How quick must he be to learn, and how slow to condemn! One of the constant temptations in every age, even among Christians, is to make oneself the norm of truth. In an age of pervasive individualism, this temptation takes a variety of forms. But the mark of those who are "in the truth" is the ability to love humbly. This is what God's word teaches us: truth is expressed in love22. The very truth that we profess calls us to promote unity rather than division; reconciliation rather than hatred and intolerance. The free gift of our coming to know the truth places upon us the serious responsibility of proclaiming only that truth which leads to freedom and peace for all: the Truth which became flesh in Jesus Christ. At the conclusion of this Message, I invite all people, within their own situation and in the light of their specific responsibilities, to reflect well on the need to respect the conscience of each individual. In every sphere of social, cultural and political life, respect for freedom of conscience, ordered to the truth, has many important and immediate applications. As we seek the truth together, with respect for the conscience of others, we will be able to go forward along the paths of freedom which lead to peace, in accordance with the will of God. From the Vatican, 8 December 1990.

NOTES 1 Message for the 1988 World Day of Peace, Introduction. 2 Message for the 1989 World Day of Peace, 1. 3 Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, 16. 4 For the most recent recognition of this right, see the 1981 Declaration of the United Nations on Eliminating all Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Beliefs, art. 1. 5 Cf. for example, the Declaration Dignitatis humanae, 12. 6 Cf. for example, the Declaration Nostra aetate, 3. 7 Declaration Dignitatis humanae, 12. 8 No. 1.
238

9 Address to the participants in the Fifth International Colloquium of Juridical Studies, 10 March 1984, 5. 10 Message for the 1988 World Day of Peace, Introduction. 11 Cf., among other documents, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 18; Helsinki Final Act, 1, a) VII; Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 14. 12 (Declaration Dignitatis humanae, 2. 13 Address to Muslim Youth, Casablanca, 19 August 1985, 9: AAS 78 (1986) 101-102. 14 Cf. Address to the Diplomatic Corps, 11 January 1986, 12. 15 Cf. Sir 17:6. 16 Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, 16. 17 Cf. Dt 30:15-20. 18 Jn 3:16, 21. 19 Cf. Jn 14:6. 20 Cf. Jn 8:32. 21 Cf. Lk 22:32. 22 Cf. Eph 4:15.

239

1992: BELIEVERS UNITED IN BUILDING PEACE

We all desire peace and have a duty to work for peace, yet this duty especially falls upon those who believe, those who followed God, and especially upon Christians, who serve the very Prince of Peace. Peace occupies a central place in both Judaismshalom and in Islam salaam, and we must all join together to invoke Gods help, and pray for his peace. Prayer is our great resource, for without God, without our restored relationship in him, there can be no restored relationships among us. Our differences must be accepted, but our common pursuit of truth and brotherhood must be a fundamental step in healing the world. It is not religion, true religion, that hinders peace, but its oppositethe ideologies and fundamentalism that embraces violence, conflict, and hatred. In Christ, in Gods unlimited power, we may triumph over what seems like the impossible.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE XXV ANNUAL WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR PEACE BELIEVERS UNITED IN BUILDING PEACE 1 JANUARY 1992

1. As is now customary, on 1 January next the annual World Day of Peace will be celebrated. Twenty-five years will have passed since this celebration was begun, and it is entirely natural that on this anniversary I should recall with undimmed admiration and gratitude the beloved figure of my venerable predecessor Paul VI, whose keen pastoral and pedagogical insight led him to invite all "true friends of peace" to join together in order to reflect on this "primary good" of humanity. But it is likewise natural, a quarter of a century later, to look back at this period as a whole, in order to determine if the cause of peace in the world has actually made progress or not, and if the tragic events of recent months some of which are regrettably still going on have marked a substantial setback, revealing how real is the danger that human reason can allow itself to be dominated by destructive self-interest or inveterate hatred. At the same time, the progressive rise of new democracies has given back hope to entire peoples, inspired confidence in more fruitful international dialogue and made possible a long-awaited era of peace.

240

Against this background of light and shadows, this yearly Message is not meant to offer either a progress report or a judgment, but only a new, fraternal invitation to consider present human events, in order to raise them to an ethical and religious vision, a vision which believers should be the first to live by. Precisely because of their faith, believers are called as individuals and as a body to be messengers and artisans of peace. Like others and even more than others, they are called to seek with humility and perseverance appropriate responses to the yearnings for security and freedom, solidarity and sharing, which are common to everyone in this world, which as it were has become smaller. A commitment to peace of course concerns every person of good will, and this is the reason why the various Messages have been addressed to all the members of the human family. Yet, this is a duty which is especially incumbent upon all who profess faith in God and even more so upon Christians, who have as their guide and master the "Prince of Peace" (Is 9:5). The moral and religious nature of peace 2. The longing for peace is deeply rooted in human nature and is found in the different religions. It expresses itself in the desire for order and tranquillity, in an attitude of readiness to help others, in cooperation and sharing based on mutual respect. These values, which originate in the natural law and are propounded by the world's religions, require, if they are to develop, the support of everyone politicians, leaders of international organizations, businessmen and workers, associations and private citizens. What we are speaking of is a precise duty incumbent on everyone, and more so if one is a believer: bearing witness to peace and working and praying for peace are a normal part of good religious behaviour. This also explains why in the sacred books of the different religions references to peace occupy a prominent place in the context of man's life and his relationship with God. For example, we Christians believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of the One who has "plans for welfare and not for evil" (Jer 29:11) is "our peace" (Eph 2:14); for our Jewish brothers and sisters, the word "shalom" expresses both a wish and blessing in a situation in which man is in harmony with himself, with nature and with God; and for the followers of Islam the term "salam" is so important that it constitutes one of the glorious divine names. It can be said that a religious life, if it is lived authentically, cannot fail to bring forth fruits of peace and brotherhood, for it is in the nature of religion to foster an ever closer bond with the Godhead and to promote an increasingly fraternal relationship among people. Rekindling the "spirit of Assisi" 3. Convinced of this agreement about this value, five years ago I wrote to the leaders of the Christian Churches and the major world religions in order to invite them to a special meeting of prayer for peace, which was held in Assisi. The memory of that significant event has led me to return to and suggest once more the theme of the solidarity of believers in the same cause.

241

At Assisi the spiritual leaders of the major religions from the different continents gathered together: the meeting was a concrete witness to the universal dimension of peace, and confirmed that peace is not only the result of skilful political and diplomatic negotiations or a compromise between economic interests, but depends in a fundamental way upon the One who knows human hearts and guides and directs the steps of all mankind. As people concerned for the future of humanity, we fasted together, meaning thereby to express our compassion and solidarity with the millions and millions who are victims of hunger throughout the world. As believers concerned with the events of human history, we went on pilgrimage together, meditating silently on our common origin and our common destiny, our limitations and our responsibilities, and on the prayers and expectations of all our many brothers and sisters who look to us for help in their needs. What we did on that occasion by praying and demonstrating our firm commitment to peace on earth, we must continue to do now. We must foster the genuine "spirit of Assisi" not only out of a duty to be consistent and faithful, but also in order to offer a reason for hope to future generations. In the town of Saint Francis, the Poor Man of Assisi, we began a common journey which must now continue, obviously without excluding the search for other ways and new means for a solid peace, built on spiritual foundations. The power of prayer 4. But before having recourse to human resources, I wish to reaffirm the need for intense, humble, confident and persevering prayer, if the world is finally to become a dwelling-place of peace. Prayer is par excellence the power needed to implore that peace and obtain it. It gives courage and support to all who love this good and desire to promote it in accordance with their own possibilities and in the various situations in which they live. Prayer not only opens us up to a meeting with the Most High but also disposes us to a meeting with our neighbour, helping us to establish with everyone, without discrimination, relationships of respect, understanding, esteem and love.

Prayer is par excellence the power needed to implore that peace and obtain it.

Religious sentiment and a prayerful spirit not only help us to grow inwardly; they also enlighten us about the true meaning of our presence in the world. It can also be said that the religious dimension encourages us to make an even more committed contribution to the building of a wellordered society in which peace reigns. Prayer is the bond which most effectively unites us: it is through prayer that believers meet one another at a level where inequalities, misunderstandings, bitterness and hostility are overcome,

242

namely before God, the Lord and Father of all. Prayer, as the authentic expression of a right relationship with God and with others, is already a positive contribution to peace. Ecumenical dialogue and inter-religious relations 5. Prayer cannot remain isolated and needs to be accompanied by other concrete actions. Each religion has its own outlook regarding the actions to be accomplished and the paths to be followed in order to attain peace. The Catholic Church, while clearly affirming her own identity, her own doctrine and her saving mission for all humanity, "rejects nothing of those things which are true and holy" in other religions; "she regards with respect those ways of acting and living and those precepts and teachings which, though often at variance with what she holds and expounds, frequently reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens everyone" (Nostra aetate, n. 2). Without ignoring differences or playing them down, the Church is convinced that, in promoting peace, there are certain elements or aspects which can be profitably developed and put into practice with the followers of other faiths and confessions. Inter-religious contacts and, in a unique way, ecumenical dialogue lead to this. Thanks to these forms of encounter and exchange the various religions have been able to attain a clearer awareness of their considerable responsibilities with regard to the true good of humanity as a whole. Today they all seem to be more firmly determined not to allow themselves to be used by particularistic interests or for political aims, and they are tending to assume a more conscious and decisive attitude in the shaping of social and cultural realities in the community of peoples. This enables them to be an active force in the process of development and thus to offer a sure hope to humanity. In a number of instances, it has become evident that their activity would have proved more effective had it been carried out jointly and in a coordinated manner. Such a way of working among believers can have a decisive effect in fostering peace among peoples and overcoming the still existing divisions between "zones" and "worlds". The path to be travelled 6. There is still a long way to go to reach this goal of active cooperation in the cause of peace: there is the path of mutual knowledge, assisted today by the development of the means of social communication and facilitated by the beginning of a frank and wider dialogue; there is the path of generous forgiveness, fraternal reconciliation, and collaboration in areas which though limited or secondary are nonetheless directed to the same cause; finally, there is the path of daily coexistence, sharing efforts and sacrifices in order to reach the same goal. Perhaps it is on this path that individual believers, people who profess a religion, even more than their leaders, must face the hard work and at the same time have the satisfaction of building peace together. Inter-religious contacts, together with ecumenical dialogue, now seem to be obligatory paths, in order to ensure that the many painful wounds inflicted over the course of centuries will not be repeated, and indeed that any such wounds still remaining will soon be healed. Believers must work for peace, above all by the personal example of their own right interior attitude, which
243

shows outwardly in consistent action and behaviour. Serenity, balance, self-control, and acts of understanding, forgiveness and generosity have a peace-making influence on people's surroundings and on the religious and civil community. It is for this reason that on the next World Day of Peace I invite all believers to make a serious examination of conscience, in order to be better disposed to listen to the voice of the "God of peace" (cf. 1 Cor 14:33) and to devote themselves to this great undertaking with renewed trust. I am convinced that they and, I hope, all people of good will will respond to this renewed appeal of mine, which I make with an insistence which matches the seriousness of the moment. Building peace in justice together 7. The prayer of believers and their joint action for peace must face the problems and legitimate aspirations of individuals and peoples. Peace is a fundamental good which involves respecting and promoting essential human values: the right to life at every stage of its development; the right to be respected, regardless of race, sex or religious convictions; the right to the material goods necessary for life; the right to work and to a fair distribution of its fruits for a well-ordered and harmonious coexistence. As individuals, as believers and even more as Christians, we must feel the commitment to living these values of justice, which are crowned by the supreme law of love: "You shall love your neighbour as yourself" (Mt 22:39). Once more I wish to emphasize that rigorous respect for religious freedom, and for the corresponding right to it, is the source and foundation of peaceful coexistence. I look forward to the time when it will be commitment which is not merely affirmed but really put into practice both by political and religious leaders, and by believers themselves: it is on the basis of the recognition of this right that the transcendent dimension of the human person assumes importance. It would be a mistake if religions or groups of their followers, in the interpretation and practice of their respective beliefs, were to fall into forms of fundamentalism and fanaticism, justifying struggles and conflicts with others by adducing religious motives. If there exists a struggle worthy of man, it is the struggle against his own disordered passions, against every kind of selfishness, against attempts to oppress others, against every type of hatred and violence: in short, against everything that is the exact opposite of peace and reconciliation.

If there exists a struggle worthy of man, it is the struggle against his own disordered passions, against every kind of selfishness, against attempts to oppress others, against every type of hatred and violence: in short, against everything that is the exact opposite of peace and reconciliation.

244

Necessary support from world leaders 8. Finally, I call upon the Leaders of the Nations and of the international community always to show the greatest respect for the religious conscience of every man and woman and for the special contribution of religion to the progress of civilization and to the development of peoples. They should not succumb to the temptation of exploiting religion as a means of power, particularly when it is a matter of opposing an adversary by military means. Civil and political authorities ought to accord the various religions respect and juridical guarantees at the national and international levels ensuring that their contribution to peace is not rejected, or relegated to the private sphere, or ignored altogether. Again I call upon public authorities to strive with vigilant responsibility to prevent war and conflict, to work for the triumph of justice and right, and at the same time to support development which benefits everyone, and primarily those oppressed by poverty, hunger and suffering. The progress already made in the reduction of arms is worthy of praise. The economic and financial resources hitherto devoted to the production and sale of so many instruments of death can be used from now on for man and not against him! I am certain that millions of men and women throughout the world, who have no way of making their voices heard, share my positive judgment. A special word for Christians 9. At this point I cannot fail to address a particular invitation to all Christians. Our common faith in Christ the Lord obliges us to bear a united witness to "the Gospel of peace" (Eph 6:15). It falls to us, first of all, to be open to other believers so as to undertake together with them, courageously and perseveringly, the immense work of building that peace which the world desires but which in the end it does not know how to achieve. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you", Christ has said to us (Jn 14:27). This divine promise fills us with the hope, indeed the certainty of divine hope, that peace is possible, because nothing is impossible with God (cf. Lk 1:37). For true peace is always God's gift, and for us Christians it is a precious gift of the Risen Lord (Jn 20:19-26). Dear brothers and sisters of the Catholic Church, we must respond to the great challenges of the contemporary world by joining forces with all those who share with us certain basic values, beginning with religious and moral ones. And among these challenges still to be faced is that of peace. To build peace together with other believers is already to live in the spirit of the Gospel Beatitude: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Mt 5:9). From the Vatican, 8 December 1991. JOHN PAUL II

245

1993: IF YOU WANT PEACE, REACH OUT TO THE POOR

Poverty causes war, and war causes poverty, and those of us who are rich can becoming peacemakers by becoming poor in spirit and sharing the goods that God has created not simply for us, but for all his children. Let our consciences be touched and provoked by the destitution of the poor and the horrors of war. Let us turn from profit building to solidarity building. Let us free those chained by debt, who cannot support their families or even their own life. Let us see that war never solves anything, but that it destroys the keys to peace by breaking down families, and plunging those who remain into poverty sowing the seeds of future wars. We must attack poverty by freely embracing a life of simplicity, by which our abundance may be sacrificed to save others. Jesus offers us his modelhe gave up everything and was executed as a criminal. Moreover, he teaches us that we will be judged by how we act for the poor, for in the poor we meet Christ himself. The key to peace is the liberation of the poor and the repentance of the rich!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE XXVI ANNUAL WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR PEACE IF YOU WANT PEACE, REACH OUT TO THE POOR 1 JANUARY 1993

"If you want peace..." 1. What person of good will does not long for peace? Today, peace is universally recognized as one of the highest values to be sought and defended. And yet, as the spectre of a deadly war between opposing ideological blocs fades away, grave local conflicts continue to engulf various parts of the world. In particular, everyone is aware of the situation in Bosnia-Hercegovina, where hostilities are daily claiming new victims, especially among the defenceless civil population, and causing enormous destruction to property and territory. Nothing seems able to halt the senseless violence of arms: neither the joint efforts to promote an effective truce, nor the humanitarian activity of the International Organizations, nor the chorus of appeals for peace which rise from the lands stained by the blood of battle. Sadly, the aberrant logic of war is prevailing over the repeated and authoritative calls for peace.

246

Our world also shows increasing evidence of another grave threat to peace: many individuals and indeed whole peoples are living today in conditions of extreme poverty. The gap between rich and poor has become more marked, even in the most economically developed nations. This is a problem which the conscience of humanity cannot ignore, since the conditions in which a great number of people are living are an insult to their innate dignity and as a result are a threat to the authentic and harmonious progress of the world community. The gravity of this situation is being felt in many countries of the world: in Europe as well as in Africa, Asia and America. In various regions the social and economic challenges which believers and all people of good will have to face are many. Poverty and destitution, social differences and injustices, some of them even legalized, fratricidal conflicts and oppressive regimes all of these appeal to the conscience of whole peoples in every part of the world. The recent Conference of Latin American Bishops, held in Santo Domingo in October, carefully examined the situation in Latin America, and while urgently calling on Christians to undertake the task of the new evangelization earnestly invited the faithful and all those committed to justice and righteousness to serve the cause of man, without failing to take into account any of his deepest needs. The Bishops spoke of the great mission which must draw together the efforts of everyone: defence of the dignity of the person, commitment to a fair distribution of resources, the harmonious and united promotion of a society in which everyone feels welcomed and loved. It is apparent to all that these are the indispensable premises for building true peace. To say "peace" is really to speak of much more than the simple absence of war. It is to postulate a condition of authentic respect for the dignity and rights of every human being, a condition enabling him to achieve complete fulfilment. The exploitation of the weak and the existence of distressing pockets of poverty and social inequality constitute so many delays and obstacles to the establishment of stable conditions for an authentic peace. Poverty and peace: at the beginning of the New Year, I would like to invite everyone to reflect together on the many different links between these two realities. In particular, I would like to call attention to the threat to peace posed by poverty, especially when it becomes destitution. There are millions of men, women and children suffering every day from hunger, insecurity and emargination. These situations constitute a grave affront to human dignity and contribute to social instability. The inhuman choice of war 2. At the present time, there exists yet another situation which is a source of poverty and destitution: the situation caused by war between nations and by conflicts within a given country. In the face of the tragedies which have caused and are still causing bloodshed, especially for ethnic reasons, in various regions of the world, I feel the duty to recall what I said in my Message for the 1981 World Day of Peace, the theme of which was: "To serve peace, respect
247

freedom". At that time, I emphasized that the indispensable premise for building true peace is respect for the freedom and rights of other individuals and groups. Peace is obtained by promoting free peoples in a world of freedom. The appeal I made then is still valid today: "Respect for the freedom of peoples and nations is an integral part of peace. Wars continue to break out and destruction has fallen upon peoples and whole cultures because the sovereignty of a people or a nation was not respected. Every continent has seen and suffered from wars and struggles caused by one nation's attempts to limit another's autonomy" (n. 8). I went on to say: "Without a willingness to respect the freedom of every people, nation and culture, and without a world-wide consensus on this subject, it will be difficult to create the conditions for peace.... This presupposes a conscious public commitment on the part of each nation and its government to renounce claims and designs injurious to other nations. In other words, it presupposes a refusal to accept any doctrine of national or cultural supremacy" (ibid., n. 9). The consequences deriving from such a commitment are easy to see, also with regard to economic relations between States. To reject all temptations to secure economic dominance over other nations means to renounce a policy inspired by the prevailing criterion of profit, and to replace it with a policy guided by the criterion of solidarity towards all and especially towards the poorest. Poverty as a source of conflict 3. The number of people living in conditions of extreme poverty is enormous. I am thinking, for example, of the tragic situations in certain countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. There exist vast groups, often whole sectors of the population, which find themselves on the margins of civil life within their own countries. Among them is a growing number of children who in order to survive can rely on nobody except themselves. Such a situation is not only an affront to human dignity but also represents a clear threat to peace. A State, whatever its political organization or economic system, remains fragile and unstable if it does not give constant attention to its weakest members and if it fails to do everything possible to ensure that at least their primary needs are satisfied. The poorest countries' right to development imposes upon the developed countries a clear duty to come to their aid. The Second Vatican Council said in this regard: "Everyone has the right to have a part of the earth's goods that is sufficient for each and his or her dependents.... We are obliged to support the poor, and not just from our surplus" (Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, n. 69). The Church's admonition is clear, and it is a faithful echo of the voice of Christ: earthly goods are meant for the whole human family and cannot be reserved for the exclusive benefit of a few (cf. Encyclical Letter Centesimus annus, nn. 31 and 37). In the interest of the individual and thus of peace it is therefore urgently necessary to introduce into the mechanisms of the economy the necessary correctives which will enable those
248

mechanisms to ensure a more just and equitable distribution of goods. By itself the rules of the market are not sufficient to accomplish this; society must accept its own responsibilities (cf. ibid., n. 48). It must do so by increasing its efforts, which are often already considerable, to eliminate the causes of poverty and their tragic consequences. No country by itself can succeed in such an undertaking. For this very reason it is necessary to work together, with that solidarity demanded by a world which has become ever more interdependent. To allow situations of extreme poverty to persist is to create social conditions ever more exposed to the threat of violence and conflict. All individuals and social groups have a right to live in conditions which enable them to provide for personal and family needs and to share in the life and progress of the local community. When this right is not recognized, it easily happens that the people concerned feel that they are victims of a structure which does not welcome them, and they react strongly. This is especially the case with young people, who, being deprived of adequate education and employment opportunities, are most exposed to the risk of being marginalized and exploited. Everybody is aware of the world-wide problem of unemployment, especially among the young, with the consequent impoverishment of an ever greater number of individuals and whole families. Moreover, unemployment is often the tragic result of the destruction of the economic infrastructure of a country affected by war or internal conflicts. Here I would like to mention briefly a number of particularly disturbing problems which beset the poor and hence threaten peace. First of all, there is the problem of foreign debt, which for some countries, and within them for the less well-off social strata, continues to be an intolerable burden, despite efforts made to lighten it by the international community, governments and financial institutions. Is it not the poorest groups in these countries which often have to bear the major burden of repayment? Such an unjust situation can open the door to growing resentment, to a sense of frustration and even desperation. In many cases the governments themselves share the widespread discomfort of their people, and this influences relations with other States. Perhaps the time has come to re-examine the problem of foreign debt and to give it the priority which it deserves. The conditions for total or partial repayment need to be reviewed, with an effort to find definitive solutions capable of fully absorbing the burdensome social consequences of adjustment programmes. Furthermore it will be necessary to act on the causes of indebtedness, by making the granting of aid conditional upon concrete commitments on the part of governments to reduce excessive or unnecessary expenditures here one thinks particularly of expenditures on arms and to guarantee that subsidies do in fact reach the needy. Another grave problem is drugs. Sadly and tragically, everyone knows of their connection with violence and crime. Similarly, everyone knows that in some parts of the world, because of pressure from drug traffickers, it is precisely the very poor who cultivate the plants for drugproduction. The lavish profits promised which in fact represent only a tiny part of the profits
249

deriving from this cultivation are a temptation difficult to resist by those who gain a markedly insufficient income from the production of traditional crops. The first thing to be done in order to help growers to overcome this situation is therefore to offer them adequate means to escape from their poverty. A further problem stems from the situations of grave economic difficulty in some countries. These situations encourage mass migrations to more fortunate countries, in which there then arise tensions which disturb the social order. In order to respond to such reactions of xenophobic violence, it is not enough simply to have recourse to provisional emergency measures. Rather, what is needed is to tackle the causes, by promoting through new forms of international solidarity the progress and development of the countries from which the migrant movements originate. Destitution therefore is a hidden but real threat to peace. By impairing human dignity, it constitutes a serious attack on the value of life and strikes at the heart of the peaceful development of society. Poverty as a result of conflict 4. In recent years we have witnessed on almost every continent local wars and internal conflicts of savage intensity. Ethnic, tribal and racial violence has destroyed Nothing is resolved by war; human lives, divided communities that previously lived on the contrary, everything together in peace and left in its wake anguish and feelings is placed in jeopardy by war. of hatred. Recourse to violence, in fact, aggravates existing tensions and creates new ones. Nothing is resolved by war; on the contrary, everything is placed in jeopardy by war. The results of this scourge are the suffering and death of innumerable individuals, the disintegration of human relations and the irreparable loss of an immense artistic and environmental patrimony. War worsens the sufferings of the poor; indeed, it creates new poor by destroying means of subsistence, homes and property, and by eating away at the very fabric of the social environment. Young people see their hopes for the future shattered and too often, as victims, they become irresponsible agents of conflict. Women, children, the elderly, the sick and the wounded are forced to flee and become refugees who have no possessions beyond what they can carry with them. Helpless and defenceless, they seek refuge in other countries or regions often as poor and turbulent as their own.

While acknowledging that the international and humanitarian organizations are doing much to alleviate the tragic fate of the victims of violence, I feel it is my duty to urge all people of good will to intensify their efforts. In some instances, in fact, the future of refugees depends entirely on the generosity of people who take them in - people who are as poor, if not poorer, than they are.

250

It is only through the concern and cooperation of the international community that satisfactory solutions will be found.

After so many unnecessary massacres, it is in the final analysis of fundamental importance to recognize, once and for all, that war never helps the human community, that violence destroys and never builds up

After so many unnecessary massacres, it is in the final analysis of fundamental importance to recognize, once and for all, that war never helps the human community, that violence destroys and never builds up, that the wounds it causes remain long unhealed, and that as a result of conflicts the already grim condition of the poor deteriorates still further, and new forms of poverty appear. The disturbing spectacle of tragedies caused by war is before the eyes of world public opinion. May the distressing pictures quite recently transmitted by the media at least serve as an effective warning to all individuals, societies and States and remind everyone that money ought not to be used for war, nor for destroying and killing, but for defending the dignity of man, for improving his life and for building a truly open, free and harmonious society.

A spirit of poverty as a source of peace 5. In today's industrialized countries people are dominated by the frenzied race for possessing material goods. The consumer society makes the gap separating rich from poor even more obvious, and the uncontrolled search for a comfortable life risks blinding people to the needs of others. In order to promote the social, cultural, spiritual and also economic welfare of all members of society, it is therefore absolutely essential to stem the unrestrained consumption of earthly goods and to control the creation of artificial needs. Moderation and simplicity ought to become the criteria of our daily lives. The quantity of goods consumed by a tiny fraction of the world population produces a demand greater than available resources. A reduction of this demand constitutes a first step in alleviating poverty, provided that it is accompanied by effective measures to guarantee a fair distribution of the world's wealth. In this regard, the Gospel invites believers not to accumulate the goods of this passing world: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Mt 6:19-20). This is a duty intrinsic to the Christian vocation, no less than the duty of working to overcome poverty; and it is also a very effective means for succeeding in this task. Evangelical poverty is very different from socio-economic poverty. While the latter has harsh and often tragic characteristics, since it is experienced as a form of coercion, evangelical poverty is chosen freely by the person who intends in this way to respond to Christ's admonition: "Whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple" (Lk 14:33).
251

Such evangelical poverty is the source of peace, since through it the individual can establish a proper relationship with God, with others and with creation. The life of the person who puts himself in this situation thus witnesses to humanity's absolute dependence on God who loves all creatures, and material goods come to be recognized for what they are: a gift of God for the good of all. Evangelical poverty is something that transforms those who accept it. They cannot remain indifferent when faced with the suffering of the poor; indeed, they feel impelled to share actively with God his preferential love for them (cf. Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo rei socialis, n. 42). Those who are poor in the Gospel sense are ready to sacrifice their resources and their own selves so that others may live. Their one desire is to live in peace with everyone, offering to others the gift of Jesus' peace (cf. Jn 14:27). The divine Master has taught us by his life and words the demanding features of this poverty which leads us to true freedom. He "who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant" (Phil 2:6-7). He was born in poverty; as a child he was forced to go into exile with his family in order to escape the cruelty of Herod; he lived as one who had "nowhere to lay his head" (Mt 8:20). He was denigrated as a "glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Mt 11:19) and suffered the death reserved for criminals. He called the poor blessed and assured them that the kingdom of God belonged to them (cf. Lk 6:20). He reminded the rich that the snare of wealth stifles God's word (cf. Mt 13:22), and that it is difficult for them to enter the kingdom of God (cf. Mk 10:25). Christ's example, no less than his words, is normative for Christians. We know that, at the Last Judgment, we shall all be judged, without distinction, on our practical love of our brothers and sisters. Indeed, it will be in the practical love they have shown that, on that day, many will discover that they have in fact met Christ, although without having known him before in an explicit way (cf. Mt 25:35-37).

Christ's example, no less than his words, is normative for Christians.

"If you want peace, reach out to the poor!" May rich and poor recognize that they are brothers and sisters; may they share what they have with one another as children of the one God who loves everyone, who wills the good of everyone, and who offers to everyone the gift of peace! From the Vatican, 8 December 1992.

252

1994: THE FAMILY CREATES THE PEACE OF THE HUMAN FAMILY

It is in the family that peace begins through the formation of life and the practice of love, a love that reaches out to embrace the whole of society. The family is the central and primary institution of society, and must be both promoted and protected by the State. In the family, culture forms, the future is decided, values are transmitted, and mercy flows. But there are threats to this great good: poverty, hedonism, divorce, war, and outright destruction or denial. Children themselves are turned into killers, dealers, or prostitutes. Fathers are killed in body by war, or in spirit by unemployment. Mothers are devalued or forgotten. These crimes against the family are crimes against peace, and cannot be ignored. The family must be protected, and given its full support for the mission entrusted to it: peace.

MESSAGE FOR THE XXVII WORLD DAY OF PEACE THE FAMILY CREATES THE PEACE OF THE HUMAN FAMILY 1 JANUARY 1994

1. The world longs for peace and has a desperate need of peace. Yet wars, conflicts, increasing violence and situations of social unrest and endemic poverty continue to reap innocent victims and to cause divisions between individuals and peoples. At times peace appears a truly unattainable goal! In a climate made cold by indifference and occasionally poisoned by hatred, how can one hope for the dawn of an era of peace, which only feelings of solidarity and of love can usher in? We must not lose heart. We know that, in spite of everything, peace is possible, because it is part of the original divine plan. God wished humanity to live in harmony and peace, and laid the foundations for this in the very nature of the human being, created "in his image". The divine image develops not only in the individual but also in that unique communion of persons formed by a man and a woman so united in love that they become "one flesh" (Gen 2:24). It is written: "in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them" (Gen 1:27). This specific community of persons has been entrusted by the Lord with the mission of giving life and of nurturing it by the formation of a family. It thus makes a decisive contribution to the work of stewardship over creation and provides for the very future of humanity.
253

The initial harmony was disrupted by sin, but God's original plan continues. The family therefore remains the true foundation of society, (1) constituting, in the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, its "natural and fundamental nucleus".(2) The contribution which the family can offer preserving and promoting peace is so important that I would like, on the occasion of the International Year of the Family, to devote this World Day of Peace Message to a reflection on the close relationship between the family and peace. I am confident that this year will be a useful occasion for all who wish to contribute to the quest for true peace Churches, Religious Organizations, Associations, Governments, International Agencies to study together ways of helping the family to carry out fully its irreplaceable task as a builder of peace. The family: a community of life and love 2. The family, as the fundamental and essential educating community, is the privileged means for transmitting the religious and cultural values which help the person to acquire his or her own identity. Founded on love and open to the gift of life, the family contains in itself the very future of society; its most special task is to contribute effectively to a future of peace. This it will achieve, in the first place, through the mutual love of married couples, called to full and complete communion of life by marriage in its natural meaning and even more, if they are Christians, by its having been raised to a sacrament, and then through the efforts of parents to carry out properly their task as educators, committed to training their children to respect the dignity of every person and the values of peace. These values, more than being "taught", must be witnessed to in a family setting which lives out that self - giving love which is capable of accepting those who are different, making their needs and demands its own, and allowing them to share in its own benefits. The domestic virtues, based upon a profound respect for human life and dignity, and practiced in understanding, patience, mutual encouragement and forgiveness, enable the community of the family to live out the first and fundamental experience of peace. Outside this context of affectionate relationships and of fruitful mutual solidarity, the human being "remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, ... if he does not experience it and make it his own"(3). This love is love is not a fleeting not a fleeting emotion, but an intense and enduring moral emotion, but an force which seeks the good of others, even at the cost of self intense and enduring - sacrifice. Furthermore, true love always goes together with moral force which justice, so necessary for peace. It reaches out to those seeks the good of experiencing hardship: those who have no family, children others, even at the who lack guidance and affection, the lonely and the outcast. cost of self - sacrifice The family which lives this love, even though perfectly, and opens itself generously to the rest of society, is the primary agent of a future of peace. A civilization of peace is not

254

possible if love is lacking. The family: victim of the lack of peace 3. In contrast with its original vocation of peace, the family is sadly, and not infrequently, seen to be the scene of tension and oppression, or the defenseless victim of the many forms of violence marking society today. Tensions are sometimes seen in relations within the family. These are often due to the difficulty of efforts to harmonize family life when work keeps spouses far from each other, or the lack or uncertainty of employment causes them to worry about survival and to be haunted by uncertainty about the future. There are also tensions deriving from patterns of behavior inspired by hedonism and consumerism, family members to seek personal gratification rather than a happy and fruitful life together. Frequent arguments between parents, the refusal to have children, and the abandonment and ill - treatment of minors are the sad symptoms that family peace is already seriously endangered; certainly it cannot be restored by the sad solution of a separation of the spouses, much less by recourse to divorce, a true "plague" of present day society.(4) Likewise, in many parts of the world, whole nations are caught in the spiral of bloody conflicts, of which families are often the first victims: either they are deprived of the main if not the only breadwinner, or they are forced to abandon home, land and property and flee into the unknown; in any event they are subjected to painful misfortunes which threaten all security. How can we fail to recall, in this regard, the bloody conflict between ethnic groups which is still going on in Bosnia - Hercegovina? And this is only one case, amid so many situations of war throughout the world!

war and violence not only constitute divisive forces which weaken and destroy family structures; they also exercise a pernicious influence on people's minds

In the face of such distressing situations, society often appears incapable of offering effective help, or even culpably indifferent. The spiritual and psychological needs of those who have experienced the effects of armed conflict are as pressing and serious as their need for food or shelter. Specific structures need to be set up for actively supporting families affected by unexpected and devastating misfortunes, so that in spite of them they will not yield to the temptation to discouragement and revenge, but will react in a spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation. How often, unfortunately, there is no sign of this! 4. Nor can one forget that war and violence not only constitute divisive forces which weaken and destroy family structures; they also exercise a pernicious influence on people's minds, suggesting and practically imposing models of behavior diametrically opposed to peace. In this regard, one must deplore a very sad fact: these days unfortunately a growing number of boys and girls and even small children are playing a direct part in armed conflicts. They are forced to join armed militias and
255

have to fight for causes they do not always understand. In other cases, they become involved in a real culture of violence in which life counts for very little and killing does not seem wrong. It is in the interests of the whole of society to ensure that these young people give up violence and take the path of peace, but this presupposes patient education given by people who sincerely believe in peace. At this point I cannot fail to mention another serious obstacle to the development of peace in our society: many, too many children are deprived of the warmth of a family. Sometimes the family is absent: in fact, the parents, taken up by other interests, leave their children to their own devices. In other cases the family simply does not exist: thus there are thousands of children who have no home but the street and who can count on no resources except themselves. Some of these street children die tragically. Others are led into the use and even the sale of drugs and into prostitution, and not infrequently they end up in criminal organizations. Such scandalous and widespread situations cannot be ignored! The very future of society is at stake. A community which rejects children, or marginalizes them, or reduces them to hopeless situations, can never know peace. In order to count on a peaceful future, every child needs to experience the warmth of caring and constant affection, not betrayal and exploitation. And although the State can do much by providing means and structures of support, the contribution of the family to ensuring that climate of security and trust cannot be replaced, so important is it in helping young children to look to the future with serenity, and in preparing them to take a responsible part in building a society of true progress when they grow up. Children are the future already present among us; they need to experience what peace means, so that they will be able to create a future of peace. The family: an agent for peace 5. An enduring peaceful order needs institutions which express and consolidate the values of peace. The institution which most immediately responds to the nature of the human being is the family. It alone ensures the continuity and the future of society. The family is therefore called to become an active agent for peace, through the values which it expresses and transmits within itself, and through the participation of each of its members in the life of society. As the fundamental nucleus of society, the family has a right to the full support of the State in order to carry out fully its particular mission. State laws, therefore, must be directed to promoting its well - being, helping it to fulfill its proper duties. In the face of increasing pressure nowadays to consider, as legally equivalent to the union of spouses, forms of union which by their very nature or their intentional lack of permanence are in no way capable of expressing the meaning and ensuring the good of the family, it is the duty of the State to encourage and protect the authentic institution of the family, respecting its natural structure and its innate and inalienable rights.(5) Among these, the fundamental one is the right of parents to decide, freely and responsibly, on the basis of their moral and religious convictions and with a properly formed
256

conscience, when to have a child, and then to educate that child in accordance with those convictions. The State also has an important role in creating the conditions in which families can provide for their primary needs in a way befitting human dignity. Poverty, indeed destitution a perennial threat to social stability, to the development of people and to peace in our day affects too many families. It sometimes happens that, because of a lack of means, young couples put off having a family or are even prevented from having one, while needy families cannot participate fully in the life of society, or are forced into total emargination. The duty of the State does not, however, excuse individual citizens: the real reply to the gravest questions in every society is in fact ensured by the harmonious solidarity of everyone. In effect, no one can be at ease until an adequate solution has been found to the problem of poverty, which strikes families and individuals. Poverty is always a threat to social stability, to economic development and ultimately therefore to peace. Peace will always be at risk so long as individuals and families are forced to fight for their very survival. The family at the service of peace 6. I would now like to speak directly to families, in particular to Christian families. "Families, become what you are!", I wrote in my Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio.(6) Become an "intimate sharing of married life and love",(7) called to give love and to transmit life! Families, you have a mission of prime importance: that of contributing to the construction of peace, indispensable for respect for human life and its development.(8) Knowing that peace is never secured once and for all,(9) you must never grow weary of seeking it! Jesus, through his death on the Cross, has left to humanity his peace, assuring us of his enduring presence. (10) Ask for this peace, pray for this peace, work for this peace! To you parents falls the responsibility for forming and educating your children to be people of peace: for this purpose, you in the first place must be workers for peace. You children, facing the future with the eagerness of youth, full of hopes and dreams, value the gift of the family, prepare for the responsibility of building it or promoting it according to the particular callings that God will give you in due course. Develop a desire for good and thoughts of peace. You grandparents, who with the other family members represent unique and precious links between the generations, make a generous contribution of your experience and your witness in order to link the past to the future in a peaceful present. Families, live out your mission in harmony and to the full!

257

Finally, how can we forget the many people who for various reasons feel that they have no family? To them I would like to say that there is a family for them too: the Church is home and family for all.(11) She opens wide her doors and welcomes in all who are alone or abandoned; in them she sees the specially beloved children of God, whatever their age, and whatever their aspirations, difficulties or hopes. May the family so live in peace that from it peace may spread throughout the whole human family! This is the prayer which, through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Christ and of the Church, I offer to him "from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named" (Eph 3:15), at the beginning of the International Year of the Family. From the Vatican, 8 December 1993.

NOTES 1. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 52. 2. Article 16, 3. 3. Encyclical Redemptor Hominis, 10. 4. Cf. Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 47. 5. Cf. in this regard the "Charter of the Rights of the Family presented by the Holy See to all Persons, Institutions and Authorities Interested in the Mission of the Family in Today's World" (22 October 1983). 6. No. 17. 7. Gaudium et Spes, 48. 8. Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2304. 9. Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 78. 10. Cf. Jn 14:27; 20:19 - 21; Mt 28:20. 11. Cf. Familiaris Consortio, 85.

258

1995: WOMEN: TEACHERS OF PEACE

No more war! We must eradicate not only war, but the spirit of violence hidden in human hearts. To do so, we need truth and education, and women are to be leaders in this mission. For too long, women have been denied their dignity and have been victims of domination and violence. But women have a unique role in passing on the values that are required for peace, as they nurture and care for their children, and lead their families as schools of peace. Children learn how to trust and love in the arms of their mothers, and in the love shared between parents. Women are neither objects nor domestic slavesthey have every right to participate in every level of societypolitics, economics, and all of social life. They must be protected from not only discrimination, but from all forms of violence. Through a woman came the savior of all mankind, and through women will the peace of Christ reign.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE XXVIII WORLD DAY OF PEACE WOMEN:TEACHERS OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1995

1. At the beginning of 1995, with my gaze fixed on the new millennium now fast approaching, I once again address to you, men and women of goodwill, a pressing appeal for peace in the world. The violence which so many individuals and peoples continue to experience, the wars which still cause bloodshed in many areas of the world, and the injustice which burdens the life of whole continents can no longer be tolerated. The time has come to move from words to deeds: may individual citizens and families, believers and Churches, States and International Organizations all recognize that they are called to renew their commitment to work for peace! Everyone is aware of the difficulty of this task. If it is to be effective and long-lasting, work for peace cannot be concerned merely with the external conditions of coexistence; rather, it must affect peoples hearts and appeal to a new awareness of human dignity. It must be forcefully repeated: authentic peace is only possible if the dignity of the human person is promoted at every level of society, and every individual is given the chance to live in accordance with this dignity.
259

Any human society, if it is to be well-ordered and productive, must lay down as a foundation this principle, namely, that every human being is a person, that is, his nature is endowed with intelligence and free will. Indeed, precisely because he is a person he has rights and obligations which flow directly and immediately from his very nature. And these rights and obligations are universal, inviolable and inalienable.1 The truth about man is the keystone in the resolution of all the problems involved in promoting peace. To teach people this truth is one of the most fruitful and lasting ways to affirm the value of peace. Women and the Teaching of Peace 2. To educate in the ways of peace means to open minds and hearts to embrace the values which Pope John XXIII indicated in the Encyclical Pacem in 260erries as essential to a peaceful society: truth, justice, love and freedom.2 This is an educational programme which involves every aspect of life and is lifelong. It trains individuals to be responsible for themselves and for others, capable of promoting, with boldness and wisdom, the welfare of the whole person and of all people, as Pope Paul VI emphasized in the Encyclical Populorum 260erries260ion.3 The effectiveness of this education for peace will depend on the extent to which it involves the cooperation of those who, in different ways, are responsible for education and for the life of society. Time dedicated to education is time truly well spent, because it determines a persons future, and therefore the future of the family and of the whole of society. In this context, I wish to direct my Message for this years World Day of Peace especially to women, and to invite them to become teachers of peace with their whole being and in all their actions. May they be witnesses, messengers and teachers of peace in relations between individuals and between generations, in the family, in the cultural, social and political life of nations, and particularly in situations of conflict and war. May they continue to follow the path which leads to peace, a path which many courageous and far-sighted women have walked before them! In Communion of Love 3. This invitation to become teachers of peace, directed particularly to women, is based on a realization that to them God entrusts the human being in a special way.4 This is not however to be understood in an exclusive sense, but rather according to the logic of the complementary roles present in the common vocation to love, which calls men and women to seek peace with one accord and to work together in building it. Indeed, from the very first pages of the Bible Gods plan is 260erries260ion expressed: he willed that there should be a relationship of profound communion between man and woman, in a perfect reciprocity of knowledge and of the giving of self.5 In woman, man finds a partner with whom he can dialogue in complete equality. This desire for dialogue, which was not satisfied by any other living creature, explains the mans spontaneous cry of wonder when the woman, according to the evocative symbolism of the Bible,
260

was created from one of his ribs: This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh (Gn 2:23). This was the first cry of love to resound on the earth! Even though man and woman are made for each other, this does not mean that God created them incomplete. God created them to be a communion of persons, in which each can be a ?helpmate to the other, for they are equal as persons (?bone of my bones...) and complementary as masculine and feminine.6 Reciprocity and complementarity are the two fundamental characteristics of the human couple. 4. Sadly, a long history of sin has disturbed and continues to disturb Gods original plan for the couple, for the male and the female, thus standing in the way of its complete 261erries261ion. We need to return to this plan, to proclaim it forcefully, so that women in particular who have suffered more from its failure to be fulfilled can finally give full expression to their womanhood and their dignity. In our day women have made great strides in this direction, attaining a remarkable degree of selfexpression in cultural, social, economic and political life, as well as, of course, in family life. The journey has been a difficult and complicated one and, at times, not without its share of mistakes. But it has been substantially a positive one, even if it is still unfinished, due to the many obstacles which, in various parts of the world, still prevent women from being acknowledged, respected, and appreciated in their own special dignity.7 The work of building peace can hardly overlook the need to acknowledge and promote the dignity of women as persons, called to play a unique role in educating for peace. I urge everyone to reflect on the critical importance of the role of women in the family and in society, and to heed the yearning for peace which they express in words and deeds and, at times of greatest tragedy, by the silent eloquence of their grief. Women of Peace 5. In order to be a teacher of peace, a woman must first of all nurture peace within herself. Inner peace comes from knowing that one is loved by God and from the desire to respond to his love. History is filled with 261erries261i examples of women who, sustained by this knowledge, have been able successfully to deal with difficult situations of exploitation, discrimination, violence and war. Nevertheless, many women, especially as a result of social and cultural conditioning, do not become fully aware of their dignity. Others are victims of a materialistic and hedonistic outlook which views them as mere objects of pleasure, and does not hesitate to organize the exploitation of women, even of young girls, into a despicable trade. Special concern needs to be shown for these women, particularly by other women who, thanks to their own upbringing and sensitivity, are able to help them discover their own inner worth and resources. Women need to help women, and to find support in the valuable and effective contributions which associations, movements and groups, many of them of a religious character, have proved capable of making in this regard.
261

6. In rearing children, mothers have a singularly important role. Through the special relationship uniting a mother and her child, particularly in its earliest years of life, she gives the child that sense of security and trust without which the child would find it difficult to develop properly its own personal identity and, subsequently, to establish positive and fruitful relationships with others. This primary relationship between mother and child also has a very particular educational significance in the religious sphere, for it can direct the mind and heart of the child to God long before any formal religious education begins. In this decisive and sensitive task, no mother should be left alone. Children need the presence and care of both parents, who carry out their duty as educators above all through the influence of the way they live. The quality of the relationship between the spouses has profound psychological effects on children and greatly conditions both the way they relate to their surroundings and the other relationships which they will develop throughout life. This primary education is extremely important. If relationships with parents and other family members are marked by affectionate and positive interaction, children come to learn from their own experience the values which promote peace: love of truth and justice, a sense of responsible freedom, esteem and respect for others. At the same time, as they grow up in a warm and accepting environment, they are able to perceive, reflected in their own family relationships, the love of God himself; this will enable them to mature in a spiritual atmosphere which can foster openness to others and to the gift of self to their 262erries262. Education in the ways of peace naturally continues throughout every period of development; it needs particularly to be encouraged during the difficult time of adolescence, when the passage from childhood to adulthood is not without some risks for young people, who are called to make choices which will be decisive for life. 7. Faced with the challenge of education, the family becomes the first and fundamental school of social living,8 the first and fundamental school of peace. And so it is not difficult to imagine the tragic consequences which occur when the family experiences profound crises which undermine or even destroy its inner equilibrium. Often, in these circumstances, women are left alone. It is then, however, that they most need to be assisted, not only by the practical solidarity of other families, of communities of a religious nature and of volunteer groups, but also by the State and by International Organizations through appropriate structures of human, social and economic support which will enable them to meet the needs of their children without being forced to deprive them unduly of their own indispensable presence. 8. Another serious problem is found in places where the intolerable custom still exists of discriminating, from the earliest years, between boys and girls. If, from the very beginning, girls are looked down upon or regarded as inferior, their sense of dignity will be gravely impaired and their healthy development inevitably compromised. Discrimination in childhood will have lifelong effects and will prevent women from fully taking part in the life of society.

262

In this regard, how can we fail to acknowledge and encourage the invaluable efforts of so many women, including so many congregations of women religious, who on different continents and in every cultural context make the education of girls and women the principal goal of their activity? Similarly, how can we fail to acknowledge with gratitude all those women who have worked and continue to work in providing health services, often in very precarious circumstances, and who are frequently responsible for the very survival of great numbers of female children? Women, Teachers of Peace in Society 9. When women are able fully to share their gifts with the whole community, the very way in which society understands and organizes itself is improved, and comes to reflect in a better way the substantial unity of the human family. Here we see the most important condition for the consolidation of authentic peace. The growing presence of women in social, economic and political life at the local, national and international levels is thus a very positive development. Women have a full right to become actively involved in all areas of public life, and this right must be affirmed and guaranteed, also, where necessary, through appropriate legislation. This acknowledgment of the public role of women should not however detract from their unique role within the family. Here their contribution to the welfare and progress of society, even if its importance is not sufficiently appreciated, is truly incalculable. In this regard I will continue to ask that more decisive steps be taken in order to recognize and promote this very important reality. 10. With astonishment and concern we are witnessing today a dramatic increase in all kinds of violence. Not just individuals but whole groups seem to have lost any sense of respect for human life. Women and even children are unfortunately among the most frequent victims of this blind violence. We are speaking of outrageous and barbaric 263erries263 which is deeply abhorrent to the human conscience. We are all called upon to do everything possible to banish from society not only the tragedy of war but also every violation of human rights, beginning with the indisputable right to life, which every person enjoys from the very moment of conception. The violation of the individual human beings right to life contains the seeds of the extreme violence of war. For this reason, I appeal to all women ever to take their place on the side of life. At the same time I urge everyone to help women who are suffering, and particularly children, in a special way those scarred by the painful trauma of having lived through war. Only loving and compassionate concern will enable them once again to look to the future with confidence and hope. 11. When my beloved predecessor Pope John XXIII indicated the participation of women in public life as one of the signs of our times, he also stated that, being aware of their dignity, they would no longer tolerate being exploited.9

263

Women have the right to insist that their dignity be respected. At the same time, they have the duty to work for the promotion of the dignity of all persons, men as well as women. In view of this, I express the hope that the many international initiatives planned for 1995 of which some will be devoted specifically to women, such as the Conference sponsored by the United Nations in Beijing on work for equality, development and peace will provide a significant opportunity for making interpersonal and social relationships ever more human, under the banner of peace. Mary, Model of Peace 12. Mary, Queen of Peace, is close to the women of our day because of her motherhood, her example of openness to others needs and her witness of suffering. Mary lived with a deep sense of responsibility the plan which God willed to carry out in her for the salvation of all humanity. When she was made aware of the miracle which God had worked in her by making her the Mother of his Incarnate Son, her first thought was to visit her elderly kinswoman Elizabeth in order to help her. That meeting gave Mary the chance to express, in the 264erries264i canticle of the Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55), her gratitude to God who, with her and through her, had begun a new creation, a new history. I implore the Most Holy Virgin Mary to sustain those men and women who, in the service of life, have committed themselves to building peace. With her help, may they bear witness before all people, especially those who live in darkness and suffering and who hunger and thirst for justice, to the loving presence of the God of peace! From the Vatican, 8 December 1994.

NOTES 1 John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in 264erries (11 April 1963), n. 1: AAS 55 (1963), 259. 2 Cf. loc. Cit., 259-264. 3 Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum 264erries264ion (26 March 1967), n. 14: AAS (1967), 264. 4 John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Mulieris dignitatem (15 August 1988), n. 30: AAS 80 (1988), 1725. 5 Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 371. 6 Ibid., n. 372. 7 Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Mulieris dignitatem (15 August 1988), n. 29: AAS 80 (1988), 1723. 8 Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris consortio (22 November 1981), n. 37: AAS 74 (1982), 127.
264

9 John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in 265erries (11 April 1963), n. 1: AAS 55 (1963), 267268.

265

1996: LET US GIVE CHILDREN A FUTURE OF PEACE

Our children are the most defenseless among us, and so many suffer hell on earththrough poverty, exploitation, and war. We must unite to end this violence, to conquer war, for the sake of our most precious, our children. They are being slaughtered even right now. They are targeted, bombed, sold, raped, and traumatizedturned even into weapons of war, crime, and vice. For their sake, we must give no support to war and make every sacrifice to ensure their full development of body, mind, and heart. We must not let their trust and hope die, we must live as loving parents whose families are schools of peace, where children learn about peace and peacemakers, not war and war-makers. We in turn, like Jesus, must become as children ourselvesfull of trust in God, trust in man, and hope for a world of peace!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE XXIX WORLD DAY OF PEACE LET US GIVE CHILDREN A FUTURE OF PEACE 1 January 1996 1. At the end of 1994, the International Year of the Family, I wrote a Letter to the children of the whole world, asking them to pray that humanity would increasingly become God's family, living in harmony and peace. I have frequently expressed my heartfelt concern for children who are victims of armed conflicts and other kinds of violence, and I have not failed to call these serious situations to the attention of world public opinion. At the beginning of this new year, my thoughts turn once again to children and to their legitimate hope for love and peace. I feel bound to mention in a particular way children who are suffering and those who often grow to adulthood without ever having experienced peace. Children's faces should always be happy and trusting, but at times they are full of sadness and fear: how much have these children already seen and suffered in the course of their short lives! Let us give children a future of peace! This is the confident appeal which I make to men and women of good will, and I invite everyone to help children to grow up in an environment of authentic peace. This is their right, and it is our duty. Children who are victims of war

266

2. I begin by thinking of the great crowds of children whom I have met during the years of my Pontificate, especially during my Apostolic Visits to every continent: joyful children who are full of happiness. My thoughts turn to them at the beginning of this new year. It is my hope that all children of the world will be able to begin 1996 in happiness and to enjoy a peaceful childhood, with the help of responsible adults. I pray that everywhere a harmonious relationship between adults and children will promote a climate of peace and authentic well-being. Sadly, many of the world's children are innocent victims of war. In recent years millions of them have been wounded or killed: a veritable slaughter. The special protection accorded to children by international law1 has been widely disregarded, and the dramatic increase of regional and inter-ethnic conflicts has made it difficult to implement the protective measures called for by humanitarian regulations. Children have even become targets of snipers, their schools deliberately destroyed, and the hospitals where they are cared for bombed. In the face of such horrendous misdeeds, how can we fail to speak out with one voice in condemnation? The deliberate killing of a child is one of the most disturbing signs of the breakdown of all respect for human life.2 In addition to the children who have been killed, my thoughts also turn to those who have been maimed during or after these conflicts. I likewise think of young people who are systematically hunted down, raped or killed during so-called "ethnic cleansings". 3. Children are not only victims of the violence of wars; many are forced to take an active part in them. In some countries of the world it has come to the point where even very young boys and girls are compelled to serve in the army of the warring parties. Enticed by the promise of food and schooling, they are confined to remote camps, where they suffer hunger and abuse and are encouraged to kill even people from their own villages. Often they are sent ahead to clear minefields. Clearly, the life of children has little value for those who use them in this way! The future of young people who have taken up arms is often compromised. After years of military service, some are simply discharged and sent home, where they often fail to fit into civilian life. Others, ashamed of having survived when their companions have not, frequently end up as criminals or drug addicts. Who knows what nightmares must continue to afflict them! Will their minds ever be free of the memories of violence and death? The humanitarian and religious organizations which attempt to relieve these inhuman sufferings deserve heartfelt respect. Thanks are also owed to those generous individuals and families who welcome orphans with love, and do everything they can to heal their traumas and to help them to fit once more into the communities from which they came.

267

4. The memory of the millions of children who have been killed, and the sad faces of so many others who are suffering compel us to take every possible measure to safeguard or reestablish peace, and to bring conflicts and wars to an end. Before the Fourth World Conference on Women which took place in Beijing last September, I asked Catholic charitable and educational institutions to adopt a co-ordinated strategy which gives priority to issues concerning children and young women, especially those most in need.3 Now I wish to renew that appeal, and to extend it in a special way to Catholic institutions and organizations which deal with children. I ask them to help girls who have suffered as a result of war and violence, to teach boys to acknowledge and respect the dignity of women, and to help all children to rediscover the tenderness of the love of God who took flesh, and who by dying left the world the gift of his peace (cf. Jn 14:27).

The memory of the millions of children who have been killed, and the sad faces of so many others who are suffering compel us to take every possible measure to safeguard or re-establish peace, and to bring conflicts and wars to an end.

I will continue to point out that all, from the most prominent international organizations to local associations, from Heads of State to ordinary citizens, in everyday actions and at the most significant moments of life, are called upon to make a contribution to peace and to give no support to war. Children who are victims of various forms of violence 5. Millions of children suffer from other kinds of violence present both in poverty-stricken and in developed societies. These kinds of violence are often less obvious, but they are no less terrible. The International Summit for Social Development which took place this year in Copenhagen stressed the connection between poverty and violence,4 and on that occasion States committed themselves to a greater battle against poverty through initiatives at the national level, beginning in 1996.5 Similar suggestions were made by the earlier World Conference of the United Nations on Children, held in New York in 1990. Poverty is indeed the cause of inhuman living and working conditions. In some countries children are forced to work at a tender age and are often badly treated, harshly punished, and paid absurdly low wages. Because they have no way of asserting their rights, they are the easiest to blackmail and exploit. In other circumstances children are bought and sold,6 so that they can be used for begging or, even worse, forced into prostitution, as in the case of socalled "sex tourism". This utterly despicable trade degrades not only those who take part in it but also those who in any way promote it. Some do not hesitate to enlist children in criminal activities, especially the selling of narcotics, thus exposing them to the risk of personal involvement in drug use.
268

Many children end up with the street as their only home. Having run away, or having been abandoned by their families, or never having known a family environment, these young people live by their wits and in a state of total neglect, and they are considered by many as refuse to be eliminated. 6. Sadly, violence towards children is found even in wealthy and affluent families. Such cases are infrequent, but it is important not to overlook them. Sometimes children are taken advantage of and suffer abuse within the home itself, at the hands of people whom they should be able to trust, to the detriment of their development. Many children are also compelled to endure the trauma caused by fighting between their parents, or by the actual breakup of the family. Concern for the children's welfare does not prevent solutions which are often dictated by the selfishness and hypocrisy of adults. Behind an appearance of normality and peacefulness, masked even further by an abundance of material possessions, children are at times forced to grow up in dismal loneliness, without firm and loving guidance and a suitable moral formation. Left to themselves, such children usually find their main contact with reality in television programmes which often present unreal and immoral situations which they are still too young to assess properly. It is no wonder if this kind of widespread and pernicious violence also has its effect on their young hearts, changing their natural enthusiasm into disillusionment or cynicism, and their instinctive goodness into indifference or selfishness. When young people chase after false ideals, they can experience bitterness and humiliation, hostility and hatred, absorbing the discontent and emptiness all around them. Everyone is well aware of how childhood experiences can have profound and sometimes irreparable consequences on an individual's whole life. It can hardly be hoped that children will one day be able to build a better world, unless there is a specific commitment to their education for peace. Children need to "learn peace": it is their right, and one which cannot be disregarded. Children and hope for peace 7. I have sought to emphasize strongly the often tragic conditions in which many children are living today. I consider this my duty: they will be the adults of the Third Millennium. But I have no intention of yielding to pessimism or ignoring the signs of hope. How can I fail to mention, for example, the many families in every part of the world in which children grow up in an atmosphere of peace? And how can we not note the efforts being made by so many individuals and organizations to enable children in difficulty to grow up in peace and happiness? Public and private associations, individual families and particular communities have taken initiatives the only purpose of which is to help children who have suffered some traumatic event to return to a normal life. In particular, educational programmes have been developed for encouraging children and young people to use fully their personal talents, in order to become true peacemakers.

269

There is also a growing awareness in the international community which, in recent years, despite difficulties and hesitation, has made efforts to deal decisively and systematically with problems connected with childhood. The results achieved thus far encourage us to continue these praiseworthy endeavours. If children are properly helped and loved, they themselves can become peacemakers, builders of a world of fraternity and solidarity. With their enthusiasm and youthful idealism, young people can become "witnesses" and "teachers" of hope and peace to adults. Lest these possibilities be lost, children should be offered, in a way adapted to their individual needs, every opportunity for a balanced personal growth. A peaceful childhood will enable boys and girls to face the future with confidence. Let no one stifle their joyful enthusiasm and hope. Children in the school of peace 8. Little children very soon learn about life. They watch and imitate the behaviour of adults. They rapidly learn love and respect for others, but they also quickly absorb the poison of violence and hatred. Family experiences strongly condition the attitudes which children will assume as adults. Consequently, if the family is the place where children first encounter the world, the family must be for children the first school of peace. Parents have an extraordinary opportunity to help their sons and daughters to become aware of this great treasure: the witness of their mutual love. It is by loving each other that they enable the child, from the very first moment of its existence, to grow up in peaceful surroundings, imbued with the positive values which make up the family's true heritage: mutual respect and acceptance, listening, sharing, generosity, forgiveness. Thanks to the sense of working together which these values foster, they provide a true education for peace and make the child, from its earliest years, an active builder of peace. Children share with their parents and brothers and sisters the experience of life and hope. They see how life's inevitable trials are met with humility and courage, and they grow up in an atmosphere of esteem for others and respect for opinions different from their own. It is above all in the home that, before ever a word is spoken, children should experience God's love in the love which surrounds them. In the family they learn that God wants peace and mutual understanding among all human beings, who are called to be one great family. 9. Besides the basic education provided by the family, children have a right to a specific training for peace at school and in other educational settings. These institutions have a duty to lead children gradually to understand the nature and demands of peace within their world and culture. Children need to learn the history of peace and not simply the history of victory and defeat in war.
270

Let us show them examples of peace and not just examples of violence! Fortunately many positive examples of this can be found in every culture and period of history. Suitable new educational opportunities must be created, especially in those situations where cultural and moral poverty has been most oppressive. Everything possible should be done to help children to become messengers of peace. Children are not a burden on society; they are not a means of profit or people without rights. Children are precious members of the human family, for they embody its hopes, its expectations and its potential. Jesus, the way of peace 10. Peace is a gift of God; but men and women must first accept this gift in order to build a peaceful world. People can do this only if they have a childlike simplicity of heart. This is one of the most profound and paradoxical aspects of the Christian message: to become child-like is more than just a moral requirement but a dimension of the mystery of the Incarnation itself. The Son of God did not come in power and glory, as he will at the end of the world, but as a child, needy and poor. Fully sharing our human condition in all things but sin (cf. Heb 4:15), he also took on the frailty and hope for the future which are part of being a child. After that decisive moment for the history of humanity, to despise childhood means to despise the One who showed the greatness of his love by humbling himself and forsaking all glory in order to redeem mankind. Jesus identified with the little ones. When the Apostles were arguing about who was the greatest, he "took a child and put him by his side, and said to them, 'Whoever receives this child in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me'" (Lk 9:47-48). The Lord also forcefully warned us against giving scandal to children: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea" (Mt 18:6). Jesus asked the disciples to become "children" again. When they tried to turn away the little ones who were pressing in upon him, he said indignantly: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the Kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it" (Mk 10:14-15). Jesus thus turned around our way of thinking. Adults need to learn from children the ways of God: seeing children's capacity for complete trust, adults can learn to cry out with true confidence, "Abba, Father!".

271

11. To become like a little child with complete trust in the Father and with the meekness taught by the Gospel is not Let us all unite to fight only an ethical imperative; it is a reason for hope. Even where the difficulties are so great as to lead to discouragement and the every kind of violence power of evil so overwhelming as to dishearten, those who can and to conquer war! rediscover the simplicity of a child can begin to hope anew. This is possible above all for those who know they can trust in a God who desires harmony among all people in the peaceful communion of his Kingdom. It is also possible for those who, though not sharing the gift of faith, believe in the values of forgiveness and solidarity and see in them not without the hidden action of the Spirit the possibility of renewing the face of the earth.

It is therefore to men and women of good will that I address this confident appeal. Let us all unite to fight every kind of violence and to conquer war! Let us create the conditions which will ensure that children can receive as the legacy of our generation a more united and fraternal world! Let us give children a future of peace! From the Vatican, 8 December 1995.

NOTES 1 Cf. United Nations Convention of 20 November 1989 on the rights of children, especially Article 38; the Fourth Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 for the protection of civilians in wartime, Article 24; Protocols I and II of 12 December 1977, etc. 2 Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium vitae (25 March 1995), n. 3: AAS 87 (1995), 404. 3 Cf. Message to the Delegation of the Holy See at the Fourth World Conference on Women (29 August 1995): L'Osservatore Romano, 30 August 1995, p. 1. 4 Cf. Copenhagen Declaration, n. 16. 5 Cf. Programme of Action, Chapter II. 6 Cf. Programme of Action, n. 39 (e).

272

1997: OFFER FORGIVENESS AND RECEIVE PEACE

Forgiveness is not folly or weakness, but is the strength of love, the only force capable of healing deep wounds and forging brotherhood and building true peace. We feel trapped by mans long history of strife, but healing is possible, liberation is available. We must understand the folly of war and give up our culture of violence, replacing it with a culture of peace, one that intent upon mercy. Only in the heroism of forgiveness can the deepest wound be healed. But forgiveness requires both truth and justiceevil cannot be forgiven if it remain hidden, unacknowledged, and unrepaired. So we freely confess our own evildoing, and find forgiveness in Christ dependent upon our own willingness to forgive others. We find this grace in prayer, and in the ministry of the Church. Within this mercy, we trade war for peace, becoming instruments of reconciliation to the world.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE XXX WORLD DAY OF PEACE OFFER FORGIVENESS AND RECEIVE PEACE 1 January 1997 1. Only three years separate us from the dawn of a new millennium. This time of expectation is a time for reflection, inviting us to make an assessment, as it were, of mankind's journey in the sight of God, the Lord of history. If we look back on the last millennium, and on this century in particular, it must be acknowledged that mankind's path has been greatly illuminated by progress in the socio-cultural, economic, scientific and technological spheres. Unfortunately, this new light coexists with persistent dark shadows, especially in the areas of morality and solidarity. Then there is the real scandal of violence, which in old and new ways still strikes many human lives, and tears apart families and communities. The time has come for a resolute decision to set out together on a true pilgrimage of peace, starting from the concrete situation in which we find ourselves. At times the difficulties can be daunting: ethnic origin, language, culture and religious beliefs are often obstacles to such a pilgrimage. To go forward together, when we have behind us traumatic experiences or even ageold divisions, is not an easy thing to do. This, then, is the question: which path must we follow, what direction should we take?

273

Certainly there are many factors which can help restore peace, while safeguarding the demands of justice and human dignity. But no process of peace can ever begin unless an attitude of sincere forgiveness takes root in human hearts. When such forgiveness is lacking, wounds continue to fester, fuelling in the younger generation endless resentment, producing a desire for revenge and causing fresh destruction. Offering and accepting forgiveness is the essential condition for making the journey towards authentic and lasting peace. With deep conviction therefore I wish to appeal to everyone to seek peace along the paths of forgiveness. I am fully aware that forgiveness can seem contrary to human logic, which often yields to the dynamics of conflict and revenge. But forgiveness is inspired by the logic of love, that love which God has for every man and woman, for every people and nation, and for the whole human family. If the Church dares to proclaim what, from a human standpoint, might appear to be sheer folly, it is precisely because of her unshakable confidence in the infinite love of God. As Scripture bears witness, God is rich in mercy and full of forgiveness for those who come back to him (cf. Ez 18:23; Ps 32:5; Ps 103:8-14; Eph 2:4-5; 2 Cor 1:3). God's forgiveness becomes in our hearts an inexhaustible source of forgiveness in our relationships with one another, helping us to live together in true brotherhood. A wounded world yearns for healing 2. As I have said, the modern world, despite its many successes, continues to be marked by contradictions. Progress in industry and agriculture has brought a higher standard of living to millions of people and offers great hope for many others. Technology has shrunk distances, while information has become instantaneous and has made possible new advances in human knowledge. Respect for the environment is growing and becoming a way of life. A great army of volunteers, whose generosity often remains hidden, is working tirelessly in every part of the world for the good of humanity, sparing no effort especially in meeting the needs of the poor and the suffering. How can we fail to acknowledge with joy these positive aspects of our times? Unfortunately, however, the present world scene also presents more than a few negative signs. These include materialism and a growing contempt for human life, which have now assumed disturbing proportions. Many people live their lives with no other allegiance than to the laws of profit, prestige and power. As a result, many feel imprisoned in a deep inner loneliness. Others continue to be deliberately discriminated against on grounds of race, nationality or sex. Poverty is driving masses of people to the margins of society, or even worse, to extinction. For too many people war has become a harsh everyday reality. A society interested only in material and ephemeral goods is tending to marginalize those who are not useful to its purposes. Faced with situations like these, involving real human tragedies, some prefer simply to close their eyes, taking refuge in indifference. Theirs is the attitude of Cain: "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Gen 4:9). But the Church has the duty to
274

remind everyone of God's severe admonishment: "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground!" (Gen 4:10). When so many of our brothers and sisters are suffering, we cannot remain indifferent! Their distress appeals to our conscience, the inner sanctuary where we come face to face with ourselves and with God. How can we fail to see that, to different degrees, we are all involved in this revision of life to which God is calling us? We all need forgiveness from God and from our neighbour. Therefore we must all be ready to forgive and to ask for forgiveness. The burden of history 3. The difficulty of forgiving does not only arise from the circumstances of the present. History carries with it a heavy burden of violence and conflict which cannot easily be shed. Abuses of power, oppression and wars have brought suffering to countless human beings and, even if the causes of these sad events are lost in the distant past, their destructive effects live on, fuelling fear, suspicion, hatred and division among families, ethnic groups and whole peoples. These are facts which sorely try the good will of those who are seeking to overcome their past conditioning. The truth is that one cannot remain a prisoner of the past, for individuals and peoples need a sort of "healing of memories", so that past evils will not come back again. This does not mean forgetting past events; it means reexamining them with a new attitude and learning precisely from the experience of suffering that only love can build up, whereas hatred produces devastation and ruin. The deadly cycle of revenge must be replaced by the new-found liberty of forgiveness.

Wars, even when they "solve" the problems which cause them, do so only by leaving a wake of victims and destruction which weighs heavily upon ensuing peace negotiations.

For this to happen, we must learn to read the history of other peoples without facile and partisan bias, making an effort to understand their point of view. This is a real challenge also on the level of education and culture. This is a challenge for civilization! If we agree to set out on this journey, we shall come to see that mistakes are not all on one side. We shall see how history has sometimes been presented in a distorted and even manipulated way, with tragic results. A correct reading of history will make it easier to accept and appreciate the social, cultural and religious differences between individuals, groups and peoples. This is the first step towards reconciliation, since respect for differences is an inherently necessary condition for genuine relationships between individuals and between groups. The suppression of differences can result in apparent peace, but it creates a volatile situation which is in fact the prelude to fresh outbreaks of violence. Practical mechanisms for reconciliation

275

4. Wars, even when they "solve" the problems which cause them, do so only by leaving a wake of victims and destruction which weighs heavily upon ensuing peace negotiations. Awareness of this should encourage peoples, nations and States once and for all to rise above the "culture of war", not only in its most detestable form, namely, the power to wage war used as an instrument of supremacy, but also in the less odious but no less destructive form of recourse to arms as an expeditious way to solve a problem. Precisely in a time such as ours, which is familiar with the most sophisticated technologies of destruction, it is urgently necessary to develop a consistent "culture of peace", which will forestall and counter the seemingly inevitable outbreaks of armed violence, including taking steps to stop the growth of the arms industry and of arms trafficking. But even before this, the sincere desire for peace has to be translated into a firm decision to remove every obstacle to achieving peace. Here, the various religions can make an important contribution, as they have often done in the past, by speaking out against war and bravely facing the consequent risks. But are not all of us called to do still more, by drawing upon the genuine patrimony of our religious traditions? At the same time, the duty of governments and the international community remains essential in these matters. It is for them to contribute to the building of peace through the establishment of solid structures capable of withstanding the uncertainties of politics, thus guaranteeing to everyone freedom and security in every circumstance. The United Nations Organization, for example, in fidelity to its founding inspiration, has recently taken on ever more extensive responsibility for maintaining or restoring peace. In this regard, fifty years after its establishment, it seems fitting to hope that the means at its disposal will be appropriately reviewed in order to enable that Organization to face effectively the new challenges of our time. Other organizations at the continental and regional level also have great importance as instruments for promoting peace: it is reassuring to see them committed to developing practical mechanisms for reconciliation, working actively to help peoples divided by war to rediscover the reasons for peaceful and harmonious coexistence. These are forms of mediation which offer hope to peoples in apparently helpless situations. Nor should we underestimate the activity of local organizations: present as they are in places where the seeds of conflict are sown, they can reach individuals directly, mediating between opposing factions and promoting mutual trust. Lasting peace however is not just a matter of structures and mechanisms. It rests above all on the adoption of a style of human coexistence marked by mutual acceptance and a capacity to forgive from the heart. We all need to be forgiven by others, so we must all be ready to forgive. Asking and granting forgiveness is something profoundly worthy of man; sometimes it is the only way out of situations marked by age-old and violent hatred. Certainly, forgiveness does not come spontaneously or naturally to people. Forgiving from the heart can sometimes be actually heroic. The pain of losing a child, a brother or sister, one's parents or whole family as a result of war, terrorism or criminal acts can lead to the total closing
276

of oneself to others. People who have been left with nothing because they have been deprived of their land and home, refugees and those who have endured the humiliation of violence, cannot fail to feel the temptation to hatred and revenge. Only the warmth of human relationships marked by respect, understanding and acceptance can help them to overcome such feelings. The liberating encounter with forgiveness, though fraught with difficulties, can be experienced even by a wounded heart, thanks to the healing power of love, which has its first source in God who is Love. Truth and justice: prerequisites for forgiveness 5. Forgiveness, in its truest and highest form, is a free act of love. But precisely because it is an act of love, it has its own intrinsic demands: the first of which is respect for the truth. God alone is absolute truth. But he made the human heart open to the desire for truth, which he then fully revealed in his Incarnate Son. Hence we are all called to live the truth. Where lies and falsehood are sown, there suspicion and division flourish. Corruption too, and political or ideological manipulation, are essentially contrary to the truth: they attack the very foundations of social harmony and undermine the possibility of peaceful social relationships. Forgiveness, far from precluding the search for truth, actually requires it. The evil which has been done must be acknowledged and as far as possible corrected. It is precisely this requirement which has led to the establishment in various parts of the world of appropriate procedures for ascertaining the truth regarding crimes between ethnic groups or nations, as a first step towards reconciliation. There is no need to insist on the great prudence which all parties must observe in this necessary process, in order not to accentuate contrasts, which would then make reconciliation even more difficult. Not uncommon are cases of countries whose leaders, looking to the fundamental good of consolidating peace, have agreed to grant an amnesty to those who have publicly admitted crimes committed during a period of turmoil. Such an initiative can be regarded favourably as an effort to promote good relations between groups previously opposed to one another. Another essential requisite for forgiveness and reconciliation is justice, which finds its ultimate foundation in the law of God and in his plan of love and mercy for humanity.1 Understood in this way, justice is not limited to establishing what is right between the parties in conflict but looks above all to re-establishing authentic relationships with God, with oneself and with others. Thus there is no contradiction between forgiveness and justice. Forgiveness neither eliminates nor lessens the need for the reparation which justice requires, but seeks to reintegrate individuals and groups into society, and States into the community of Nations. No punishment can suppress the inalienable dignity of those who have committed evil. The door to repentance and rehabilitation must always remain open. Jesus Christ our reconciliation

277

6. How many situations today call for reconciliation! In the face of this challenge, on which peace to a great extent depends, I appeal to all believers, and in a special way to the members of the Catholic Church, to devote themselves in an active and practical way to the work of reconciliation. Believers know that reconciliation comes from God, who is always ready to forgive those who turn to him and turn their back on their sins (cf. Is 38:17). God's immense love goes far beyond human understanding, as Sacred Scripture says: "Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you" (Is 49:15). Divine love is the foundation of the reconciliation to which all of us are called. "It is he who forgives all your guilt, who heals every one of your ills; who redeems your life from the grave, who crowns you with love and compassion. ... He does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our faults" (Ps 102:3-4,10). In his loving readiness to forgive, God went even to the point of giving himself to the world in the Person of his Son, who came to bring redemption to every individual and all humanity. In the face of human offences, which culminated in his condemnation to death on the Cross, Jesus prayed: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Lk 23:34). God's forgiveness is the expression of his loving kindness as our Father. In the Gospel parable of the prodigal son (cf. Lk 15:11-32), the father runs to meet his son as soon as he sees him coming home. He does not even let the son apologize: everything is forgiven (cf. Lk 15:20-22). The intense joy of forgiveness, offered and received, heals seemingly incurable wounds, restores relationships and firmly roots them in God's inexhaustible love. Throughout his life Jesus proclaimed God's forgiveness, but he also taught the need for mutual forgiveness as the condition for obtaining it. In the Lord's Prayer he makes us pray: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us" (Mt 6:12). With that "as", he places in our hands the measure with which we shall be judged by God. The parable of the unforgiving servant, punished for his hardness of heart towards his fellow servant (cf. Mt 18:23-35), teaches us that those who are unwilling to forgive exclude themselves by this very fact from divine forgiveness: "So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart" (Mt 18:35). Our prayer itself cannot be pleasing to the Lord unless it is preceded, and in a certain sense "guaranteed" in its authenticity, by a sincere effort on our part to be reconciled with our brother who has "something against us": only then will it be possible for us to present an offering pleasing to God (cf. Mt 5:23-24).

278

In the service of reconciliation 7. Jesus not only taught his disciples the duty to forgive, but he also intended his Church to be the sign and instrument of his plan of reconciliation, making her the sacrament "of intimate union with God, and of the unity of all humanity".2 In the light of this responsibility, Saint Paul described the apostolic ministry as the "ministry of reconciliation" (cf. 2 Cor 5:18-20). But in a certain sense every baptized person must consider himself a "minister of reconciliation" since, having been reconciled with God and the brethren, he is called to build peace with the power of truth and justice. As I had occasion to state in my Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente, Christians, as they get ready to cross the threshold of a new millennium, are invited to renew their repentance for "all those times in history when they departed from the spirit of Christ and his Gospel and, instead of offering to the world the witness of a life inspired by the values of faith, indulged in ways of thinking and acting which were truly forms of counter-witness and scandal".3 Among these, the divisions which harm the unity of Christians are of singular importance. As we prepare to celebrate the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, we must together seek Christ's forgiveness, beseeching the Holy Spirit to grant the grace of full unity. "Unity, after all, is a gift of the Holy Spirit. We are asked to respond to this gift responsibly, without compromise to our witness to the truth".4 Fixing our gaze on Jesus Christ, our reconciliation, in this first year of preparation for the Jubilee, let us do everything we can, through prayer, witness and action, in order to advance towards greater unity. This cannot fail to exercise a positive influence on the peacemaking processes going on in different parts of the world. In June 1997, the Churches of Europe will hold in Graz their second European Ecumenical Assembly on the theme "Reconciliation, gift of God and source of new life". In preparation for this meeting, the Presidents of the Conference of European Churches and of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences have issued a joint message calling for a fresh commitment to reconciliation, the "gift of God for us and for the whole of creation." They have listed some of the many tasks which await the Ecclesial Communities: the search for a more visible unity, and commitment to the reconciliation of peoples. May the prayer of all Christians sustain the preparations in the local Churches for this meeting and foster practical gestures of reconciliation throughout Europe, opening the way to similar efforts on other continents. In the above-mentioned Apostolic Letter, I expressed the lively hope that along the way to the Year 2000 Christians will take the texts of Sacred Scripture as their constant inspiration and reference. An extremely relevant theme to guide this pilgrimage could be that of forgiveness and reconciliation, to be meditated upon and lived in the concrete circumstances of every person and community. An appeal to all people of good will

279

8. I wish to conclude this Message, which I am sending to believers and all people of good will for the coming World Day of Peace, with an appeal to every individual to become an instrument of peace and reconciliation. In the first place I address myself to you, my Brother Bishops and priests: be mirrors of the merciful love of God not only in the ecclesial community, but also in civil society, especially where nationalistic and ethnic conflicts are raging. In spite of the sufferings you may have to endure, do not let hatred enter your hearts, but joyfully proclaim Christ's Gospel and dispense God's forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To you parents, the first educators of your children in the faith, I ask you to help your children to look upon all people as their brothers and sisters, to reach out to others without prejudice, with an attitude of trust and acceptance. Be for your children a reflection of God's love and forgiveness; make every effort to create a united and harmonious family. And you educators, called to teach young people the true values of life by introducing them to the complexity of history and human culture, help them to live in every situation the virtues of tolerance, understanding and respect; hold up to them as models those who have been artisans of peace and reconciliation.

Respond to violence with works of peace, in order to build a world which is reconciled and fully human.

You young people, who cherish great hopes in your hearts, learn to live with one another in peace, without building barriers which stop you from sharing the treasures of other cultures and traditions. Respond to violence with works of peace, in order to build a world which is reconciled and fully human. You men and women in public life, called to serve the common good, exclude no one from your concerns; take special care of the weakest sectors of society. Do not put your personal advantage above all else; do not give in to the lure of corruption and, above all, face even the most difficult situations with the weapons of peace and reconciliation.

To you who work in the mass media, I ask you to consider the great responsibilities which your profession involves, and never to be promoters of messages marked by hatred, violence or falsehood. Always keep in mind the truth of the human person, whose welfare the powerful means of communication are meant to serve. Finally, to all of you who believe in Christ, I address an invitation to walk faithfully on the path of forgiveness and reconciliation, uniting yourselves to his prayer to the Father that all may be one (cf. Jn 17:21). And I exhort you to accompany this unceasing prayer for peace with deeds of brotherhood and mutual acceptance.

280

To every person of good will, eager to work tirelessly in the building of a new civilization of love, I say once more: Offer forgiveness and receive peace! From the Vatican, 8 December 1996.

(1) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Dives in Misericordia (30 November 1980), 14: AAS 72 (1980), 1223. (2) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 1. (3) No. 33: AAS 87 (1995), 25. (4) Ibid., No. 34: loc. cit., 26.

281

1998: FROM THE JUSTICE OF EACH COMES PEACE FOR ALL

Peace for all of us comes from the justice of each of us. Today, there is so much unjust suffering, so much violence, so much poverty. Justice is not an abstract principle, it is not a simple application of legal codes. Justice works hand in hand with mercy and love to restore a broken order an repair relationships. Justice eagerly defends human rightsnot only of some people, not only of some rights, but all rights of all people, no matter culture, nation, or race, whether rich or poor, man or woman, youth or adult. We must enter into solidarity with all, and recognized our duty to help the weakest nations and people to secure their rights and live the truth. No one must be marginalized, for it is the poor and weak who suffer most from injustice from crime, from corruption, from usury, and especially from violence. Christians must be known by our marked defense of the vulnerable, by our generous sacrifice, by our steadfast hope and joyful spirit that makes us one with the poor and secures justice for all.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1998 FROM THE JUSTICE OF EACH COMES PEACE FOR ALL

1. Justice goes hand in hand with peace and is permanently and actively linked to peace. Justice and peace seek the good of one and all, and for this reason they demand order and truth. When one is threatened, both falter; when justice is offended, peace is also placed in jeopardy. Precisely because there exists a very close connection between the justice of the individual and the peace of everyone, in the present Message for the World Day of Peace I wish to address above all the Heads of States, keeping in mind that todays world, though marked in many regions by tension, violence and conflict, is nevertheless seeking a new composition and a more balanced stability, with a view to a true and lasting peace for the whole of humanity. Justice and peace are not abstract concepts or remote ideals. They are values which dwell, as a common patrimony, in the heart of every individual. Individuals, families, communities and nations, all are called to live in justice and to work for peace. No one can claim exemption from this responsibility.

282

At this moment my thoughts turn to those who, without wanting it, are caught in the midst of bitter conflicts. I also think of the marginalized, the poor, the victims of all kinds of exploitation. These are people who are experiencing in their own flesh the absence of peace and the terrible effects of injustice. Who can remain indifferent to their craving for a life rooted in justice and in genuine peace? It is everyones responsibility to ensure that they achieve their desire: there can be no complete justice unless everyone shares in it equally. Justice is, at one and the same time, a moral virtue and a legal concept. Sometimes it is represented as a blindfold figure; in effect though, it is the proper task of justice to be clear-sighted and vigilant in ensuring the balance between rights and duties, in fostering an equitable sharing of burdens and benefits. Justice makes whole, it does not destroy; it leads to reconciliation, not to revenge. Upon examination, at its deepest level it is rooted in love, which finds its most significant expression in mercy. Therefore justice, if separated from merciful love, becomes cold and cutting. Justice is an active and life-giving virtue: it defends and promotes the inestimable dignity of every human person and is concerned for the common good, insofar as it is the guardian of relations between individuals and peoples. No one, in fact, ever lives in isolation. From the first moment of life, each human being exists in relationship to others, in such a way that the good of the individual and the good of society go hand in hand. Between the two there exists a delicate balance. Justice rests on respect for human rights 2. The human person is by nature endowed with universal, inviolable and inalienable rights. These rights do not however exist in isolation. In this respect my venerable predecessor Pope John XXIII taught that the person has rights and duties, flowing directly and simultaneously from his very nature.(1) It is upon the correct anthropological foundation of these rights and duties, and upon their intrinsic correlation, that the true bulwark of peace rests. In recent centuries, these human rights have been formulated in declarations of principles and binding legal instruments. In the history of peoples and nations in search of justice and freedom, the proclamation of these rights is remembered with rightful pride, also because it was often experienced as a turning-point after patent violations of the dignity of single individuals and whole peoples. Fifty years ago, after a war characterized by the denial for certain peoples of the right even to exist, the General Assembly of the United Nations promulgated the Universal Declaration of
283

Justice makes whole, it does not destroy; it leads to reconciliation, not to revenge. Upon examination, at its deepest level it is rooted in love, which finds its most significant expression in mercy. Therefore justice, if separated from merciful love, becomes cold and cutting.

Human Rights. That was a solemn act, arrived at after the sad experience of war, and motivated by the desire formally to recognize that the same rights belong to every individual and to all peoples. In that document we read the following statement, which has resisted the passage of time: Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.(2) The concluding words of the document deserve no less attention: Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.(3) It is a tragic fact that today this provision is still being blatantly violated through oppression, conflict and corruption, or, in a more subtle way, through an attempt to reinterpret, or 284nstill284y misinterpret, the very definitions contained in the Universal Declaration. That document must be observed integrally, in both its spirit and letter. It remainsas Pope Paul VI of venerable memory declaredone of the United Nations principal titles to glory, especially when we think of the importance which is attributed to it as a sure path to peace.(4) On the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, being celebrated this year, it is fitting to recall that the promotion and protection of human rights is a matter of priority for the international community.(5) Certain shadows however hover over the anniversary, consisting in the reservations being expressed in relation to two essential characteristics of the very idea of human rights: their universality and their indivisibility. These distinctive features must be strongly reaffirmed, in order to reject the criticisms of those who would use the argument of cultural specificity to mask violations of human rights, and the criticisms of those who weaken the concept of human dignity by denying juridical weight to social, economic and cultural rights. Universality and indivisibility are two guiding principles which at the same time demand that human rights be rooted in each culture and that their juridical profile be strengthened so as to ensure that they are fully observed. Respect for human rights not only involves their protection in law. It must include all the other aspects which stem from the notion of human dignity, the very basis of rights. In this regard attention to education assumes great relevance. It is likewise important to attend to the promotion of human rights: a task which follows from love of the human person as such, since love goes beyond what justice can provide.(6) In the context of promoting human rights, further efforts must be made to protect the rights of the family, which is the natural and basic unit of society.(7) Globalization with solidarity 3. The vast geopolitical changes which have taken place since 1989 have been accompanied by veritable revolutions in the social and economic fields. The globalization of the economy and of finance is now a reality, and we are realizing more and more clearly the effects of the rapid progress related to information technologies. We are on the threshold of a new era which is the bearer of great hopes and disturbing questions. What will be the effect of the changes taking
284

place? Will everyone be able to take advantage of a global market? Will everyone at last have a chance to enjoy peace? Will relations between States become more equitable, or will economic competition and rivalries between peoples and nations lead humanity towards a situation of even greater instability? For a more equitable society and a more stable peace in a world on the way to globalization, it is an urgent task of the International Organizations to help promote a sense of responsibility for the common good. But to achieve this we must never lose sight of the human person, who must be at the centre of every social project. Only thus will the United Nations become a family of nations, in accordance with its original mandate of promoting social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.(8) This is the path for building a world community based on mutual trust, mutual support and sincere respect.(9) The challenge, in short, is to ensure a globalization in solidarity, a globalization without marginalization. This is a clear duty in justice, with serious moral implications in the organization of the economic, social, cultural and political life of nations. The heavy burden of external debt 4. Nations and whole regions of the world, on account of their fragile financial or economic potential, risk being excluded from an economy which is becoming globalized. Others have greater resources, but unfortunately cannot take advantage of them for various reasons: unrest, internal conflicts, a lack of adequate structures, environmental degradation, widespread corruption, criminality and other reasons as well. Globalization has to be linked with solidarity. Special aid must be forthcoming so that countries which are unable to enter the market successfully on their own strength alone can in fact overcome their present situation of disadvantage. This is something owed to them in justice. In a true family of nations no one can be excluded; on the contrary, it is the weakest, the most fragile which must be supported, so that they too can develop their full potential. My thoughts go here to one of the greatest difficulties which the poorer nations have to face today. I refer to the heavy burden of external debt, which compromises the economies of whole peoples and hinders their social and political progress. In this regard, the international financial institutions have recently initiated significant attempts to secure a coordinated reduction of this debt. I earnestly hope that progress will continue to be made in this direction by applying conditions in a flexible way, so that all eligible nations can benefit before the year 2000. The wealthier nations can do much in this respect, by supporting the implementation of such measures. The debt question is part of a vaster problem: that of the persistence of poverty, sometimes even extreme, and the emergence of new inequalities which are accompanying the globalization process. If the aim is globalization without marginalization, we can no longer tolerate a world in
285

which there live side by side the immensely rich and the miserably poor, the have-nots deprived even of essentials and people who thoughtlessly waste what others so desperately need. Such contrasts are an affront to the dignity of the human person. Certainly there is no lack of appropriate means for eliminating poverty, including the promotion of consistent social and productive investments on the part of world economic bodies. This presupposes that the international community intends to act with the necessary political determination. Praiseworthy steps in that direction have already been taken, but a lasting solution requires a concerted effort by everyone, including the States concerned. A culture of respect for the rule of law is urgently needed 5. And what are we to say of the grave inequalities existing within nations? Situations of extreme poverty, wherever they are found, constitute a prime injustice. Eliminating them ought to be a priority for everyone, at the national as well as the international level.

we can no longer tolerate a world in which there live side by side the immensely rich and the miserably poor, the have-nots deprived even of essentials and people who thoughtlessly waste what others so desperately need

Nor can we pass over in silence the evil of corruption which is undermining the social and political development of so many peoples. It is a growing phenomenon insidiously infiltrating many sectors of society, mocking the law and ignoring the rules of justice and of truth. Corruption is hard to combat, because it takes many different forms: when it has been suppressed in one area, it springs up in another. Courage is needed just to denounce it. To eliminate it, together with the resolute determination of the Authorities, the generous support of all citizens is needed, sustained by a firm moral conscience. A grave responsibility in this battle falls on people in public life. Theirs is the duty to work tirelessly for the equitable application of the law and for transparency in all acts of public administration. Being at the service of its citizens, the State is the steward of the peoples resources, which it must administer with a view to the common good. Good government requires accurate controls and complete honesty in all economic transactions. In no way can it be permitted that resources intended for the public good are used for other interests of a private or even criminal nature. The fraudulent use of public monies penalizes above all the poor, who are the first to be deprived of the basic services essential for personal development. And when corruption creeps into the administration of justice, it is again the poor who pay the heaviest price: delays, inefficiency, structural insufficiencies, the lack of an adequate defence. They often have no choice but to suffer the abuse of power. Particularly offensive forms of injustice

286

6. There are other forms of injustice which put peace at risk. Here, I wish to mention two. First, not having the possibility of fair access to credit. The poor are often obliged to remain outside the normal financial system or to place themselves in the hands of unscrupulous money-lenders who charge exorbitant rates of interest. The end result is the aggravation of an already precarious situation. For this reason it is everyones duty to work to ensure that the poor have access to credit on equitable terms and at affordable interest rates. Actually, financial agencies offering mini-credit on terms favouring the poor already exist in various parts of the world. These are initiatives to be encouraged, for this is the path which can lead to the radical elimination of the shameful scourge of usury, by giving everyone access to the economic means needed for the dignified development of families and communities. And what are we to say of increasing violence against women and against children of both sexes? Today this is one of the most widespread violations of human rights, and tragically it has even become a terror tactic: women taken hostage, children barbarously slaughtered. To this must be added the violence of forced prostitution and child pornography, and the exploitation of children in the workplace in conditions of veritable slavery. Practical steps are needed to try to stop the spread of these forms of violence. In particular, appropriate legal measures are needed at both the national and international level. If, as I have often stated in previous Messages, the dignity of every person is to be recognized and respected, the difficult task of education and cultural promotion must be faced. One element, in fact, absolutely must not be lacking in the ethical and cultural patrimony of the human family as a whole and of each individual person: awareness that human beings are all equal in dignity, deserve the same respect, and have the same rights and duties. Building peace in justice is a task for one and all 7. Peace for all of us comes from the justice of each of us. No one is excused from a task of such importance for the whole of humanity. It concerns every man and every woman, each according to his or her own competence and responsibility. I appeal above all to you, Heads of States and Leaders of Nations, the principal guardians of the rule of law in your respective countries. Certainly this is not an easy task for you to fulfil, but it constitutes a primary obligation. May the codes which govern the States you serve be a guarantee of justice for the people and an incentive for an ever growing sense of civic responsibility. Furthermore, building peace in justice calls for the cooperation of every sector of society, each in its own area of influence and in harmony with other groups within the community. In particular I encourage you, educators engaged at every level in training and educating the younger generation: form them in moral and civic values, 287nstill in them a lively sense of rights and duties, beginning with the experience of the school community itself. Educate in justice in order to educate in peace: this is one of your primary tasks.

287

In the formative process, the family is indispensable. The family is the appropriate environment for the human formation of the younger generation. From your example, dear parents, depends to a large degree the moral character of your children: they assimilate it from the kind of relations which you foster within the family nucleus and towards those outside it. The family is the first school of living, and the influence received inside the family is decisive for the future development of the individual. Finally, to you, young people of the world, who spontaneously aspire to justice and peace, I say: always keep alive the quest for these ideals, and have the patience and persistence to pursue them whatever the concrete situation in which you find yourselves. Be quick to reject the temptation of unlawful short-cuts towards false mirages of success and wealth. On the contrary, value what is right and true, even when to do so requires sacrifice and commits you to going against the current. Thus it is that from the justice of each comes peace for all. Sharing, the way to peace 8. The Jubilee of the Year 2000 is fast approaching, a time which for believers is devoted in a special way to God, the Lord of history, a reminder to all of the radical dependence of the creature on the Creator. But in the Biblical tradition it was also a time for freeing slaves, for returning land to its rightful owner, for forgiving debts, thus restoring the conditions of equality willed by God among all the members of the people. It is therefore a special time for seeking that justice which leads to peace. By virtue of their faith in the God who is love and of their sharing in Christs universal redemption, Christians are called to act justly and to live in peace with all, for Jesus does not merely give us peace. He gives us his Peace accompanied by his Justice. He is Peace and Justice. He becomes our Peace and our Justice.(10) I said these words almost twenty years ago, but against the backdrop of the radical changes now taking place they assume an even more The distinctive mark of specific and vital meaning. the Christian, today more than ever, must be The distinctive mark of the Christian, today more than ever, love for the poor, the must be love for the poor, the weak, the suffering. Living out weak, the suffering. this demanding commitment requires a total reversal of the alleged values which make people seek only their own good: power, pleasure, the unscrupulous accumulation of wealth. Yes, it is precisely to this radical conversion that Christs disciples are called. Those who commit themselves to following this path will truly experience righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17), and will taste the peaceful fruit of righteousness (Heb 12:11).

I wish to repeat to the Christians of all continents the admonishment of the Second Vatican Council: The demands of justice should first be satisfied, lest the giving of what is due in justice be represented as the offering of a charitable gift.(11) A society of genuine solidarity can be
288

built only if the well-off, in helping the poor, do not stop at giving from what they do not need. Moreover, offering material things is not enough: what is needed is a spirit of sharing, so that we consider it an honour to be able to devote our care and attention to the needs of our brothers and sisters in difficulty. Christians, the followers of other religions and numberless men and women of good will today feel called to a simple life-style as a condition for making the just sharing of the fruits of Gods creation a reality. Those living in poverty can wait no longer: they need help now and so have a right to receive immediately what they need. The Holy Spirit at work in the world 9. The First Sunday of Advent marked the beginning of the second year of immediate preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, dedicated to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of hope is at work in the world. He is present in the selfless service of those who work alongside the outcast and the suffering, those who welcome immigrants and refugees, those who bravely refuse to reject a person or a whole group for ethnic, cultural or religious reasons. He is especially present in the generous activity of all who patiently and perseveringly continue to promote peace and reconciliation between people who were once opponents and enemies. Indeed, these are signs of hope which encourage us to seek the justice which leads to peace. The heart of the Gospel message is Christ, who is everyones peace and reconciliation. May his countenance shine upon the path of humanity as it prepares to cross the threshold of the Third Millennium! May his justice and his peace become a gift for all, without distinction! Then shall the wilderness be fertile land and fertile land become forest. In the wilderness justice will come to live, and integrity in the fertile land; integrity will bring peace, justice give everlasting security (Is 32:15-17). From the Vatican, 8 December 1997.

(1) John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris (11 April 1963), I, 1: AAS 55 (1963), 259. (2) Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Preamble. (3) Ibid., Art. 30. (4) Message to the President of the 28th General Assembly of the United Nations on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December 1973): AAS 65 (1973), 674.
289

(5) Vienna Declaration, The World Conference on Human Rights (June 1993), Preamble I. (6) Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 78. (7) Universal Declaration of Human Rights, No. 16, 3; cf. Charter of the Rights of the Family (22 October 1983), presented by the Holy See. (8) Charter of the United Nations, Preamble. (9) John Paul II, Address to the 50th General Assembly of the United Nations Organization (5 October 1995), 14: LOsservatore Romano, 6 October 1995, p. 7. (10) John Paul II, Homily at Yankee Stadium, New York (2 October 1979), 1: AAS 71 (1979), 1169. (11) Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, Apostolicam Actuositatem, 8.

290

1999: RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: THE SECRET OF TRUE PEACE

Made in the image of God, every human person has a sacred value, a dignity that carries intrinsic, universal, and indivisible rights: to life, to religious freedom, to participating in society, to development through education and work, to being respected as a child of God. Any violation of any human right is a seed of conflict and a source of war. To find peace, we must reject all violence against human life and human freedom. We must reject poverty, even if it means changing our lives of materialistic consumerism. We must reject ideologies of naturalism, or unrestrained profit-seeking, and reduce international debt while strengthening international law. We must resolutely reject war and protect those most harmed by it especially children, who are often forces to kill and die. We must uproot the instruments of death that are destroying us and our worldfrom mines, to small arms, to media propaganda. We must decide to protect those who rights are violatedthe weak, the vulnerableand in them, we encounter Jesus Christ, who himself become the least to serve the many.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 1999 RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: THE SECRET OF TRUE PEACE

1. In my first Encyclical Redemptor Hominis, addressed almost twenty years ago to all men and women of good will, I stressed the importance of respect for human rights. Peace flourishes when these rights are fully respected, but when they are violated what comes is war, which causes other still graver violations.(1) At the beginning of a new year, the last before the Great Jubilee, I would like to dwell once more on this crucially important theme with all of you, the men and women of every part of the world, with you, the political leaders and religious guides of peoples, with you, who love peace and wish to consolidate it in the world. Looking towards the World Day of Peace, let me state the conviction which I very much want to share with you: when the promotion of the dignity of the person is the guiding principle, and when the search for the common good is the overriding commitment, then solid and lasting
291

foundations for building peace are laid. But when human rights are ignored or scorned, and when the pursuit of individual interests unjustly prevails over the common good, then the seeds of instability, rebellion and violence are inevitably sown. Respect for Human Dignity, the Heritage of Humanity 2. The dignity of the human person is a transcendent value, always recognized as such by those who sincerely search for the truth. Indeed, the whole of human history should be interpreted in the light of this certainty. Every person, created in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen 1:2628) and therefore radically oriented towards the Creator, is constantly in relationship with those possessed of the same dignity. To promote the good of the individual is thus to serve the common good, which is that point where rights and duties converge and reinforce one another. The history of our time has shown in a tragic way the danger which results from forgetting the truth about the human person. Before our eyes we have the results of ideologies such as Marxism, Nazism and Fascism, and also of myths like racial superiority, nationalism and ethnic exclusivism. No less pernicious, though not always as obvious, are the effects of materialistic consumerism, in which the exaltation of the individual and the selfish satisfaction of personal aspirations become the ultimate goal of life. In this outlook, the negative effects on others are considered completely irrelevant. Instead it must be said again that no affront to human dignity can be ignored, whatever its source, whatever actual form it takes and wherever it occurs. The Universality and Indivisibility of Human Rights 3. The year 1998 has marked the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration was intentionally linked to the United Nations Charter, since it shares a common inspiration. As its fundamental premise, it affirms that the recognition of the innate dignity of all members of the human family, as also the equality and inalienability of their rights, is the foundation of liberty, justice and peace in the world.(2) All the subsequent international documents on human rights declare this truth anew, recognizing and affirming that human rights stem from the inherent dignity and worth of the human person.(3) The Universal Declaration is clear: it acknowledges the rights which it proclaims but does not confer them, since they are inherent in the human person and in human dignity. Consequently, no one can legitimately deprive another person, whoever they may be, of these rights, since this would do violence to their nature. All human beings, without exception, are equal in dignity. For the same reason, these rights apply to every stage of life and to every political, social, economic and cultural situation. Together they form a single whole, directed unambiguously towards the promotion of every aspect of the good of both the person and society. Human rights are traditionally grouped into two broad categories, including on the one hand civil and political rights and on the other economic, social and cultural rights. Both categories, although to different degrees, are guaranteed by international agreements. All human rights are
292

in fact closely connected, being the expression of different dimensions of a single subject, the human person. The integral promotion of every category of human rights is the true guarantee of full respect for each individual right. Defence of the universality and indivisibility of human rights is essential for the construction of a peaceful society and for the overall development of individuals, peoples and nations. To affirm the universality and indivisibility of rights is not to exclude legitimate cultural and political differences in the exercise of individual rights, provided that in every case the levels set for the whole of humanity by the Universal Declaration are respected. With these fundamental presuppositions clearly in mind, I would now like to identify certain specific rights which appear to be particularly exposed to more or less open violation today. The Right to Life 4. The first of these is the basic right to life. Human life is sacred and inviolable from conception to its natural end. Thou shalt not kill is the divine commandment which states the limit beyond which it is never licit to go. The deliberate decision to deprive an innocent human being of life is always morally evil.(4) The right to life is inviolable. This involves a positive choice, a choice for life. The development of a culture of this kind embraces all the circumstances of life and ensures the promotion of human dignity in every situation. A genuine culture of life, just as it guarantees to the unborn the right to come into the world, in the same way protects the newly born, especially girls, from the crime of infanticide. Equally, it assures the handicapped that they can fully develop their capacities, and ensures adequate care for the sick and the elderly. Recent developments in the field of genetic engineering present a profoundly disquieting challenge. In order that scientific research in this area may be at the service of the person, it must be accompanied at every stage by careful ethical reflection, which will bring about adequate legal norms safeguarding the integrity of human life. Life can never be downgraded to the level of a thing. To choose life involves rejecting every form of violence: the violence of poverty and hunger, which afflicts so many human beings; the violence of armed conflict; the violence of criminal trafficking in drugs and arms; the violence of mindless damage to the natural environment.(5) In every circumstance, the right to life must be promoted and safeguarded with appropriate legal and political guarantees, for no offence against the right to life, against the dignity of
293

To choose life involves rejecting every form of violence: the violence of poverty and hunger, which afflicts so many human beings; the violence of armed conflict

any single person, is ever unimportant. Religious Freedom, the Heart of Human Rights 5. Religion expresses the deepest aspirations of the human person, shapes people's vision of the world and affects their relationships with others: basically it offers the answer to the question of the true meaning of life, both personal and communal. Religious freedom therefore constitutes the very heart of human rights. Its inviolability is such that individuals must be recognized as having the right even to change their religion, if their conscience so demands. People are obliged to follow their conscience in all circumstances and cannot be forced to act against it.(6) Precisely for this reason, no one can be compelled to accept a particular religion, whatever the circumstances or motives. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that the right to religious freedom includes the right to manifest personal beliefs, whether individually or with others, in public or in private.(7) In spite of this, there still exist today places where the right to gather for worship is either not recognized or is limited to the members of one religion alone. This grave violation of one of the fundamental rights of the person is a source of enormous suffering for believers. When a State grants special status to one religion, this must not be to the detriment of the others. Yet it is common knowledge that there are nations in which individuals, families and entire groups are still being discriminated against and marginalized because of their religious beliefs. Nor should we pass over in silence another problem indirectly linked to religious freedom. It sometimes happens that increasing tensions develop between communities or peoples of different religious convictions and cultures, which, because of the strong passions involved, turn into violent conflict. Recourse to violence in the name of religious belief is a perversion of the very teachings of the major religions. I reaffirm here what many religious figures have repeated so often: the use of violence can never claim a religious justification, nor can it foster the growth of true religious feeling. The Right to Participate 6. All citizens have the right to participate in the life of their community: this is a conviction which is generally shared today. But this right means nothing when the democratic process breaks down because of corruption and favouritism, which not only obstruct legitimate sharing in the exercise of power but also prevent people from benefitting equally from community assets and services, to which everyone has a right. Even elections can be manipulated in order to ensure the victory of certain parties or persons. This is an affront to democracy and has serious consequences, because citizens have not only the right but also the responsibility to participate: when they are prevented from exercising this responsibility, they lose hope of playing any effective role and succumb to an attitude of passive indifference. The development of a sound democratic system then becomes practically impossible.

294

In recent times various measures have been adopted to ensure legitimate elections in States which are struggling to move from a totalitarian form of government to a democratic one. However useful and effective these may be in emergencies, such initiatives cannot dispense from the effort to create in the citizens a basis of shared convictions, thanks to which manipulation of the democratic process would be rejected once and for all. In the context of the international community, nations and peoples have the right to share in the decisions which often profoundly modify their way of life. The technical details of certain economic problems give rise to the tendency to restrict the discussions about them to limited circles, with the consequent danger that political and financial power is concentrated in a small number of governments and special interest groups. The pursuit of the national and international common good requires the effective exercise, even in the economic sphere, of the right of all people to share in the decisions which affect them. A Particularly Serious Form of Discrimination 7. One of the most tragic forms of discrimination is the denial to ethnic groups and national minorities of the fundamental right to exist as such. This is done by suppressing them or brutally forcing them to move, or by attempting to weaken their ethnic identity to such an extent that they are no longer distinguishable. Can we remain silent in the face of such grave crimes against humanity? No effort must be judged too great when it is a question of putting an end to such abuses, which are violations of human dignity. A positive sign of the growing willingness of States to recognize their responsibility to protect victims of such crimes and to commit themselves to preventing them is the recent initiative of a United Nations Diplomatic Conference: it specifically approved the Statute of an International Criminal Court, the task of which it will be to identify guilt and to punish those responsible for crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and crimes of war and aggression. This new institution, if built upon a sound legal foundation, could gradually contribute to ensuring on a world scale the effective protection of human rights. The Right to Self-Fulfilment 8. Every human being has innate abilities waiting to be developed. At stake here is the full actualization of one's own person and the appropriate insertion into one's social environment. In order that this may take place, it is necessary above all to provide adequate education to those who are just beginning their lives: their future success depends on this. From this perspective, how can we not be concerned when we see that in some of the poorest regions of the world educational opportunities are actually decreasing, especially in the area of primary education? This is sometimes due to the economic situation of the particular country, which prevents teachers from receiving a proper salary. In other cases, money seems to be available for prestigious projects and for secondary education, but not for primary schools. When
295

educational opportunities are limited, particularly for young girls, there will surely arise discriminatory structures which adversely affect the overall development of society. The world could find itself divided according to a new criterion: on the one side, States and individuals endowed with advanced technologies; on the other, countries and people with extremely limited knowledge and abilities. As one can easily guess, this would simply reinforce the already acute economic inequalities existing not only between States but also within them. In developing countries, education and professional training must be a primary concern, just as they are in the urban and rural renewal programmes of more economically advanced peoples. Another fundamental right, upon which depends the attainment of a decent level of living, is the right to work. Otherwise how can people obtain food, clothing, a home, health care and the many other necessities of life? The lack of work, however, is a serious problem today: countless people in many parts of the world find themselves caught up in the devastating reality of unemployment. It is urgently necessary on the part of everyone, and particularly on the part of those who exercise political or economic power, that everything possible be done to resolve this difficult situation. Emergency interventions, necessary as they are, are not enough in cases of unemployment, illness or similar circumstances which are beyond the control of the individual,(8) but efforts must also be made to enable the poor to take responsibility for their own livelihood and to be freed from a system of demeaning assistance programmes. Global Progress in Solidarity 9. The rapid advance towards the globalization of economic and financial systems also illustrates the urgent need to establish who is responsible for guaranteeing the global common good and the exercise of economic and social rights. The free market by itself cannot do this, because in fact there are many human needs which have no place in the market. Even prior to the logic of a fair exchange of goods and the forms of justice appropriate to it, there exists something which is due to man because he is man, by reason of his lofty dignity.(9) The effects of the recent economic and financial crises have had heavy consequences for countless people, reduced to conditions of extreme poverty. Many of them had only just reached a position which allowed them to look to the future with optimism. Through no fault of their own, they have seen these hopes cruelly dashed, with tragic results for themselves and their children. And how can we ignore the effects of fluctuations in the financial markets? We urgently need a new vision of global progress in solidarity, which will include an overall and sustainable development of society, so as to enable all people to realize their potential. In this context, I make a pressing appeal to all those with responsibility for financial relations on the worldwide level. I ask them to make a sincere effort to find a solution to the frightening problem of the international debt of the poorest nations. International financial institutions have initiated concrete steps in this regard which merit appreciation. I appeal to all those involved in this problem, especially the more affluent nations, to provide the support necessary to ensure the
296

full success of this initiative. An immediate and vigorous effort is needed, as we look to the year 2000, to ensure that the greatest possible number of nations will be able to extricate themselves from a now intolerable situation. Dialogue among the institutions involved, if prompted by a sincere willingness to reach agreement, will leadI am certainto a satisfactory and definitive solution. In this way, lasting development will become a possibility for those Nations facing the greatest difficulties, and the millennium now before us will become for them too a time of renewed hope. Responsibility for the Environment 10. The promotion of human dignity is linked to the right to a healthy environment, since this right highlights the dynamics of the relationship between the individual and society. A body of international, regional and national norms on the environment is gradually giving juridic form to this right. But juridic measures by themselves are not sufficient. The danger of serious damage to land and sea, and to the climate, flora and fauna, calls for a profound change in modern civilization's typical consumer life-style, particularly in the richer countries. Nor can we underestimate another risk, even if it is a less drastic one: people who live in poverty in rural areas can be driven by necessity to exploit beyond sustainable limits the little land which they have at their disposal. Special training aimed at teaching them how to harmonize the cultivation of the land with respect for the environment needs to be encouraged.

War destroys, it does not build up; it weakens the moral foundations of society and creates further divisions and longlasting tensions. And yet the news continues to speak of wars and armed conflicts, and of their countless victims. How often have my Predecessors and I myself called for an end to these horrors!

The world's present and future depend on the safeguarding of creation, because of the endless interdependence between human beings and their environment. Placing human wellbeing at the centre of concern for the environment is actually the surest way of safeguarding creation; this in fact stimulates the responsibility of the individual with regard to natural resources and their judicious use. The Right to Peace 11. In a sense, promoting the right to peace ensures respect for all other rights, since it encourages the building of a society in which structures of power give way to structures of cooperation, with a view to the common good. Recent history clearly shows the failure of recourse to violence as a means for resolving political and social problems. War destroys, it does not build up; it weakens the moral foundations of society and creates further divisions and long-lasting tensions. And yet the news continues to speak of wars and armed conflicts, and of their countless victims. How often have my Predecessors and I myself called for an end to these horrors! I shall continue to do
297

so until it is understood that war is the failure of all true humanism.(10) Thanks be to God, steps have been taken in some regions towards the consolidation of peace. Great credit must go to those courageous political leaders who are resolved to continue negotiations even when the situation seems impossible. But at the same time how can we not denounce the massacres still taking place in other regions, with the uprooting of entire peoples from their lands and the destruction of homes and crops? Mindful of the innumerable victims, I call on the leaders of the Nations and on all people of good will to come to the aid of those involvedespecially in Africain cruel conflicts, sometimes prompted by external economic interests, and to help them to bring these conflicts to an end. A concrete step in this regard is certainly the eradication of trafficking in arms destined for countries at war, and the support of the leaders of those peoples in their quest for the path of dialogue. This is the path worthy of the human person, this is the path of peace! I think with sorrow of those living and growing up against a background of war, of those who have known nothing but conflict and violence. Those who survive will carry the scars of this terrible experience for the rest of their lives. And what shall we say about children forced to fight? Can we ever accept that lives which are just beginning should be ruined in this way? Trained to kill and often compelled to do so, these children cannot fail to have serious problems in their future insertion into civil society. Their education is interrupted and their chances of employment are stifled: what a terrible legacy for their future! Children need peace; they have a right to it. To the thought of these children I also wish to add a mention of the children who are victims of land mines and other devices of war. Despite efforts already being made to remove mines, we are now witnessing an unbelievable and inhuman paradox: with disregard for the clearly expressed will of governments and peoples to put a final end to the use of such an insidious weapon, mines are still being laid even in places which had already been cleared. Seeds of war are also being spread by the massive and uncontrolled proliferation of small arms and light weapons, which it seems are passing freely from one area of conflict to another, increasing violence along the way. Governments must adopt appropriate measures for controlling the production, sale, importation and exportation of these instruments of death. Only in this way will it be possible to deal effectively and completely with the problem of the massive illegal traffic in arms. A Culture of Human Rights, the Responsibility of All 12. It is not possible to discuss this topic more fully here. I would however like to emphasize that no human right is safe if we fail to commit ourselves to safeguarding all of them. When the violation of any fundamental human right is accepted without reaction, all other rights are placed at risk. It is therefore essential that there should be a global approach to the subject of human rights and a serious commitment to defend them. Only when a culture of human rights which
298

respects different traditions becomes an integral part of humanity's moral patrimony shall we be able to look to the future with serene confidence. In effect, how could there be war if every human right were respected? Complete observance of human rights is the surest road to establishing solid relations between States. The culture of human rights cannot fail to be a culture of peace. Every violation of human rights carries within it the seeds of possible conflict. My Venerable Predecessor, the Servant of God Pius XII, at the end of the Second World War asked the question: If one people is crushed to death by force, who will dare promise the rest of the world security in a lasting peace?.(11) The promotion of a culture of human rights which engages consciences requires all sectors of society to work together. I would like to mention specifically the role of the mass media, which are so important in forming public opinion, and consequently in influencing people's behaviour. Just as we could not deny their responsibility in cases of the violation of human rights arising from any exaltation of violence on their part, so it is right to give them credit for the noble initiatives of dialogue and solidarity which have come about thanks to their insistence on promoting mutual understanding and peace. A Time of Decision, a Time of Hope 13. The new millennium is close at hand, and its approach has filled the hearts of many with hope for a more just and fraternal world. This is an aspiration which can, and indeed must, become a reality! It is in this context that I now address you, dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, who in all parts of the world take the Gospel as the pattern of your lives: become heralds of human dignity! Faith teaches us that every person has been created in the image and likeness of God. Even when man refuses it, the Heavenly Father's love remains steadfast; his is a love without limits. He sent his Son Jesus to redeem every individual, restoring each one's full human dignity.(12) With this in mind, how can we exclude anyone from our care? Rather, we must recognize Christ in the poorest and the most marginalized, those whom the Eucharistwhich is communion in the body and blood of Christ given up for uscommits us to serve.(13) As the parable of the rich man, who will remain for ever without a name, and the poor man called Lazarus clearly shows, in the stark contrast between the insensitive rich man and the poor in need of everything, God is on the latter's side.(14) We too must be on this same side. The third and final year of preparation for the Jubilee is marked by a spiritual pilgrimage to the Father's house: all are invited to walk the path of authentic conversion, which involves rejecting evil and making a positive choice for good. On the threshold of the year 2000, it is our duty to renew our commitment to safeguarding the dignity of the poor and the marginalized, and to recognize in a practical way the rights of those who have no rights. Let us raise our voices on their behalf, by living in its fullness the mission which Christ entrusted to his disciples! This is the spirit of the now imminent Jubilee.(15)
299

Jesus taught us to call God Father, Abba, thus revealing to us the depth of our relationship with him. Infinite and eternal is his love for every person and for all humanity. Eloquent in this regard are God's words found in the book of the Prophet Isaiah: Can a woman forget her baby at the breast, or fail to cherish the child of her womb? Yet even if these forget, I will never forget you. See, upon the palms of my hands I have written your name (49:15-16). Let us accept the invitation to share this love! In it is found the secret of respect for the rights of every woman and every man. The dawn of the new millennium will thus find us more ready to build peace together. From the Vatican, 8 December 1998.

(1) Cf. Redemptor Hominis (4 March 1979), 17: AAS 71 (1979), 296. (2) Cf. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Preamble. (3) Cf. in particular the Vienna Declaration (25 June 1993), Preamble, 2. (4) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae (25 March 1995), 57: AAS 87 (1995), 465. (5) Cf. ibid., 10, loc. cit., 412. (6) Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, 3. (7) Cf. Article 18.(8) Cf. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25, 1.(9) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus (1 May 1991), 34: AAS 83 (1991), 836.(10) Cf. in this regard the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2307-2317.(11) Address to a group of representatives from the Congress of the United States of America (21 August 1945): Discorsi e Radiomessaggi di Sua Santit Pio XII, VII (1945-1946), 141.(12) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis (4 March 1979), 13-14: AAS 71 (1979), 282-286.(13) Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1397. (14) John Paul II, Angelus Address, 27 September 1998, 1: L'Osservatore Romano, 28-29 September 1998, p. 5. (15) Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente (10 November 1994), 49-51: AAS 87 (1995), 35-36.

300

2000: PEACE ON EARTH TO THOSE WHOM GOD LOVES!

War is failure, defeat, folly, and must be fought with peace, solidarity, forgiveness, and all nonviolent means. The entire world must unite to renounce violence, replacing it with a global solution to injustice and poverty and crimes against humanity. For every person deeply desires peace, and this peace is possible. The 20th Century teaches us the unacceptable horror of war, and gives us the courageous example of nonviolent peacemakers and martyrs. The world must realize that we are one family, and that no state or leader can claim the right o act only upon national interests. Criminals, whether international or nation, must be brought to justice. The arms trade that fuels civil wars must end. Law and negotiation must replace might and force. Even when non-violence fails, military force must be restricted to disarming an aggressor , not destroying. For a defense force must aim at a negotiated settlement, not the fallacy of a military solution. War always remains a failure, and peace is always possible! We must do everything to stop war before it begins, especially by our battle against povertya billion people are in extreme poverty, and they have the superior claim on our consciences. Poverty, above all else, must be eliminated. But through cooperation and solidarity, not through paternalistic practices. This is our duty as persons, and our vocation as Christiansto build a world of peace and justice, in the love and truth of God.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 2000 "PEACE ON EARTH TO THOSE WHOM GOD LOVES!"

1. This is the proclamation of the Angels which greeted the birth of Jesus Christ two thousand years ago (cf. Lk 2:14), and which we will hear re-echoing joyfully on the holy night of Christmas, when the Great Jubilee will be solemnly inaugurated. At the dawn of the new Millennium, we wish to propose once more the message of hope which comes from the stable of Bethlehem: God loves all men and women on earth and gives them the
301

hope of a new era, an era of peace. His love, fully revealed in the Incarnate Son, is the foundation of universal peace. When welcomed in the depths of the human heart, this love reconciles people with God and with themselves, renews human relationships and stirs that desire for brotherhood capable of banishing the temptation of violence and war. The Great Jubilee is inseparably linked to this message of love and reconciliation, a message which gives voice to the truest aspirations of humanity today. 2. Looking to a year so filled with meaning, I once more offer everyone my good wishes for peace. To everyone I affirm that peace is possible. It needs to be implored from God as his gift, but it also needs to be built day by day with his help, through works of justice and love. To be sure, the problems which make the path to peace difficult and often discouraging are many and complex, but peace is a need deeply rooted in the heart of every man and woman. The will to seek peace must not therefore be allowed to weaken. This seeking must be based on the awareness that humanity, however much marred by sin, hatred and violence, is called by God to be a single family. This divine plan needs to be recognized and carried out through the search for harmonious relationships between individuals and peoples, in a culture where openness to the Transcendent, the promotion of the human person and respect for the world of nature are shared by all. This is the message of Christmas, this is the message of the Jubilee, this is my hope at the beginning of a new Millennium. War is a defeat for humanity 3. In the century we are leaving behind, humanity has been sorely tried by an endless and horrifying sequence of wars, conflicts, genocides and "ethnic cleansings" which have caused unspeakable suffering: millions and millions of victims, families and countries destroyed, an ocean of refugees, misery, hunger, disease, underdevelopment and the loss of immense resources. At the root of so much suffering there lies a logic of supremacy fuelled by the desire to dominate and exploit others, by ideologies of power or totalitarian utopias, by crazed nationalisms or ancient tribal hatreds. At times brutal and systematic violence, aimed at the very extermination or enslavement of entire peoples and regions, has had to be countered by armed resistance. The twentieth century bequeaths to us above all else a warning: wars are often the cause of further wars because they fuel deep hatreds, create situations of injustice and trample upon people's dignity and rights. Wars generally do not resolve the problems for which they are fought and therefore, in addition to causing horrendous damage, they prove ultimately futile. War is a defeat for humanity. Only in peace and through peace can respect for
302

wars are often the cause of further wars because they fuel deep hatreds

human dignity and its inalienable rights be guaranteed. (1) 4. Against the backdrop of war in the twentieth century, humanity's honour has been preserved by those who have spoken and worked on behalf of peace. We cannot fail to remember the countless men and women who have contributed to the affirmation and the solemn proclamation of human rights, and who have helped to defeat the various forms of totalitarianism, to put an end to colonialism, to develop democracy and to establish the great international organizations. Those who built their lives on the value of nonviolence have given us a luminous and prophetic example. Their example of integrity and loyalty, often to the point of martyrdom, has provided us with rich and splendid lessons. Among those who have acted in the name of peace we should not forget those men and women whose dedication has brought about great advances in every field of science and technology, making it possible to overcome dreadful diseases and to enhance and prolong human life. Nor can I fail to mention my own venerable Predecessors who have guided the Church in the twentieth century. By their lofty teaching and their tireless efforts they have given direction to the Church in the promotion of a culture of peace. Emblematic of this many-sided effort was the timely and prophetic intuition of Pope Paul VI, who on 8 December 1967 instituted the World Day of Peace. With the passing of the years, the World Day of Peace has become more firmly established as a fruitful experience of reflection and shared vision for the future. Called to be one family 5. "Peace on earth to those whom God loves!" The Gospel greeting prompts a heart-felt question: will the new century be one of peace and a renewed sense of brotherhood between individuals and peoples? We cannot of course foresee the future. But we can set forth one certain principle: there will be peace only to the extent that humanity as a whole rediscovers its fundamental calling to be one family, a family in which the dignity and rights of individuals - whatever their status, race or religion - are accepted as prior and superior to any kind of difference or distinction. This recognition can give the world as it is today - marked by the process of globalization - a soul, a meaning and a direction. Globalization, for all its risks, also offers exceptional and promising opportunities, precisely with a view to enabling humanity to become a single family, built on the values of justice, equity and solidarity. 6. For this to happen, a complete change of perspective will be needed: it is no longer the wellbeing of any one political, racial or cultural community that must prevail, but rather the good of humanity as a whole. The pursuit of the common good of a single political community cannot be in conflict with the common good of humanity, expressed in the recognition of and respect for human rights sanctioned by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. It is necessary,
303

then, to abandon ideas and practices - often determined by powerful economic interests - which subordinate every other value to the absolute claims of the nation and the State. In this new perspective, the political, cultural and institutional divisions and distinctions by which humanity is ordered and organized are legitimate in so far as they are compatible with membership in the one human family, and with the ethical and legal requirements which stem from this. Crimes against humanity 7. This principle has an immensely important consequence: an offense against human rights is an offense against the conscience of humanity as such, an offence against humanity itself. The duty of protecting these rights therefore extends beyond the geographical and political borders within which they are violated. Crimes against humanity cannot be considered an internal affair of a nation. Here an important step forward was taken with the establishment of an International Criminal Court to try such crimes, regardless of the place or circumstances in which they are committed. We must thank God that in the conscience of peoples and nations there is a growing conviction that human rights have no borders, because they are universal and indivisible. 8. In our time, the number of wars between States has diminished. This fact, albeit consoling, appears in a very different light if we consider the armed conflicts taking place within States. Sadly these are quite numerous on practically every continent, and often very violent. For the most part, they are rooted in long-standing historical motives of an ethnic, tribal or even religious character, to which must be added nowadays other ideological, social and economic causes. These internal conflicts, usually waged through the large-scale use of small-calibre weapons and so-called "light" arms - arms which in are fact extraordinarily lethal - often have grave consequences which spill over the borders of the country in question, involving outside interests and responsibilities. While it is true that the extreme complexity of these conflicts makes it very difficult to understand and evaluate the causes and interests at play, one fact cannot be disputed: it is the civilian population which suffers most tragically, since neither ordinary laws nor the laws of warfare are respected in practice. Far from being protected, civilians are often the prime target of the conflicting forces, when they themselves are not directly involved in armed activity as a result of a perverse spiral which makes them both victims and assassins of other civilians. All too many and horrifying are the macabre scenarios in which innocent children, women, and unarmed older people have become intentional targets in the bloody conflicts of our time; too many, in fact, for us not to feel that the moment has come to change direction, decisively and with a great sense of responsibility. The right to humanitarian assistance 9. In every case, in the face of such tragic and complex situations and contrary to all alleged "reasons" of war, there is a need to affirm the preeminent value of humanitarian law and the consequent duty to guarantee the right to humanitarian aid to suffering civilians and refugees.
304

The recognition of these rights and their effective implementation must not be allowed to depend on the interests of any of the parties in conflict. On the contrary, there is a duty to identify all the means, institutional or otherwise, which can best serve in a practical way to meet humanitarian objectives. The moral and political legitimacy of these rights is in fact based on the principle that the good of the human person comes before all else and stands above all human institutions. 10. Here I wish to restate my conviction that, in the face of modern armed conflicts, negotiation between parties, with appropriate attempts at mediation and pacification by international and regional bodies, is of the greatest importance. Negotiation is necessary in order to prevent such conflicts and to end them once they have broken out, restoring peace through an equitable settlement of the rights and interests involved. This conviction concerning the positive role played by mediation and pacification agencies should be extended to the non-governmental humanitarian organizations and religious bodies which, discreetly and without ulterior motives, promote peace between opposed groups and help to overcome age-old rivalries, reconcile enemies, and open the way to a new and shared future. While honouring their noble dedication to the cause of peace, I wish to remember with profound esteem all who have given their lives so that others might live: I lift up my prayers to God for them and I invite other believers to do the same. "Humanitarian intervention" 11. Clearly, when a civilian population risks being overcome by the attacks of an unjust aggressor and political efforts and non-violent defence prove to be of no avail, it is legitimate and even obligatory to take concrete measures to disarm the aggressor. These measures however must be limited in time and precise in their aims. They must be carried out in full respect for international law, guaranteed by an authority that is internationally recognized and, in any event, never left to the outcome of armed intervention alone. The fullest and the best use must therefore be made of all the provisions of the United Nations Charter, further defining effective instruments and modes of intervention within the framework of international law. In this regard, the United Nations Organization itself must offer all its Member States an equal opportunity to be part of the decision-making process, eliminating privileges and discriminations which weaken its role and its credibility. 12. This opens a new field of reflection and discussion both for politics and for law, a field which we all hope will be earnestly and wisely cultivated. What is needed without delay is a renewal of international law and international institutions, a renewal whose starting-point and basic organizing principle should be the primacy of the good of humanity and of the human person over every other consideration. Such a renewal is all the more urgent if we consider the paradox of contemporary warfare in which, as recent conflicts have shown, armies enjoy maximum security while the civilian population lives in frightening situations of danger. In no kind of conflict is it permissible to ignore the right of civilians to safety.
305

Beyond legal and institutional considerations, there remains a fundamental duty for all men and women of good will, called to commit themselves personally to the cause of peace: that of educating for peace, setting in place structures of peace and methods of non-violence, and making every possible effort to bring parties in conflict to the negotiating table. Peace in solidarity 13. "Peace on earth to those whom God loves!" From the problem of war, our gaze naturally turns to another closely related issue: the question of solidarity. The lofty and demanding task of peace, deeply rooted in humanity's vocation to be one family and to recognize itself as such, has one of its foundations in the principle of the universal destination of the earth's resources. This principle does not delegitimize private property; instead it broadens the understanding and management of private property to embrace its indispensable social function, to the advantage of the common good and in particular the good of society's weakest members. (2) Unfortunately, this basic principle is widely disregarded, as shown by the persistent and growing gulf in the world between a North filled with abundant commodities and resources and increasingly made up of older people, and a South where the great majority of younger people now live, still deprived of credible prospects for social, cultural and economic development. No one should be deceived into thinking that the simple absence of war, as desirable as it is, is equivalent to lasting peace. There is no true peace without fairness, truth, justice and solidarity. Failure awaits every plan which would separate two indivisible and interdependent rights: the right to peace and the right to an integral development born of solidarity. "Injustice, excessive economic or social inequalities, envy, distrust and pride raging among men and nations constantly threaten peace and cause wars. Everything done to overcome these disorders contributes to building up peace and avoiding war" . (3)

At the beginning of a new century, the one issue which most challenges our human and Christian consciences is the poverty of countless millions of men and women.

14. At the beginning of a new century, the one issue which most challenges our human and Christian consciences is the poverty of countless millions of men and women. This situation becomes all the more tragic when we realize that the major economic problems of our time do not depend on a lack of resources but on the fact that present economic, social and cultural structures are ill-equipped to meet the demands of genuine development. Rightly then the poor, both in developing countries and in the prosperous and wealthy countries, "ask for the right to share in enjoying material goods and to make good use of their capacity to work, thus creating a world that is more just and prosperous for all. The advancement of the poor constitutes a great opportunity for the moral, cultural and even economic
306

growth of all humanity" .(4) Let us look at the poor not as a problem, but as people who can become the principal builders of a new and more human future for everyone. The urgent need to rethink the economy 15. In this context we also need to examine the growing concern felt by many economists and financial professionals when, in considering new issues involving poverty, peace, ecology and the future of the younger generation, they reflect on the role of the market, on the pervasive influence of monetary and financial interests, on the widening gap between the economy and society, and on other similar issues related to economic activity. Perhaps the time has come for a new and deeper reflection on the nature of the economy and its purposes. What seems to be urgently needed is a reconsideration of the concept of "prosperity" itself, to prevent it from being enclosed in a narrow utilitarian perspective which leaves very little space for values such as solidarity and altruism. 16. Here I would like to invite economists and financial professionals, as well as political leaders, to recognize the urgency of the need to ensure that economic practices and related political policies have as their aim the good of every person and of the whole person. This is not only a demand of ethics but also of a sound economy. Experience seems to confirm that economic success is increasingly dependent on a more genuine appreciation of individuals and their abilities, on their fuller participation, on their increased and improved knowledge and information, on a stronger solidarity. These are values which, far from being foreign to economics and business, help to make them a fully "human" science and activity. An economy which takes no account of the ethical dimension and does not seek to serve the good of the person - of every person and the whole person - cannot really call itself an "economy" , understood in the sense of a rational and constructive use of material wealth. Which models of development? 17. The very fact that humanity, called to form a single family, is still tragically split in two by poverty - at the beginning of the twenty-first century, more than a billion four hundred million people are living in a situation of dire poverty - means that there is urgent need to reconsider the models which inspire development policies. In this regard, the legitimate requirements of economic efficiency must be better aligned with the requirements of political participation and social justice, without falling back into the ideological mistakes made during the twentieth century. In practice, this means making solidarity an integral part of the network of economic, political and social interdependence which the current process of globalization is tending to consolidate.

307

These processes call for rethinking international cooperation in terms of a new culture of solidarity. When seen as a sowing of peace, cooperation cannot be reduced to aid or assistance, especially if given with an eye to the benefits to be received in return for the resources made available. Rather, it must express a concrete and tangible commitment to solidarity which makes the poor the agents of their own development and enables the greatest number of people, in their specific economic and political circumstances, to exercise the creativity which is characteristic of the human person and on which the wealth of nations too is dependent. (5) In particular it is necessary to find definitive solutions to the long - standing problem of the international debt of poor countries, while at the same time making available the financial resources necessary for the fight against hunger, malnutrition, disease, illiteracy and the destruction of the environment. 18. Today more than in the past there is an urgent need to foster a consciousness of universal moral values in order to face the problems of the present, all of which are assuming an increasingly global dimension. The promotion of peace and human rights, the settling of armed conflicts both within States and across borders, the protection of ethnic minorities and immigrants, the safeguarding of the environment, the battle against terrible diseases, the fight against drug and arms traffickers, and against political and economic corruption: these are issues which nowadays no nation is in a position to face alone. They concern the entire human community, and thus they must be faced and resolved through common efforts. A way must be found to discuss the problems posed by the future of humanity in a comprehensible and common language. The basis of such a dialogue is the universal moral law written upon the human heart. By following this "grammar" of the spirit, the human community can confront the problems of coexistence and move forward to the future with respect for God's plan. (6) The encounter between faith and reason, between religion and morality, can provide a decisive impulse towards dialogue and cooperation between peoples, cultures and religions. Jesus, gift of peace 19. "Peace on earth to those whom God loves!" Looking to the Great Jubilee, Christians throughout the world are committed to the solemn commemoration of the Incarnation. Listening again to the proclamation of the Angels in the heavens above Bethlehem (cf. Lk 2:14), they commemorate the Incarnation in the knowledge that Jesus "is our peace" (Eph 2:14), the gift of peace for all people. His first words to the disciples after the Resurrection were: "Peace be with you"(Jn 20:19, 21, 26). Christ came to unite what was divided, to destroy sin and hatred, and to reawaken in humanity the vocation to unity and brotherhood. Therefore, he is "the source and model of that renewed humanity, imbued with brotherly love, sincerity, and a peaceful spirit, to which all aspire".(7)

308

20. During this Jubilee Year, the Church vividly remembers her Lord and intends to confirm her vocation and mission to be in Christ a "sacrament" or sign and instrument of peace in the world and for the world. For the Church, to carry out her evangelizing mission means to work for peace. "The Church, then, God's only flock, like a standard lifted high for the nations to see, ministers the Gospel of peace to all mankind as she makes her pilgrim way in hope towards her goal, the fatherland above".(8) For the Catholic faithful, the commitment to build peace and justice is not secondary but essential. It is to be undertaken in openness towards their brothers and sisters of other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, towards the followers of other religions, and towards all men and women of good will, with whom they share the same concern for peace and brotherhood. Working generously for peace 21. It is a sign of hope that, despite many serious obstacles, initiatives for peace continue to spring up day by day, with the generous cooperation of many people. Peace is a building constantly under construction. The building up of peace involves: - parents who are examples and witnesses of peace in their families, and who educate their children for peace; - teachers who are able to pass on the genuine values present in every field of knowledge and in the historical and cultural heritage of humanity; - working men and women, who are committed to extending their age-old struggle for the dignity of work to those present-day situations which, at the international level, cry out for justice and solidarity; - political leaders who put at the heart of their own political activity and of that of their countries a firm and unwavering determination to promote peace and justice; - those in International Organizations who, often with scarce resources, work in the front line where being "peace-makers" can involve risking their own personal safety; - the members of Non-Governmental Organizations who, in different parts of the world and in the most varied situations, are dedicated to preventing and resolving conflicts through research and activity; - believers who, convinced that authentic faith is never a source of war or violence, spread convictions of peace and love through ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.

For the Catholic faithful, the commitment to build peace and justice is not secondary but essential.

309

22. I am thinking particularly of you, dear young people, who experience in a special way the blessing of life and have a duty not to waste it. In your schools and universities, in the workplace, in leisure and sports, in all that you do, let yourselves be guided by this constant thought: peace within you and peace around you, peace always, peace with everyone, peace for everyone. To the young people who, unfortunately, have known the tragic experience of war and who harbour sentiments of hatred and resentment I address this plea: make every effort to rediscover the path of reconciliation and forgiveness. It is a difficult path, but it is the only one which will enable you to look to the future with hope for yourselves, your children, your countries and all humanity. I will have an opportunity to return to this dialogue with you, dear young people, when we meet in Rome next August for the Jubilee celebration of World Youth Day. Pope John XXIII in one of his last public addresses spoke once more to "men of good will", asking them to commit themselves to a programme of peace based on "the Gospel of obedience to God, mercy and forgiveness". He went on to say: "without a doubt the bright torch of peace will run its course, igniting joy and pouring light and grace into the hearts of people throughout the world, helping them to discover beyond all frontiers the faces of brothers and sisters, the faces of friends".(9) May you, young people of the Year 2000, see in others, and help them to see, the faces of brothers and sisters, the faces of friends! In this Jubilee Year, when the Church will commit herself to prayer for peace through solemn intercessions, we turn with filial devotion to the Mother of Jesus. Invoking her as the Queen of Peace, we ask that she generously bestow on us the gifts of her maternal goodness and help the human race to become one family, in solidarity and peace. From the Vatican, 8 December 1999

(1) Cf. John Paul II, Message for the World Day of Peace 1999, 1. (2) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus (1 May 1991), 30-43: AAS 83 (1991), 830-848. (3) Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2317. (4) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus (1 May 1991), 28: AAS 83 (1991), 827-828. (5) Cf. John Paul II, Address to the Fiftieth General Assembly of the United Nations Organization (5 October 1995), 13: Insegnamenti XVIII, 2 (1995), 739-740. (6) Cf. ibid., 3: loc. cit. 732.

310

(7) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church Ad Gentes, 8. (8) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 2. (9) Address on the occasion of the award of the Balzan Prize (10 May 1963): AAS 55 (1963), 455.

311

2001: DIALOGUE BETWEEN CULTURE FOR A CIVILIZATION OF LOVE AND PEACE

In a globalizing world, the mixing of cultures can create new conflicts, or in dialogue and respect, can become sources of peace and love. Culture must be willing to learn about one another, being aware that while no culture is perfect, that all true cultures are founded upon human values, and that all persons need culture to develop. We must seek unity within diversity, avoiding a mindset of culture-less conformity as well as self-absorption and supremacy and nationalism. Western cultures, especially, need to reign in elements of practical theism and nihilism, and radical individualism. Only in respect for culture and cultures can we enter into the dialogue that creates a true multicultural civilization. This takes prudence and cooperation for the common good, and the refusal to allow any culture to be destroyednot even our own. Our culture must be living, and not afraid to live alongside and with other cultures. We can unite in solidarity, in peace, in protecting all life, and in fostering reconciliation. We see the hope for such a society in the unity of the body of Christ, in the Catholicity of his universal Church!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 2001 DIALOGUE BETWEEN CULTURES FOR A CIVILIZATION OF LOVE AND PEACE

1. At the dawn of a new millennium, there is growing hope that relationships between people will be increasingly inspired by the ideal of a truly universal brotherhood. Unless this ideal is shared, there will be no way to ensure a stable peace. There are many signs which suggest that this conviction is becoming more deeply rooted in people's minds. The importance of fraternity is proclaimed in the great "charters" of human rights; it is embodied in great international institutions, particularly the United Nations; and it is called for, as never before, by the process of globalization which is leading to a progressive unification of the economy, culture and society. For their part, the followers of the different religions are ever more conscious of the fact
312

that a relationship with the one God, the common Father of all, cannot fail to bring about a greater sense of human brotherhood and a more fraternal life together. In God's revelation in Christ, this principle finds a radical expression: "He who does not love does not know God; for God is love" (1 Jn 4:8). 2. At the same time, however, it cannot be denied that thick clouds overshadow these bright hopes. Humanity is beginning this new chapter of its history with still open wounds. In many regions it is beset by bitter and bloody conflicts, and is struggling with increasing difficulty to maintain solidarity between people of different cultures and civilizations living together in the same territory. We all know how hard it is to settle differences between parties when ancient hatreds and serious problems which admit of no easy solution create an atmosphere of anger and exasperation. But no less dangerous for the future of peace would be the inability to confront intelligently the problems posed by a new social configuration resulting in many countries from accelerated migration and the unprecedented situation of people of different cultures and civilizations living side by side.

dialogue is the obligatory path to the building of a reconciled world

3. I therefore consider it urgent to invite believers in Christ, together with all men and women of good will, to reflect on the theme of dialogue between cultures and traditions. This dialogue is the obligatory path to the building of a reconciled world, a world able to look with serenity to its own future. This is a theme which is crucial to the pursuit of peace. I am pleased that the United Nations Organization has called attention to this urgent need by declaring 2001 the "International Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations".

Naturally, I do not believe that there can be easy or readily applicable solutions to a problem like this. It is difficult enough to undertake an analysis of the situation, which is in constant flux and defies all preconceived models. There is also the difficulty of combining principles and values which, however reconcilable in the abstract, can prove on the practical level to be resistant to any easy synthesis. In addition, at a deeper level, there are always the demands which ethical commitment makes upon individuals, who are not free of self-interest and human limitations. But for this very reason I see the usefulness of a shared reflection on these issues. With this intention I confine myself here to offering some guidelines, listening to what the Spirit of God is saying to the Churches (cf. Rev 2:7) and to all of humanity at this decisive hour of its history. Mankind and its different cultures 4. Reflecting upon the human situation, one is always amazed at the complexity and diversity of human cultures. Each of them is distinct by virtue of its specific historical evolution and the resulting characteristics which make it a structurally unique, original and organic whole. Culture is the form of man's self-expression in his journey through history, on the level of both
313

individuals and social groups. For man is driven incessantly by his intellect and will to "cultivate natural goods and values",(1) to incorporate in an ever higher and more systematic cultural synthesis his basic knowledge of all aspects of life, particularly those involving social and political life, security and economic development, and to foster those existential values and perspectives, especially in the religious sphere, which enable individual and community life to develop in a way that is authentically human.(2) 5. A culture is always marked by stable and enduring elements, as well as by changing and contingent features. At first glance, in examining a culture we are struck above all by those aspects which distinguish it from our own culture; these give each culture a face of its own, as an amalgam of quite distinctive elements. In most cases, a culture develops in a specific place, where geographical, historical and ethnic elements combine in an original and unique way. The "uniqueness" of each culture is reflected more or less clearly in those individuals who are its bearers, in a constant process whereby individuals are influenced by their culture and then, according to their different abilities and genius, contribute to it something of their own. In any event, a person necessarily lives within a specific culture. People are marked by the culture whose very air they breathe through the family and the social groups around them, through education and the most varied influences of their environment, through the very relationship which they have with the place in which they live. There is no determinism here, but rather a constant dialectic between the strength of the individual's conditioning and the workings of human freedom. Human development and being part of a culture 6. The need to accept one's own culture as a structuring element of one's personality, especially in the initial stages of life, is a fact of universal experience whose importance can hardly be overestimated. Without a firm rooting in a specific "soil", individuals risk being subjected at a still vulnerable age to an excess of conflicting stimuli which could impair their serene and balanced development. It is on the basis of this essential relationship with one's own "origins" on the level of the family, but also of territory, society and culture that people acquire a sense of their nationality, and culture tends to take on, to a greater or lesser degree in different places, a "national" configuration. The Son of God himself, by becoming man, acquired, along with a human family, a country. He remains for ever Jesus of Nazareth, the Nazarean (cf. Mk 10:47; Lk 18:37; Jn 1:45; 19:19). This is a natural process, in which sociological and psychological forces interact, with results that are normally positive and constructive. Love for one's country is thus a value to be fostered, without narrow-mindedness but with love for the whole human family(3) and with an effort to avoid those pathological manifestations which occur when the sense of belonging turns into selfexaltation, the rejection of diversity, and forms of nationalism, racism and xenophobia. 7. Consequently, while it is certainly important to be able to appreciate the values of one's own culture, there is also a need to recognize that every culture, as a typically human and historically
314

conditioned reality, necessarily has its limitations. In order to prevent the sense of belonging to one particular culture from turning into isolation, an effective antidote is a serene and unprejudiced knowledge of other cultures. Moreover, when cultures are carefully and rigorously studied, they very often reveal beneath their outward variations significant common elements. This can also be seen in the historical sequence of cultures and civilizations. The Church, looking to Christ, who reveals man to himself,(4) and drawing upon her experience of two thousand years of history, is convinced that "beneath all that changes, there is much that is unchanging".(5) This continuity is based upon the essential and universal character of God's plan for humanity. Cultural diversity should therefore be understood within the broader horizon of the unity of the human race. In a real way, this unity constitutes the primordial historical and ontological datum in the light of which the profound meaning of cultural diversity can be grasped. In fact, only an overall vision of both the elements of unity and the elements of diversity makes it possible to understand and interpret the full truth of every human culture.(6) Cultural differences and mutual respect 8. In the past, cultural differences have often been a source of misunderstanding between peoples and the cause of conflicts and wars. Even now, sad to say, in different parts of the world we are witnessing with growing alarm the aggressive claims of some cultures against others. In the long run, this situation can end in disastrous tensions and conflicts. At the very least it can make more difficult the situation of those ethnic and cultural minorities living in a majority cultural context which is different from their own and prone to hostile and racist ways of thinking and acting. In light of this, people of good will need to examine the basic ethical orientations which mark a particular community's cultural experience. Cultures, like the people who give rise to them, are marked by the "mystery of evil" at work in human history (cf. 1 Th 2:7), and they too are in need of purification and salvation. The authenticity of each human culture, the soundness of its underlying ethos, and hence the validity of its moral bearings, can be measured to an extent by its commitment to the human cause and by its capacity to promote human dignity at every level and in every circumstance. 9. The radicalization of identity which makes cultures resistant to any beneficial influence from outside is worrying enough; but no less perilous is the slavish conformity of cultures, or at least of key aspects of them, to cultural models deriving from the Western world. Detached from their Christians origins, these models are often inspired by an approach to life marked by secularism and practical atheism and by patterns of radical individualism. This is a phenomenon of vast proportions, sustained by powerful media campaigns and designed to propagate lifestyles, social and economic programmes and, in the last analysis, a comprehensive world-view which erodes from within other estimable cultures and civilizations. Western cultural models are enticing and alluring because of their remarkable scientific and technical cast, but regrettably there is growing
315

evidence of their deepening human, spiritual and moral impoverishment. The culture which produces such models is marked by the fatal attempt to secure the good of humanity by eliminating God, the Supreme Good. Yet, as the Second Vatican Council warned, "without the Creator the creature comes to nothing!"(7) A culture which no longer has a point of reference in God loses its soul and loses its way, becoming a culture of death. This was amply demonstrated by the tragic events of the twentieth century and is now apparent in the nihilism present in some prominent circles in the Western world. Dialogue between cultures

A culture which no longer has a point of reference in God loses its soul and loses its way, becoming a culture of death.

10. Individuals come to maturity through receptive openness to others and through generous selfgiving to them; so too do cultures. Created by people and at the service of people, they have to be perfected through dialogue and communion, on the basis of the original and fundamental unity of the human family as it came from the hands of God who "made from one stock every nation of mankind" (Acts 17:26). In this perspective, dialogue between cultures the theme of this World Day of Peace Message emerges as an intrinsic demand of human nature itself, as well as of culture. It is dialogue which protects the distinctiveness of cultures as historical and creative expressions of the underlying unity of the human family, and which sustains understanding and communion between them. The notion of communion, which has its source in Christian revelation and finds its sublime prototype in the Triune God (cf. Jn 17:11, 21), never implies a dull uniformity or enforced homogenization or assimilation; rather it expresses the convergence of a multiform variety, and is therefore a sign of richness and a promise of growth. Dialogue leads to a recognition of diversity and opens the mind to the mutual acceptance and genuine collaboration demanded by the human family's basic vocation to unity. As such, dialogue is a privileged means for building the civilization of love and peace that my revered predecessor Pope Paul VI indicated as the ideal to inspire cultural, social, political and economic life in our time. At the beginning of the Third Millennium, it is urgent that the path of dialogue be proposed once again to a world marked by excessive conflict and violence, a world at times discouraged and incapable of seeing signs of hope and peace. Possibilities and risks of global communication 11. Dialogue between cultures is especially needed today because of the impact of new communications technology on the lives of individuals and peoples. Ours is an era of global communication, which is shaping society along the lines of new cultural models which more or less break with past models. At least in principle, accurate and up-todate information is available to anyone in any part of the world.
316

The free flow of images and speech on a global scale is transforming not only political and economic relations between peoples, but even our understanding of the world. It opens up a range of hitherto unthinkable possibilities, but it also has certain negative and dangerous aspects. The fact that a few countries have a monopoly on these cultural "industries" and distribute their products to an ever growing public in every corner of the earth can be a powerful factor in undermining cultural distinctness. These products include and transmit implicit value-systems and can therefore lead to a kind of dispossession and loss of cultural identity in those who receive them. The challenge of migration 12. A style and culture of dialogue are especially important when it comes to the complex question of migration, which is an important social phenomenon of our time. The movement of large numbers of people from one part of the planet to another is often a terrible odyssey for those involved, and it brings with it the intermingling of traditions and customs, with notable repercussions both on the countries from which people come and on those in which they settle. How migrants are welcomed by receiving countries and how well they become integrated in their new environment are also an indication of how much effective dialogue there is between the various cultures. The question of cultural integration is much debated these days, and it is not easy to specify in detail how best to guarantee, in a balanced and equitable way, the rights and duties of those who welcome and those who are welcomed. Historically, migrations have occurred in all sorts of ways and with very different results. In the case of many civilizations, immigration has brought new growth and enrichment. In other cases, the local people and immigrants have remained culturally separate but have shown that they are able to live together, respecting each other and accepting or tolerating the diversity of customs. Regrettably, situations still exist in which the difficulties involved in the encounter of different cultures have never been resolved, and the consequent tensions have become the cause of periodic outbreaks of conflict. 13. In such a complex issue there are no "magic" formulas; but still we must identify some basic ethical principles to serve as points of reference. First of all, it is important to remember the principle that immigrants must always be treated with the respect due to the dignity of every human person. In the matter of controlling the influx of immigrants, the consideration which should rightly be given to the common good should not ignore this principle. The challenge is to combine the welcome due to every human being, especially when in need, with a reckoning of what is necessary for both the local inhabitants and the new arrivals to live a dignified and peaceful life. The cultural practices which immigrants bring with them should be respected and accepted, as long as they do not contravene either the universal ethical values inherent in the natural law or fundamental human rights.

317

Respect for cultures and the "cultural profile" of different regions 14. It is a much more difficult thing to determine the extent to which immigrants are entitled to public legal recognition of the particular customs of their culture, which may not be readily compatible with the customs of the majority of citizens. The solution to this question, within a climate of genuine openness, calls for a realistic evaluation of the common good at any given time in history and in any given place and social context. Much depends upon whether people embrace a spirit of openness that, without yielding to indifferentism about values, can combine the concern for identity with the willingness to engage in dialogue. On the other hand, as I noted above, one cannot underestimate the capacity of the characteristic culture of a region to produce a balanced growth, especially in the delicate early stages of life, in those who belong to that culture from birth. From this point of view, a reasonable way forward would be to ensure a certain "cultural equilibrium" in each region, by reference to the culture which has prevalently marked its development. This equilibrium, even while welcoming minorities and respecting their basic rights, would allow the continued existence and development of a particular "cultural profile", by which I mean that basic heritage of language, traditions and values which are inextricably part of a nation's history and its national identity. 15. Clearly, though, the need to ensure an equilibrium in a region's cultural profile cannot be met by legislative measures alone, since these would prove ineffectual unless they were grounded in the ethos of the population. They would also be inevitably destined to change should a culture lose its ability to inspire a people and a region, becoming no more than a legacy preserved in museums or in artistic and literary monuments. In effect, as long as a culture is truly alive, it need have no fear of being displaced. And no law could keep it alive if it were already dead in people's hearts. In the dialogue between cultures, no side can be prevented from proposing to the other the values in which it believes, as long as this is done in way that is respectful of people's freedom and conscience. "Truth can be imposed only with the force of truth itself, which penetrates the mind both gently and powerfully".(8) The recognition of shared values 16. Dialogue between cultures, a privileged means for building the civilization of love, is based upon the recognition that there are values which are common to all cultures because they are rooted in the nature of the person. These values express humanity's most authentic and distinctive features. Leaving aside ideological prejudices and selfish interests, it is necessary to foster people's awareness of these shared values, in order to nurture that intrinsically universal cultural "soil" which makes for fruitful and constructive dialogue. The different religions too can and ought to contribute decisively to this process. My many encounters with representatives of other religions I recall especially the meeting in Assisi in 1986 and in Saint Peter's Square in 1999 have made me more confident that mutual openness between the followers of the
318

various religions can greatly serve the cause of peace and the common good of the human family. The value of solidarity 17. Faced with growing inequalities in the world, the prime value which must be ever more widely inculcated is certainly that of solidarity. A society depends on the basic relations that people cultivate with one another in ever widening circles from the family to other intermediary social groups, to civil society as a whole and to the national community. States in turn have no choice but to enter into relations with one another. The present reality of global interdependence makes it easier to appreciate the common destiny of the entire human family, and makes all thoughtful people increasingly appreciate the virtue of solidarity. At the same time it is necessary to point out that this growing interdependence has brought to light many inequalities, such as the gap between rich and poor nations; the social imbalance within each nation between those living in opulence and those offended in their dignity since they lack even the necessities of life; the human and environmental degradation provoked and accelerated by the irresponsible use of natural resources. These social inequalities and imbalances have grown worse in certain places, and some of the poorest nations have reached a point of irreversible decline. Consequently, the promotion of justice is at the heart of a true culture of solidarity. It is not just a question of giving one's surplus to those in need, but of "helping entire peoples presently excluded or marginalized to enter into the sphere of economic and human development. For this to happen, it is not enough to draw on the surplus goods which in fact our world abundantly produces; it requires above all a change of lifestyles, of models of production and consumption, and of the established structures of power which today govern societies".(9) The value of peace 18. The culture of solidarity is closely connected with the value of peace, the primary objective of every society and of national and international life. However, on the path to better understanding among peoples there remain many challenges which the world must face: these set before everyone choices which cannot be postponed. The alarming increase of arms, together with the halting progress of commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, runs the risk of feeding and expanding a culture of competition and conflict, a culture involving not only States but also non-institutional entities, such as paramilitary groups and terrorist organizations. Even today the world is dealing with the consequences of wars past and present, as well as the tragic effects of anti-personnel mines and the use of frightful chemical and biological weapons. And what can be said about the permanent risk of conflicts between nations, of civil wars within some States and of widespread violence, before which international organizations and national governments appear almost impotent? Faced with such threats, everyone must feel the moral
319

duty to take concrete and timely steps to promote the cause of peace and understanding among peoples. The value of life 19. An authentic dialogue between cultures cannot fail to nourish, in addition to sentiments of mutual respect, a lively sense of the value of life itself. Human life cannot be seen as an object to do with as we please, but as the most sacred and inviolable earthly reality. There can be no peace when this most basic good is not protected. It is not possible to invoke peace and despise life. Our own times have seen shining examples of generosity and dedication in the service of life, but also the sad sight of hundreds of millions of men and women whom cruelty and indifference have consigned to a painful and harsh destiny. I am speaking of a tragic spiral of death which includes murder, suicide, abortion, euthanasia, as well as practices of mutilation, physical and psychological torture, forms of unjust coercion, arbitrary imprisonment, unnecessary recourse to the death penalty, deportations, slavery, prostitution, trafficking in women and children. To this list we must add irresponsible practices of genetic engineering, such as the cloning and use of human embryos for research, which are justified by an illegitimate appeal to freedom, to cultural progress, to the advancement of mankind. When the weakest and most vulnerable members of society are subjected to such atrocities, the very idea of the human family, built on the value of the person, on trust, respect and mutual support, is dangerously eroded. A civilization based on love and peace must oppose these experiments, which are unworthy of man. The value of education 20. In order to build the civilization of love, dialogue between cultures must work to overcome all ethnocentric selfishness and make it possible to combine regard for one's own identity with understanding of others and respect for diversity. Fundamental in this respect is the responsibility of education. Education must make students aware of their own roots and provide points of reference which allow them to define their own personal place in the world. At the same time, it must be committed to teaching respect for other cultures. There is a need to look beyond one's immediate personal experience and accept differences, discovering the richness to be found in other people's history and in their values. Knowledge of other cultures, acquired with an appropriate critical sense and within a solid ethical framework, leads to a deeper awareness of the values and limitations within one's own culture, and at the same time it reveals the existence of a patrimony that is common to the whole of humanity. Thanks precisely to this broadening of horizons, education has a particular role to play in building a more united and peaceful world. It can help to affirm that integral humanism, open to life's ethical and religious dimension, which appreciates the importance of understanding and showing esteem for other cultures and the spiritual values present in them. Forgiveness and reconciliation

320

21. During the Great Jubilee, two thousand years after the birth of Jesus, the Church has had a powerful experience of the challenging call to reconciliation. This call is significant also in the context of the complex issue of dialogue between cultures. Dialogue in fact is often difficult because it is weighed down by the tragic heritage of war, conflict, violence and hatred, which lives on in people's memory. For the barriers caused by noncommunication to be bridged, the path to take is the path of forgiveness and reconciliation. Many people, in the name of a disillusioned realism, maintain that this is a utopian and naive path. From the Christian point of view it is the only path which leads to the goal of peace. The eyes of believers contemplate the image of the Crucified One. Shortly before dying, Jesus exclaims: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Lk 23:34). The evil-doer crucified on his right, hearing these last words of the dying Redeemer, opens his heart to the grace of conversion, welcomes the Gospel of forgiveness and receives the promise of eternal happiness. The example of Christ makes us certain that the many impediments to communication and dialogue between people can indeed be torn down. Gazing upon the Crucified One we are filled with confidence that forgiveness and reconciliation can become the normal practice of everyday life and of every culture, and thus a real opportunity for building humanity's peace and future. Mindful of the significant Jubilee experience of the purification of memory, I wish to make a specific appeal to Christians to become witnesses to and missionaries of forgiveness and reconciliation. In this way, through their active invocation of the God of peace, they will hasten the fulfilment of Isaiah's splendid prophecy, which can be applied to all the peoples of the earth: "In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage'" (Is 19:23-25). An appeal to young people 22. I wish to conclude this Message of peace with a special appeal to you, young people of the whole world, who are humanity's future and living stones in the building of the civilization of love. I treasure in my heart the memory of the emotional and hope-filled meetings which we had during the recent World Youth Day in Rome. Your participation was joyous, sincere and reassuring. In your energy and vitality, and in your love of Christ, I was able to glimpse a more peaceful and human future for the world. Feeling your closeness to me, I sensed a profound gratitude to the Lord who gave me the grace of contemplating through the multicoloured mosaic of your different languages, cultures, customs and ways of thinking the miracle of the universality of the Church, of her catholicity, of her unity. Through you I was able to admire the marvellous coming together of diversity in the
321

unity of the same faith, the same hope, the same love. Here was an eloquent expression of the wondrous reality of the Church, sign and instrument of Christ for the salvation of the world and for the unity of mankind.(10) The Gospel calls you to rebuild the original unity of the human family, which has its source in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Dear young people of every language and culture, a high and exhilarating task awaits you: that of becoming men and women capable of solidarity, peace and love of life, with respect for everyone. Become craftsmen of a new humanity, where brothers and sisters members all of the same family are able at last to live in peace. From the Vatican, 8 December 2000.

(1) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 53. (2) Cf. John Paul II, Address to the United Nations (15 October 1995). (3) Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 75. (4) Cf. ibid., 22. (5) Ibid., 10. (6) John Paul II, Address to UNESCO (2 June 1980), No. 6. (7) Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 36. (8) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, 1. (9) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 58. (10) Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 1.

322

2002: NO PEACE WITHOUT JUSTICE, NO JUSTICE WITHOUT FORGIVENESS

In the face of Terrorism, which is the total despair of life and perversion of religion, the only response is one that combines the just defense of life with the forgiveness of all. The fullness of justice cannot be accomplished without the healing provided by mutual forgiveness. Terrorism hates life and makes God an idol by killing in his name. But God can never be invoked to destroy life. For Jesus teaches us that mercy is our mission. We must forgive. Peace cannot be secured without person and social forgiveness, without giving room to start over and find release from the immense evil that threatens to occupy our hearts and distort our efforts at justice. Forgiveness may seem like weakness, and violence like strength, but the opposite is true. In forgiveness we find the strength to truly face and defeat evil. Let us recall that we always remain one family, let us denounce all attacks on life, and let us seek the grace to rejected war and terrorism and death and despair through the lifting of prayers to the God who is love and life himself.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 2002 NO PEACE WITHOUT JUSTICE NO JUSTICE WITHOUT FORGIVENESS

1. The World Day of Peace this year is being celebrated in the shadow of the dramatic events of 11 September last. On that day, a terrible crime was committed: in a few brief hours thousands of innocent people of many ethnic backgrounds were slaughtered. Since then, people throughout the world have felt a profound personal vulnerability and a new fear for the future. Addressing this state of mind, the Church testifies to her hope, based on the conviction that evil, the mysterium iniquitatis, does not have the final word in human affairs. The history of salvation, narrated in Sacred Scripture, sheds clear light on the entire history of the world and shows us that human events are always accompanied by the merciful Providence of God, who knows how to touch even the most hardened of hearts and bring good fruits even from what seems utterly barren soil.
323

This is the hope which sustains the Church at the beginning of 2002: that, by the grace of God, a world in which the power of evil seems once again to have taken the upper hand will in fact be transformed into a world in which the noblest aspirations of the human heart will triumph, a world in which true peace will prevail. Peace: the work of justice and love 2. Recent events, including the terrible killings just mentioned, move me to return to a theme which often stirs in the depths of my heart when I remember the events of history which have marked my life, especially my youth.

the shattered order cannot be fully restored except by a response that combines justice with forgiveness

The enormous suffering of peoples and individuals, even among my own friends and acquaintances, caused by Nazi and Communist totalitarianism, has never been far from my thoughts and prayers. I have often paused to reflect on the persistent question: how do we restore the moral and social order subjected to such horrific violence? My reasoned conviction, confirmed in turn by biblical revelation, is that the shattered order cannot be fully restored except by a response that combines justice with forgiveness. The pillars of true peace are justice and that form of love which is forgiveness.

3. But in the present circumstances, how can we speak of justice and forgiveness as the source and condition of peace? We can and we must, no matter how difficult this may be; a difficulty which often comes from thinking that justice and forgiveness are irreconcilable. But forgiveness is the opposite of resentment and revenge, not of justice. In fact, true peace is the work of justice (Is 32:17). As the Second Vatican Council put it, peace is the fruit of that right ordering of things with which the divine founder has invested human society and which must be actualized by man thirsting for an ever more perfect reign of justice (Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 78). For more than fifteen hundred years, the Catholic Church has repeated the teaching of Saint Augustine of Hippo on this point. He reminds us that the peace which can and must be built in this world is the peace of right ordertranquillitas ordinis, the tranquillity of order (cf. De Civitate Dei, 19,13). True peace therefore is the fruit of justice, that moral virtue and legal guarantee which ensures full respect for rights and responsibilities, and the just distribution of benefits and burdens. But because human justice is always fragile and imperfect, subject as it is to the limitations and egoism of individuals and groups, it must include and, as it were, be completed by the forgiveness which heals and rebuilds troubled human relations from their foundations. This is true in circumstances great and small, at the personal level or on a wider, even international scale. Forgiveness is in no way opposed to justice, as if to forgive meant to overlook the need to
324

right the wrong done. It is rather the fullness of justice, leading to that tranquillity of order which is much more than a fragile and temporary cessation of hostilities, involving as it does the deepest healing of the wounds which fester in human hearts. Justice and forgiveness are both essential to such healing. It is these two dimensions of peace that I wish to explore in this message. The World Day of Peace this year offers all humanity, and particularly the leaders of nations, the opportunity to reflect upon the demands of justice and the call to forgiveness in the face of the grave problems which continue to afflict the world, not the least of which is the new level of violence introduced by organized terrorism. The reality of terrorism 4. It is precisely peace born of justice and forgiveness that is under assault today by international terrorism. In recent years, especially since the end of the Cold War, terrorism has developed into a sophisticated network of political, economic and technical collusion which goes beyond national borders to embrace the whole world. Well-organized terrorist groups can count on huge financial resources and develop wide-ranging strategies, striking innocent people who have nothing to do with the aims pursued by the terrorists. When terrorist organizations use their own followers as weapons to be launched against defenceless and unsuspecting people they show clearly the death-wish that feeds them. Terrorism springs from hatred, and it generates isolation, mistrust and closure. Violence is added to violence in a tragic sequence that exasperates successive generations, each one inheriting the hatred which divided those that went before. Terrorism is built on contempt for human life. For this reason, not only does it commit intolerable crimes, but because it resorts to terror as a political and military means it is itself a true crime against humanity. 5. There exists therefore a right to defend oneself against terrorism, a right which, as always, must be exercised with respect for moral and legal limits in the choice of ends and means. The guilty must be correctly identified, since criminal culpability is always personal and cannot be extended to the nation, ethnic group or religion to which the terrorists may belong. International cooperation in the fight against terrorist activities must also include a courageous and resolute political, diplomatic and economic commitment to relieving situations of oppression and marginalization which facilitate the designs of terrorists. The recruitment of terrorists in fact is easier in situations where rights are trampled upon and injustices tolerated over a long period of time. Still, it must be firmly stated that the injustices existing in the world can never be used to excuse acts of terrorism, and it should be noted that the victims of the radical breakdown of order which terrorism seeks to achieve include above all the countless millions of men and women who are least well-positioned to withstand a collapse of international solidaritynamely, the people of the developing world, who already live on a thin margin of survival and who would be most
325

grievously affected by global economic and political chaos. The terrorist claim to be acting on behalf of the poor is a patent falsehood. You shall not kill in God's name! 6. Those who kill by acts of terrorism actually despair of humanity, of life, of the future. In their view, everything is to be hated and destroyed. Terrorists hold that the truth in which they believe or the suffering that they have undergone are so absolute that their reaction in destroying even innocent lives is justified. Terrorism is often the outcome of that fanatic fundamentalism which springs from the conviction that one's own vision of the truth must be forced upon everyone else. Instead, even when the truth has been reachedand this can happen only in a limited and imperfect wayit can never be imposed. Respect for a person's conscience, where the image of God himself is reflected (cf. Gen 1:26-27), means that we can only propose the truth to others, who are then responsible for accepting it. To try to impose on others by violent means what we consider to be the truth is an offence against human dignity, and ultimately an offence against God whose image that person bears. For this reason, what is usually referred to as fundamentalism is an attitude radically opposed to belief in God. Terrorism exploits not just people, it exploits God: it ends by making him an idol to be used for one's own purposes. 7. Consequently, no religious leader can condone terrorism, and much less preach it. It is a profanation of religion to declare oneself a terrorist in the name of God, to do violence to others in his name. Terrorist violence is a contradiction of faith in God, the Creator of man, who cares for man and loves him. It is altogether contrary to faith in Christ the Lord, who taught his disciples to pray: Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors (Mt 6:12). Following the teaching and example of Jesus, Christians hold that to show mercy is to live out the truth of our lives: we can and must be merciful because mercy has been shown us by a God who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:7-12). The God who enters into history to redeem us, and through the dramatic events of Good Friday prepares the victory of Easter Sunday, is a God of mercy and forgiveness (cf. Ps 103:3-4, 10-13). Thus Jesus told those who challenged his dining with sinners: Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice'. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners (Mt 9:13). The followers of Christ, baptized into his redeeming Death and Resurrection, must always be men and women of mercy and forgiveness. The need for forgiveness 8. But what does forgiveness actually mean? And why should we forgive? A reflection on forgiveness cannot avoid these questions. Returning to what I wrote in my Message for the 1997 World Day of Peace (Offer Forgiveness and Receive Peace), I would reaffirm that forgiveness inhabits people's hearts before it becomes a social reality. Only to the degree that an ethics and a culture of forgiveness prevail can we hope for a politics of forgiveness, expressed in society's attitudes and laws, so that through them justice takes on a more human character.

326

Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil. The measure of such a decision is the love of God who draws us to himself in spite of our sin. It has its perfect exemplar in the forgiveness of Christ, who on the Cross prayed: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Lk 23:34).

Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil.

Forgiveness therefore has a divine source and criterion. This does not mean that its significance cannot also be grasped in the light of human reasoning; and this, in the first place, on the basis of what people experience when they do wrong. They experience their human weakness, and they want others to deal leniently with them. Why not therefore do towards others what we want them to do towards us? All human beings cherish the hope of being able to start all over again, and not remain for ever shut up in their own mistakes and guilt. They all want to raise their eyes to the future and to discover new possibilities of trust and commitment.

9. Forgiveness therefore, as a fully human act, is above all a personal initiative. But individuals are essentially social beings, situated within a pattern of relationships through which they express themselves in ways both good and bad. Consequently, society too is absolutely in need of forgiveness. Families, groups, societies, States and the international community itself need forgiveness in order to renew ties that have been sundered, go beyond sterile situations of mutual condemnation and overcome the temptation to discriminate against others without appeal. The ability to forgive lies at the very basis of the idea of a future society marked by justice and solidarity. By contrast, the failure to forgive, especially when it serves to prolong conflict, is extremely costly in terms of human development. Resources are used for weapons rather than for development, peace and justice. What sufferings are inflicted on humanity because of the failure to reconcile! What delays in progress because of the failure to forgive! Peace is essential for development, but true peace is made possible only through forgiveness. Forgiveness, the high road 10. Forgiveness is not a proposal that can be immediately understood or easily accepted; in many ways it is a paradoxical message. Forgiveness in fact always involves an apparent short-term loss for a real long-term gain. Violence is the exact opposite; opting as it does for an apparent short-term gain, it involves a real and permanent loss. Forgiveness may seem like weakness, but it demands great spiritual strength and moral courage, both in granting it and in accepting it. It may seem in some way to diminish us, but in fact it leads us to a fuller and richer humanity, more radiant with the splendour of the Creator.
327

My ministry at the service of the Gospel obliges me, and at the same time gives me the strength, to insist upon the necessity of forgiveness. I do so again today in the hope of stirring serious and mature thinking on this theme, with a view to a far-reaching resurgence of the human spirit in individual hearts and in relations between the peoples of the world. 11. Reflecting on forgiveness, our minds turn naturally to certain situations of conflict which endlessly feed deep and divisive hatreds and a seemingly unstoppable sequence of personal and collective tragedies. I refer especially to what is happening in the Holy Land, that blessed place of God's encounter with man, where Jesus, the Prince of Peace, lived, died and rose from the dead. The present troubled international situation prompts a more intense call to resolve the ArabIsraeli conflict, which has now been going on for more than fifty years, with alternate phases of greater or lesser tension. The continuous recourse to acts of terror and war, which aggravate the situation and diminish hope on all sides, must finally give way to a negotiated solution. The rights and demands of each party can be taken into proper account and balanced in an equitable way, if and when there is a will to let justice and reconciliation prevail. Once more I urge the beloved peoples of the Holy Land to work for a new era of mutual respect and constructive accord. Interreligious understanding and cooperation 12. In this whole effort, religious leaders have a weighty responsibility. The various Christian confessions, as well as the world's great religions, need to work together to eliminate the social and cultural causes of terrorism. They can do this by teaching the greatness and dignity of the human person, and by spreading a clearer sense of the oneness of the human family. This is a specific area of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue and cooperation, a pressing service which religion can offer to world peace. In particular, I am convinced that Jewish, Christian and Islamic religious leaders must now take the lead in publicly condemning terrorism and in denying terrorists any form of religious or moral legitimacy. 13. In bearing common witness to the truth that the deliberate murder of the innocent is a grave evil always, everywhere, and without exception, the world's religious leaders will help to form the morally sound public opinion that is essential for building an international civil society capable of pursuing the tranquillity of order in justice and freedom. In undertaking such a commitment, the various religions cannot but pursue the path of forgiveness, which opens the way to mutual understanding, respect and trust. The help that religions can give to peace and against terrorism consists precisely in their teaching forgiveness, for those who forgive and seek forgiveness know that there is a higher Truth, and that by accepting that Truth they can transcend themselves.

328

Prayer for peace 14. Precisely for this reason, prayer for peace is not an afterthought to the work of peace. It is of the very essence of building the peace of order, justice, and freedom. To pray for peace is to open the human heart to the inroads of God's power to renew all things. With the life-giving force of his grace, God can create openings for peace where only obstacles and closures are apparent; he can strengthen and enlarge the solidarity of the human family in spite of our endless history of division and conflict. To pray for peace is to pray for justice, for a right-ordering of relations within and among nations and peoples. It is to pray for freedom, especially for the religious freedom that is a basic human and civil right of every individual. To pray for peace is to seek God's forgiveness, and to implore the courage to forgive those who have trespassed against us. For all these reasons I have invited representatives of the world's religions to come to Assisi, the town of Saint Francis, on 24 January 2002, to pray for peace. In doing so we will show that genuine religious belief is an inexhaustible wellspring of mutual respect and harmony among peoples; indeed it is the chief antidote to violence and conflict. At this time of great distress, the human family needs to be reminded of our unfailing reasons for hope. It is precisely this hope that we intend to proclaim in Assisi, asking Almighty Godin the beautiful phrase attributed to Saint Francis himselfto make each of us a channel of his peace.

No peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness

15. No peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness: this is what in this Message I wish to say to believers and non-believers alike, to all men and women of good will who are concerned for the good of the human family and for its future. No peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness: this is what I wish to say to those responsible for the future of the human community, entreating them to be guided in their weighty and difficult decisions by the light of man's true good, always with a view to the common good.

No peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness: I shall not tire of repeating this warning to those who, for one reason or another, nourish feelings of hatred, a desire for revenge or the will to destroy. On this World Day of Peace, may a more intense prayer rise from the hearts of all believers for the victims of terrorism, for their families so tragically stricken, for all the peoples who continue to be hurt and convulsed by terrorism and war. May the light of our prayer extend even to those who gravely offend God and man by these pitiless acts, that they may look into their hearts, see the evil of what they do, abandon all violent intentions, and seek forgiveness. In these troubled times, may the whole human family find true and lasting peace, born of the marriage of justice and mercy!
329

From the Vatican, 8 December 2001 JOHN PAUL II

330

2003: PACEM IN TERRIS: A PERMANENT COMMITMENT

In 1963, Pope John XXIII published Peace on Earth, which has sparked the Churchs continued reflection, teaching, and wisdom on peace and its requirements. Peace is founded upon truth, justice, love, and freedom. And this peace is truly possible. The cold war ended, the Berlin wall fell, nonviolent revolutions swept away communism, and the specter of nuclear holocaust receded. Humanity has become conscious of the sacred value of the person and the universality of human rights. We grow as we see the entire world as one family. And yet the new international order is still very disordered. Rights, even the most basic ones of access to food, water, and lifeare violated and unprotected. Politics is divorced from morality, from the person. Truth and trust are broken. The poor are forgotten. But in prayer and trust, in the grace of God, the hearts of men and women can tu4rn again, to truth, justice, love, freedom, and peace!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 2003 PACEM IN TERRIS: A PERMANENT COMMITMENT

1. Almost forty years ago, on Holy Thursday, 11 April 1963, Pope John XXIII published his epic Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris. Addressing himself to all men of good will, my venerable predecessor, who would die just two months later, summed up his message of peace on earth in the first sentence of the Encyclical: Peace on earth, which all men of every era have most eagerly yearned for, can be firmly established and sustained only if the order laid down by God be dutifully observed (Introduction: AAS, 55 [1963], 257). Speaking peace to a divided world 2. The world to which John XXIII wrote was then in a profound state of disorder. The twentieth century had begun with great expectations for progress. Yet within sixty years, that same century

331

had produced two World Wars, devastating totalitarian systems, untold human suffering, and the greatest persecution of the Church in history. Only two years before Pacem in Terris, in 1961, the Berlin Wall had been erected in order to divide and set against each other not only two parts of that City but two ways of understanding and building the earthly city. On one side and the other of the Wall, life was to follow different patterns, dictated by antithetical rules, in a climate of mutual suspicion and mistrust. Both as a world-view and in real life, that Wall traversed the whole of humanity and penetrated people's hearts and minds, creating divisions that seemed destined to last indefinitely. Moreover, just six months before the Encyclical, and just as the Second Vatican Council was opening in Rome, the world had come to the brink of a nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The road to a world of peace, justice and freedom seemed blocked. Humanity, many believed, was condemned to live indefinitely in that precarious condition of cold war, hoping against hope that neither an act of aggression nor an accident would trigger the worst war in human history. Available atomic arsenals meant that such a war would have imperiled the very future of the human race. The four pillars of peace 3. Pope John XXIII did not agree with those who claimed that peace was impossible. With his Encyclical, peacein all its demanding truthcame knocking on both sides of the Wall and of all the other dividing walls. The Encyclical spoke to everyone of their belonging to the one human family, and shone a light on the shared aspiration of people everywhere to live in security, justice and hope for the future. With the profound intuition that characterized him, John XXIII identified the essential conditions for peace in four precise requirements of the human spirit: truth, justice, love and freedom (cf. ibid., I: l.c., 265-266). Truth will build peace if every individual sincerely acknowledges not only his rights, but also his own duties towards others. Justice will build peace if in practice everyone respects the rights of others and actually fulfils his duties towards them. Love will build peace if people feel the needs of others as their own and share what they have with others, especially the values of mind and spirit which they possess. Freedom will build peace and make it thrive if, in the choice of the means to that end, people act according to reason and assume responsibility for their own actions. Looking at the present and into the future with the eyes of faith and reason, Blessed John XXIII discerned deeper historical currents at work. Things were not always what they seemed on the surface. Despite wars and rumours of wars, something more was at work in human affairs, something that to the Pope looked like the promising beginning of a spiritual revolution. A new awareness of human dignity and inalienable human rights

332

4. Humanity, John XXIII wrote, had entered a new stage of its journey (cf. ibid., I: l.c., 267-269). The end of colonialism and the rise of newly independent States, the protection of workers' rights, the new and welcome presence of women in public life, all testified to the fact that the human race was indeed entering a new phase of its history, one characterized by the conviction that all men are equal by reason of their natural dignity (ibid., I: l.c.,268). The Pope knew that that dignity was still being trampled upon in many parts of the world. Yet he was convinced that, despite the dramatic situation, the world was becoming increasingly conscious of certain spiritual values, and increasingly open to the meaning of those pillars of peacetruth, justice, love, and freedom (cf. ibid., I: l.c., 268-269). Seeking to bring these values into local, national and international life, men and women were becoming more aware that their relationship with God, the source of all good, must be the solid foundation and supreme criterion of their lives, as individuals and in society (cf. ibid.). This evolving spiritual intuition would, the Pope was convinced, have profound public and political consequences. Seeing the growth of awareness of human rights that was then emerging within nations and at the international level, Pope John XXIII caught the potential of this phenomenon and understood its singular power to change history. What was later to happen in central and eastern Europe would confirm his insight. The road to peace, he taught in the Encyclical, lay in the defence and promotion of basic human rights, which every human being enjoys, not as a benefit given by a different social class or conceded by the State but simply because of our humanity: Any human society, if it is to be well-ordered and productive, must lay down as a foundation this principle, namely, that every human being is a person, that is, his nature is endowed with intelligence and free will. Indeed, precisely because he is a person he has rights and obligations, flowing directly and simultaneously from his very nature. And as these rights and obligations are universal and inviolable so they cannot in any way be surrendered (ibid., 259). As history would soon show, this was not simply an abstract idea; it was an idea with profound consequences. Inspired by the conviction that every human being is equal in dignity, and that society therefore had to adapt its form to that conviction, human rights movements soon arose and gave concrete political expression to one of the great dynamics of contemporary history: the quest for freedom as an indispensable component of work for peace. Emerging in virtually every part of the world, these movements were instrumental in replacing dictatorial forms of government with more democratic and participatory ones. They demonstrated in practice that peace and progress could only be achieved by respecting the universal moral law written on the human heart (cf. John Paul II, Address to the United Nations General Assembly, 5 October 1995, No. 3). The universal common good 5. On another point too Pacem in Terris showed itself prophetic, as it looked to the next phase of the evolution of world politics. Because the world was becoming increasingly interdependent and global, the common good of humanity had to be worked out on the international plane. It
333

was proper, Pope John XXIII taught, to speak of a universal common good (Pacem in Terris, IV: l.c., 292). One of the consequences of this evolution was the obvious need for a public authority, on the international level, with effective capacity to advance the universal common good; an authority which could not, the Pope immediately continued, be established by coercion but only by the consent of nations. Such a body would have to have as its fundamental objective the recognition, respect, safeguarding, and promotion of the rights of the human person (ibid., IV: l.c., 294). Not surprisingly therefore John XXIII looked with hope and expectation to the United Nations Organization, which had come into being on June 26, 1945. He saw that Organization as a credible instrument for maintaining and strengthening world peace, and he expressed particular appreciation of its 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which he considered an approximation towards the establishment of a juridical and political organization of the world community (ibid., IV: l.c., 295). What he was saying in fact was that the Declaration set out the moral foundations on which the evolution of a world characterized by order rather than disorder, and by dialogue rather than force, could proceed. He was suggesting that the vigorous defence of human rights by the United Nations Organization is the indispensable foundation for the development of that Organization's capacity to promote and defend international security. Not only is it clear that Pope John XXIII's vision of an effective international public authority at the service of human rights, freedom and peace has not yet been entirely achieved, but there is still in fact much hesitation in the international community about the obligation to respect and implement human rights. This duty touches all fundamental rights, excluding that arbitrary picking and choosing which can lead to rationalizing forms of discrimination and injustice. Likewise, we are witnessing the emergence of an alarming gap between a series of new rights being promoted in advanced societiesthe result of new prosperity and new technologiesand other more basic human rights still not being met, especially in situations of underdevelopment. I am thinking here for example about the right to food and drinkable water, to housing and security, to self-determination and independencewhich are still far from being guaranteed and realized. Peace demands that this tension be speedily reduced and in time eliminated. Another observation needs to be made: the international community, which since 1948 has possessed a charter of the inalienable rights of the human person, has generally failed to insist sufficiently on corresponding duties. It is duty that establishes the limits within which rights must be contained in order not to become an exercise in arbitrariness. A greater awareness of universal human duties would greatly benefit the cause of peace, setting it on the moral basis of a shared recognition of an order in things which is not dependent on the will of any individual or group. A new international moral order 6. Nevertheless it remains true that, despite many difficulties and setbacks, significant progress has been made over the past forty years towards the implementation of Pope John's noble vision.
334

The fact that States throughout the world feel obliged to honour the idea of human rights shows how powerful are the tools of moral conviction and spiritual integrity, which proved so decisive in the revolution of conscience that made possible the 1989 non-violent revolution that displaced European communism. And although distorted notions of freedom as licence continue to threaten democracy and free societies, it is surely significant that, in the forty years since Pacem in Terris, much of the world has become more free, structures of dialogue and cooperation between nations have been strengthened, and the threat of a global nuclear war, which weighed so heavily on Pope John XXIII, has been effectively contained. Boldly, but with all humility, I would like to suggest that the Church's fifteen-hundred-year-old teaching on peace as tranquillitas ordinisthe tranquillity of order as Saint Augustine called it (De Civitate Dei, 19, 13), which was brought to a new level of development forty years ago by Pacem in Terris, has a deep relevance for the world today, for the leaders of nations as well as for individuals. That there is serious disorder in world affairs is obvious. Thus the question to be faced remains: What kind of order can replace this disorder, so that men and women can live in freedom, justice, and security? And since the world, amid its disorder, continues nevertheless to be ordered and organized in various wayseconomic, cultural, even politicalthere arises another equally urgent question: On what principles are these new forms of world order unfolding? These far-reaching questions suggest that the problem of order in world affairs, which is the problem of peace rightly understood, cannot be separated from issues of moral principle. This is another way of saying that the question of peace cannot be separated from the question of human dignity and human rights. That is one of the enduring truths taught by Pacem in Terris, which we would do well to remember and reflect upon on this fortieth anniversary. Is this not the time for all to work together for a new constitutional organization of the human family, truly capable of ensuring peace and harmony between peoples, as well as their integral development? But let there be no misunderstanding. This does not mean writing the constitution of a global super-State. Rather, it means continuing and deepening processes already in place to meet the almost universal demand for participatory ways of exercising political authority, even international political authority, and for transparency and accountability at every level of public life. With his confidence in the goodness he believed could be found in every human person, Pope John XXIII called the entire world to a nobler vision of public life and public authority, even as he boldly challenged the world to think beyond its present state of disorder to new forms of international order commensurate with human dignity.
335

Is this not the time for all to work together for a new constitutional organization of the human family, truly capable of ensuring peace and harmony between peoples

The bond between peace and truth 7. Against those who think of politics as a realm of necessity detached from morality and subject only to partisan interests, Pope John XXIII, in Pacem in Terris, outlined a truer picture of human reality and indicated the path to a better future for all. Precisely because human beings are created with the capacity for moral choice, no human activity takes place outside the sphere of moral judgment. Politics is a human activity; therefore, it too is subject to a distinctive form of moral scrutiny. This is also true of international politics. As the Pope wrote: The same natural law that governs the life and conduct of individuals must also regulate the relations of political communities with one another (Pacem in Terris, III: l.c., 279). Those who imagine that international public life takes place somewhere outside the realm of moral judgment need only reflect on the impact of human rights movements on the national and international politics of the twentieth century just concluded. These developments, anticipated by the teaching of the Encyclical, decisively refute the claim that international politics must of necessity be a free zone in which the moral law holds no sway. Perhaps nowhere today is there a more obvious need for the correct use of political authority than in the dramatic situation of the Middle East and the Holy Land. Day after day, year after year, the cumulative effect of bitter mutual rejection and an unending chain of violence and retaliation have shattered every effort so far to engage in serious dialogue on the real issues involved. The volatility of the situation is compounded by the clash of interests among the members of the international community. Until those in positions of responsibility undergo a veritable revolution in the way they use their power and go about securing their peoples' welfare, it is difficult to imagine how progress towards peace can be made. The fratricidal struggle that daily convulses the Holy Land and brings into conflict the forces shaping the immediate future of the Middle East shows clearly the need for men and women who, out of conviction, will implement policies firmly based on the principle of respect for human dignity and human rights. Such policies are incomparably more advantageous to everyone than the continuation of conflict. A start can be made on the basis of this truth, which is certainly more liberating than propaganda, especially when that propaganda serves to conceal inadmissible intentions. The premises of a lasting peace 8. There is an unbreakable bond between the work of peace and respect for truth. Honesty in the supply of information, equity in legal systems, openness in democratic procedures give citizens a sense of security, a readiness to settle controversies by peaceful means, and a desire for genuine and constructive dialogue, all of which constitute the true premises of a lasting peace. Political summits on the regional and international levels serve the cause of peace only if joint commitments are then honoured by each party. Otherwise these meetings risk becoming irrelevant and useless, with the result that people believe less and less in dialogue and trust more in the use of force as a way of resolving issues. The negative repercussions on peace resulting

336

from commitments made and then not honoured must be carefully assessed by State and government leaders. Pacta sunt servanda, says the ancient maxim. If at all times commitments ought to be kept, promises made to the poor should be considered particularly binding. Especially frustrating for them is any breach of faith regarding promises which they see as vital to their well-being. In this respect, the failure to keep commitments in the sphere of aid to developing nations is a serious moral question and further highlights the injustice of the imbalances existing in the world. The suffering caused by poverty is compounded by the loss of trust. The end result is hopelessness. The existence of trust in international relations is a social capital of fundamental value. A culture of peace 9. In the end, peace is not essentially about structures but about people. Certain structures and mechanisms of peacejuridical, political, economicare of course necessary and do exist, but they have been derived from nothing other than the accumulated wisdom and experience of innumerable gestures of peace made by men and women throughout history who have kept hope and have not given in to discouragement. Gestures of peace spring from the lives of people who foster peace first of all in their own hearts. They are the work of the heart and of reason in those who are peacemakers (cf. Mt 5:9). Gestures of peace are possible when people appreciate fully the community dimension of their lives, so that they grasp the meaning and consequences of events in their own communities and in the world. Gestures of peace create a tradition and a culture of peace. Religion has a vital role in fostering gestures of peace and in consolidating conditions for peace.It exercises this role all the more effectively if it concentrates on what is proper to it: attention to God, the fostering of universal brotherhood and the spreading of a culture of human solidarity. The Day of Prayer for Peace which I promoted in Assisi on 24 January 2002, involving representatives of many religions, had this purpose. It expressed a desire to nurture peace by spreading a spirituality and a culture of peace. The legacy of Pacem in Terris 10. Blessed Pope John XXIII was a man unafraid of the future. He was sustained in his optimism by his deep trust in God and in man, both of which grew out of the sturdy climate of faith in which he had grown up. Moved by his trust in Providence, even in what seemed like a permanent situation of conflict, he did not hesitate to summon the leaders of his time to a new vision of the world. This is the legacy that he left us. On this World Day of Peace 2003, let us all resolve to have his same outlook: trust in the merciful and compassionate God who calls us to brotherhood, and confidence in the men and women of our time because, like those of every other time, they bear the image of God in their souls. It is on this basis that we can hope to build a world of peace on earth.
337

At the beginning of a new year in our human history, this is the hope that rises spontaneously from the depths of my heart: that in the spirit of every individual there may be a renewed dedication to the noble mission which Pacem in Terris proposed forty years ago to all men and women of good will. The task, which the Encyclical called immense, is that of establishing new relationships in human society, under the sway and guidance of truth, justice, love, and freedom. Pope John indicated that he was referring to relations between individual citizens, between citizens and their respective States, between States, and finally between individuals, families, intermediate associations and States on the one hand, and the world community on the other. He concluded by saying that to bring about true peace in accordance with divinely established order was a most noble task (Pacem in Terris, V: l.c., 301-302). The fortieth anniversary of Pacem in Terris is an apt occasion to return to Pope John XXIII's prophetic teaching. Catholic communities will know how to celebrate this anniversary during the year with initiatives which, I hope, will have an ecumenical and interreligious character and be open to all those who have a heartfelt desire to break through the barriers which divide them, to strengthen the bonds of mutual love, to learn to understand one another and to pardon those who have done them wrong (l.c., 304). I accompany this hope with a prayer to Almighty God, the source of all our good. May he who calls us from oppression and conflict to freedom and cooperation for the good of all help people everywhere to build a world of peace ever more solidly established on the four pillars indicated by Blessed Pope John XXIII in his historic Encyclical: truth, justice, love, freedom. From the Vatican, 8 December 2002 JOHN PAUL II

338

2004: AN EVER TIMELY COMMITMENT: TEACHING PEACE

We must teach ourselves and the world about the possibility and the duty of Peace! The World Day of Peace messages are a science and primer on peacemaking, and now we must act upon them! We can do so by respecting the force of law, in rejection war in favor of reason. International law has set limits to war in the UN Charter. Wars of aggression are illegal, and only limited self-defense is permissible. The UN is not perfect, and needs reform, and must respond effectively to terrorism, but those nations that have signed the UN charter must honor their commitments! The common good of the human family demands adherence to law, not resort to power. We must place our hopes in peace, not war. But most importantly, we should turn our justice over to love and charity and forgiveness, knowing that law is nothing without love, and that in the end, it is love that conquers all!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 2004 AN EVER TIMELY COMMITMENT: TEACHING PEACE

My words are addressed to you, the Leaders of the nations, who have the duty of promoting peace! To you, Jurists, committed to tracing paths to peaceful agreement, preparing conventions and treaties which strengthen international legality! To you, Teachers of the young, who on all continents work tirelessly to form consciences in the ways of understanding and dialogue! And to you too, men and women tempted to turn to the unacceptable means of terrorism and thus compromise at its root the very cause for which you are fighting!

339

All of you, hear the humble appeal of the Successor of Peter who cries out: today too, at the beginning of the New Year 2004, peace remains possible. And if peace is possible, it is also a duty! A practical initiative 1. My first Message for the World Day of Peace, in the beginning of January 1979, was centred on the theme: To Reach Peace, Teach Peace. That New Year's Message followed in the path traced by Pope Paul VI of venerable memory, who had wished to celebrate on January 1 each year a World Day of Prayer for Peace. I recall the words of the late Pontiff for the New Year 1968: It would be Our desire, then, that this celebration take place each year as a sign of hope and promise, at the beginning of the calendar which measures and guides the journey of human life through time, in order that Peace, with its just and salutary equilibrium, will dominate the unfolding of history yet to come.(1) Faithful to the wishes expressed by my venerable Predecessor on the Chair of Peter, each year I have continued this noble tradition by dedicating the first day of the civil year to reflection and to prayer for peace in the world. In the twenty-five years of Pontificate which the Lord has thus far granted me, I have not failed to speak out before the Church and the world, inviting believers and all persons of good will to take up the cause of peace and to help bring about this fundamental good, thereby assuring the world a better future, one marked by peaceful coexistence and mutual respect. Once more this year I feel bound to invite all men and women, on every continent, to celebrate a new World Day of Peace. Humanity needs now more than ever to rediscover the path of concord, overwhelmed as it is by selfishness and hatred, by the thirst for power and the lust for vengeance. The science of peace 2. The eleven Messages addressed to the world by Pope Paul VI progressively mapped out the path to be followed in attaining the ideal of peace. Slowly but surely the great Pontiff set forth the various chapters of a true science of peace. It can be helpful to recall the themes of the Messages bequeathed to us by Pope Paul VI for this occasion.(2) Each of these Messages continues to be timely today. Indeed, before the tragedy of the wars which at the beginning of the Third Millennium are still causing bloodshed throughout the world, especially in the Middle East, they take on at times the tone of prophetic admonishments. A primer of peace 3. For my part, throughout these twenty-five years of my Pontificate, I have sought to advance along the path marked out by my venerable Predecessor. At the dawn of each new year I have

340

invited people of good will to reflect, in the light of reason and of faith, on different aspects of an orderly coexistence. The result has been a synthesis of teaching about peace which is a kind of primer on this fundamental theme: a primer easy to understand by those who are well-disposed, but at the same time quite demanding for anyone concerned for the future of humanity.(3) The various colours of the prism of peace have now been amply illustrated. What remains now is to work to ensure that the ideal of a peaceful coexistence, with its specific requirements, will become part of the consciousness of individuals and peoples. We Christians see the commitment to educate ourselves and others to peace as something at the very heart of our religion. For Christians, in fact, to proclaim peace is to announce Christ who is our peace (Eph 2:14); it is to announce his Gospel, which is a Gospel of peace (Eph 6:15); it is to call all people to the beatitude of being peacemakers (cf. Mt 5:9). Teaching peace 4. In my Message for the World Day of Peace on 1 January 1979 I made this appeal: To Reach Peace, Teach Peace. Today that appeal is more urgent than ever, because men and women, in the face of the tragedies which continue to afflict humanity, are tempted to yield to fatalism, as if peace were an unattainable ideal. The Church, on the other hand, has always taught and continues today to teach a very simple axiom: peace is possible. Indeed, the Church does not tire of repeating that peace is a duty. It must be built on the four pillars indicated by Blessed John XXIII in his Encyclical Pacem in Terris: truth, justice, love and freedom. A duty is thus imposed upon all those who love peace: that of teaching these ideals to new generations, in order to prepare a better future for all mankind. Teaching legality 5. In this task of teaching peace, there is a particularly urgent need to lead individuals and peoples to respect the international order and to respect the commitments assumed by the Authorities which legitimately represent them. Peace and international law are closely linked to each another: law favours peace. From the very dawn of civilization, developing human communities sought to establish agreements and pacts which would avoid the arbitrary use of force and enable them to seek a peaceful solution of any controversies which might arise. Alongside the legal systems of the
341

We Christians see the commitment to educate ourselves and others to peace as something at the very heart of our religion.

individual peoples there progressively grew up another set of norms which came to be known as ius gentium (the law of the nations). With the passage of time, this body of law gradually expanded and was refined in the light of the historical experiences of the different peoples. This process was greatly accelerated with the birth of modern States. From the sixteenth century on, jurists, philosophers and theologians were engaged in developing the various headings of international law and in grounding it in the fundamental postulates of the natural law. This process led with increasing force to the formulation of universal principles which are prior to and superior to the internal law of States, and which take into account the unity and the common vocation of the human family. Central among all these is surely the principle that pacta sunt servanda: accords freely signed must be honoured. This is the pivotal and exceptionless presupposition of every relationship between responsible contracting parties. The violation of this principle necessarily leads to a situation of illegality and consequently to friction and disputes which would not fail to have lasting negative repercussions. It is appropriate to recall this fundamental rule, especially at times when there is a temptation to appeal to the law of force rather than to the force of law. One of these moments was surely the drama which humanity experienced during the Second World War: an abyss of violence, destruction and death unlike anything previously known. Respect for law 6. That war, with the horrors and the appalling violations of human dignity which it occasioned, led to a profound renewal of the international legal order. The defence and promotion of peace were set at the centre of a broadly modernized system of norms and institutions. The task of watching over global peace and security and with encouraging the efforts of States to preserve and guarantee these fundamental goods of humanity was entrusted by Governments to an organization established for this purposethe United Nations Organizationwith a Security Council invested with broad discretionary power. Pivotal to the system was the prohibition of the use of force. This prohibition, according to the well-known Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, makes provision for only two exceptions. The first confirms the natural right to legitimate defence, to be exercised in specific ways and in the context of the United Nations: and consequently also within the traditional limits of necessity and proportionality. The other exception is represented by the system of collective security, which gives the Security Council competence and responsibility for the preservation of peace, with power of decision and ample discretion. The system developed with the United Nations Charter was meant to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.(4) In the decades which followed, however, the division of the international community into opposing blocs, the cold war in one part of the world, the outbreak of violent
342

conflicts in other areas and the phenomenon of terrorism produced a growing break with the ideas and expectations of the immediate post-war period. A new international order 7. It must be acknowledged, however, that the United Nations Organization, even with limitations and delays due in great part to the failures of its members, has made a notable contribution to the promotion of respect for human dignity, the freedom of peoples and the requirements of development, thus preparing the cultural and institutional soil for the building of peace. The activity of national Governments will be greatly encouraged by the realization that the ideals of the United Nations have become widely diffused, particularly through the practical gestures of solidarity and peace made by the many individuals also involved in Non-Governmental Organizations and in Movements for human rights. This represents a significant incentive for a reform which would enable the United Nations Organization to function effectively for the pursuit of its own stated ends, which remain valid: humanity today is in a new and more difficult phase of its genuine development. It needs a greater degree of international ordering.(5) States must consider this objective as a clear moral and political obligation which calls for prudence and determination. Here I would repeat the words of encouragement which I spoke in 1995: The United Nations Organization needs to rise more and more above the cold status of an administrative institution and to become a moral centre where all the nations of the world feel at home and develop a shared awareness of being, as it were, a family of nations.(6) The deadly scourge of terrorism 8. Today international law is hard pressed to provide solutions to situations of conflict arising from the changed landscape of the contemporary world. These situations of conflict frequently involve agents which are not themselves States but rather entities derived from the collapse of States, or connected to independence movements, or linked to trained criminal organizations. A legal system made up of norms established down the centuries as a means of disciplining relations between sovereign States finds it difficult to deal with conflicts which also involve entities incapable of being considered States in the traditional sense. This is particularly the case with terrorist groups. The scourge of terrorism has become more virulent in recent years and has produced brutal massacres which have in turn put even greater obstacles in the way of dialogue and negotiation, increasing tensions and aggravating problems, especially in the Middle East. Even so, if it is to be won, the fight against terrorism cannot be limited solely to repressive and punitive operations. It is essential that the use of force, even when necessary, be accompanied by
343

a courageous and lucid analysis of the reasons behind terrorist attacks. The fight against terrorism must be conducted also on the political and educational levels: on the one hand, by eliminating the underlying causes of situations of injustice which frequently drive people to more desperate and violent acts; and on the other hand, by insisting on an education inspired by respect for human life in every situation: the unity of the human race is a more powerful reality than any contingent divisions separating individuals and people. In the necessary fight against terrorism, international law is now called to develop legal instruments provided with effective means for the prevention, monitoring and suppression of crime. In any event, democratic governments know well that the use of force against terrorists cannot justify a renunciation of the principles of the rule of law. Political decisions would be unacceptable were they to seek success without consideration for fundamental human rights, since the end never justifies the means. The contribution of the Church 9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (Mt 5:9). How could this saying, which is a summons to work in the immense field of peace, find such a powerful echo in the human heart if it did not correspond to an irrepressible yearning and hope dwelling within us? And why else would peacemakers be called children of God, if not because God is by nature the God of peace? Precisely for this reason, in the message of salvation which the Church proclaims throughout the world, there are doctrinal elements of fundamental importance for the development of the principles needed for peaceful coexistence between nations. History teaches that the building of peace cannot prescind from respect for an ethical and juridical order, in accordance with the ancient adage: Serva ordinem et ordo servabit te (preserve order and order will preserve you). International law must ensure that the law of the more powerful does not prevail. Its essential purpose is to replace the material force of arms with the moral force of law,(7) providing appropriate sanctions for transgressors and adequate reparation for victims. This must also be applicable to those government leaders who violate with impunity human dignity and rights while hiding behind the unacceptable pretext that it is a matter of questions internal to their State. In an Address which I gave to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See on 13 January 1997, I observed that international law is a primary means for pursuing peace: For a long time international law has been a law of war and peace. I believe that it is called more and more to become exclusively a law of peace, conceived in justice and solidarity. And in this context morality must inspire law; morality can even assume a preparatory role in the making of law, to the extent that it shows the path of what is right and good.(8) Down the centuries, the teaching of the Church, drawing upon the philosophical and theological reflection of many Christian thinkers, has made a significant contribution in directing international law to the common good of the whole human family. Especially in more recent
344

times the Popes have not hesitated to stress the importance of international law as a pledge of peace, in the conviction that the harvest of justice is sown in peace by those who make peace (Jas 3:18). This is the path which the Church, employing the means proper to her, is committed to following, in the perennial light of the Gospel and with the indispensable help of prayer. The civilization of love

By itself, justice is not enough. Indeed, it can even betray itself, unless it is open to that deeper power which is love.

10. At the conclusion of these considerations, I feel it necessary to repeat that, for the establishment of true peace in the world, justice must find its fulfilment in charity. Certainly law is the first road leading to peace, and people need to be taught to respect that law. Yet one does not arrive at the end of this road unless justice is complemented by love. Justice and love sometimes appear to be opposing forces. In fact they are but two faces of a single reality, two dimensions of human life needing to be mutually integrated. Historical experience shows this to be true. It shows how justice is frequently unable to free itself from rancour, hatred and even cruelty. By itself, justice is not enough. Indeed, it can even betray itself, unless it is open to that deeper power which is love.

For this reason I have often reminded Christians and all persons of good will that forgiveness is needed for solving the problems of individuals and peoples. There is no peace without forgiveness! I say it again here, as my thoughts turn in particular to the continuing crisis in Palestine and the Middle East: a solution to the grave problems which for too long have caused suffering for the peoples of those regions will not be found until a decision is made to transcend the logic of simple justice and to be open also to the logic of forgiveness. Christians know that love is the reason for God's entering into relationship with man. And it is love which he awaits as man's response. Consequently, love is also the loftiest and most noble form of relationship possible between human beings. Love must thus enliven every sector of human life and extend to the international order. Only a humanity in which there reigns the civilization of love will be able to enjoy authentic and lasting peace. At the beginning of a New Year I wish to repeat to women and men of every language, religion and culture the ancient maxim: Omnia vincit amor (Love conquers all). Yes, dear Brothers and Sisters throughout the world, in the end love will be victorious! Let everyone be committed to hastening this victory. For it is the deepest hope of every human heart. From the Vatican, 8 December 2003. JOHN PAUL II

345

NOTES (1) Insegnamenti, V (1967), 620. (4) Preamble. (5) JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 43: AAS 80 (1988), 575. (6) Address to the Fiftieth General Assembly of the United Nations, New York (5 October 1995), 14: Insegnamenti, XVIII/2 (1995), 741. (7) BENEDICT XV, Appeal to the Leaders of the Warring Nations, 1 August 1917: AAS 9 (1917), 422. (8) No. 4: Insegnamenti, XX/1 (1997), 97.

346

2005: DO NOT BE OVERCOME BY EVIL, BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD

Pope John Paul IIs last message: only good can defeat evil. Love is the most powerful weapon for peacenot only for persons, but for nations. To fight evil with evil is to be defeated from the beginning. We must love even our enemy, for every evil comes from a person, and every person is a son or daughter of God, made in his image, with dignity and rights that cannot be revoked. Violence is evil, is a lie, and must always be rejected. Instead, as the lessons of war among so many places in the world reveal, we must to turn to doing good as a solution to evil. We must promote the good not just of some, but of all. We must share the worlds resources with the poor, who in turn must be active agents of their own liberation. This battle against evil can only be accomplished in grace, in reborn hearts that allow Christ to conquer evil within us. We must embrace the weapons of love, and where love prevails, there peace prevails.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 2005 DO NOT BE OVERCOME BY EVIL BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD

1. At the beginning of the New Year, I once again address the leaders of nations and all men and women of good will, who recognize the need to build peace in the world. For the theme of this 2005 World Day of Peace I have chosen Saint Paul's words in the Letter to the Romans: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (12:21). Evil is never defeated by evil; once that road is taken, rather than defeating evil, one will instead be defeated by evil. The great Apostle brings out a fundamental truth: peace is the outcome of a long and demanding battle which is only won when evil is defeated by good. If we consider the tragic scenario of violent fratricidal conflicts in different parts of the world, and the untold sufferings and injustices to which they have given rise, the only truly constructive choice is, as Saint Paul proposes, to flee what is evil and hold fast to what is good (cf. Rom 12:9).

347

Peace is a good to be promoted with good: it is a good for individuals, for families, for nations and for all humanity; yet it is one which needs to be maintained and fostered by decisions and actions inspired by good. We can appreciate the profound truth of another saying of Saint Paul: "Repay no one evil for evil" (Rom 12:17). The one way out of the vicious circle of requiting evil for evil is to accept the Apostle's words: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom 12:21). Evil, good and love 2. From the beginning, humanity has known the tragedy of evil and has struggled to grasp its roots and to explain its causes. Evil is not some impersonal, deterministic force at work in the world. It is the result of human freedom. Freedom, which distinguishes human beings from every other creature on earth, is ever present at the heart of the drama of evil. Evil always has a name and a face: the name and face of those men and women who freely choose it. Sacred Scripture teaches that at the dawn of history Adam and Eve rebelled against God, and Abel was killed by Cain, his brother (cf. Gen 3-4). These were the first wrong choices, which were succeeded by countless others down the centuries. Each of these choices has an intrinsic moral dimension, involving specific individual responsibilities and the fundamental relationship of each person with God, with others and with all of creation. At its deepest level, evil is a tragic rejection of the demands of love(1). Moral good, on the other hand, is born of love, shows itself as love and is directed towards love. All this is particularly evident to Christians, who know that their membership in the one mystical Body of Christ sets them in a particular relationship not only with the Lord but also with their brothers and sisters. The inner logic of Christian love, which in the Gospel is the living source of moral goodness, leads even to the love of one's enemies: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink" (Rom 12:20). The "grammar" of the universal moral law 3. If we look to the present state of the world, we cannot help but note the disturbing spread of various social and political manifestations of evil: from social disorders to anarchy and war, from injustice to acts of violence and killing. To steer a path between the conflicting claims of good and evil, the human family urgently needs to preserve and esteem that common patrimony of moral values bestowed by God himself. For this reason, Saint Paul encourages all those determined to overcome evil with good to be noble and disinterested in fostering generosity and peace (cf. Rom 12:17-21).

The inner logic of Christian love, which in the Gospel is the living source of moral goodness, leads even to the love of one's enemies

348

Ten years ago, in addressing the General Assembly of the United Nations about the need for common commitment to the service of peace, I made reference to the "grammar" of the universal moral law(2), to which the Church appeals in her various pronouncements in this area. By inspiring common values and principles, this law unites human beings, despite their different cultures, and is itself unchanging: "it subsists under the flux of ideas and customs and supports their progress... Even when it is rejected in its very principles, it cannot be destroyed or removed from the heart of man. It always rises again in the life of individuals and societies"(3). 4. This common grammar of the moral law requires ever greater commitment and responsibility in ensuring that the life of individuals and of peoples is respected and advanced. In this light, the evils of a social and political nature which afflict the world, particularly those provoked by outbreaks of violence, are to be vigorously condemned. I think immediately of the beloved continent of Africa, where conflicts which have already claimed millions of victims are still continuing. Or the dangerous situation of Palestine, the Land of Jesus, where the fabric of mutual understanding, torn by a conflict which is fed daily by acts of violence and reprisal, cannot yet be mended in justice and truth. And what of the troubling phenomenon of terrorist violence, which appears to be driving the whole world towards a future of fear and anguish? Finally, how can we not think with profound regret of the drama unfolding in Iraq, which has given rise to tragic situations of uncertainty and insecurity for all?

To attain the good of peace there must be a clear and conscious acknowledgment that violence is an unacceptable evil and that it never solves problems.

To attain the good of peace there must be a clear and conscious acknowledgment that violence is an unacceptable evil and that it never solves problems. "Violence is a lie, for it goes against the truth of our faith, the truth of our humanity. Violence destroys what it claims to defend: the dignity, the life, the freedom of human beings"(4). What is needed is a great effort to form consciences and to educate the younger generation to goodness by upholding that integral and fraternal humanism which the Church proclaims and promotes. This is the foundation for a social, economic and political order respectful of the dignity, freedom and fundamental rights of each person. The good of peace and the common good

5. Fostering peace by overcoming evil with good requires careful reflection on the common good(5) and on its social and political implications. When the common good is promoted at every level, peace is promoted. Can an individual find complete fulfilment without taking account of his social nature, that is, his being "with" and "for" others? The common good closely concerns him. It closely concerns every expression of his social nature: the family, groups, associations, cities, regions, states, the community of peoples and nations. Each person, in some way, is called to work for the common good, constantly looking out for the good of others as if it were his own. This responsibility belongs in a particular way to political authorities at every
349

level, since they are called to create that sum of social conditions which permit and foster in human beings the integral development of their person(6). The common good therefore demands respect for and the integral promotion of the person and his fundamental rights, as well as respect for and the promotion of the rights of nations on the universal plane. In this regard, the Second Vatican Council observed that "the increasingly close interdependence gradually encompassing the entire world is leading to an increasingly universal common good... and this involves rights and duties with respect to the whole human race. Every social group must take account of the needs and legitimate aspirations of other groups and the common good of the entire human family"(7). The good of humanity as a whole, including future generations, calls for true international cooperation, to which every nation must offer its contribution(8). Certain reductive visions of humanity tend to present the common good as a purely socioeconomic state of well-being lacking any transcendent purpose, thus emptying it of its deepest meaning. Yet the common good has a transcendent dimension, for God is the ultimate end of all his creatures(9). Christians know that Jesus has shed full light on how the true common good of humanity is to be achieved. History journeys towards Christ and in him finds its culmination: because of Christ, through Christ and for Christ, every human reality can be led to complete fulfilment in God. The good of peace and the use of the world's goods 6. Since the good of peace is closely linked to the development of all peoples, the ethical requirements for the use of the earth's goods must always be taken into account. The Second Vatican Council rightly recalled that "God intended the earth and all it contains for the use of everyone and of all peoples; so that the good things of creation should be available equally to all, with justice as guide and charity in attendance"(10). As a member of the human family, each person becomes as it were a citizen of the world, with consequent duties and rights, since all human beings are united by a common origin and the same supreme destiny. By the mere fact of being conceived, a child is entitled to rights and deserving of care and attention; and someone has the duty to provide these. The condemnation of racism, the protection of minors, the provision of aid to displaced persons and refugees, and the mobilization of international solidarity towards all the needy are nothing other than consistent applications of the principle of world citizenship. 7. The good of peace should be seen today as closely related to the new goods derived from progress in science and technology. These too, in application of the principle of the universal destination of the earth's goods, need to be put at the service of humanity's basic needs. Appropriate initiatives on the international level can give full practical implementation to the principle of the universal destination of goods by guaranteeing to all individuals and nations

350

 the basic conditions for sharing in development. This becomes possible once the barriers and monopolies that marginalize many peoples are removed(11). The good of peace will be better ensured if the international community takes on greater responsibility for what are commonly called public goods. These are goods which all citizens automatically enjoy, without having consciously chosen them or contributed to them in any way. Such is the case, for example, at the national level, with such goods as the judiciary system, the defence system and the network of highways and railways. In our world the phenomenon of increased globalization means that more and more public goods are taking on a global character, and as a result common interests are daily increasing. We need but think of the fight against poverty, the promotion of peace and security, concern for climate change and disease control. The international community needs to respond to these interests with a broader network of juridical accords aimed at regulating the use of public goods and inspired by universal principles of fairness and solidarity. 8. The principle of the universal destination of goods can also make possible a more effective approach to the challenge of poverty, particularly when we consider the extreme poverty in which millions of people are still living. The international community, at the beginning of the new millennium, set the priority of halving their number by the year 2015. The Church supports and encourages this commitment and invites all who believe in Christ to show, practically and in every sector, a preferential love for the poor(12). The tragedy of poverty remains closely linked to the issue of the foreign debt of poor countries. Despite significant progress in this area, the problem has not yet been adequately resolved. Fifteen years ago I called public attention to the fact that the foreign debt of poor countries "is closely related to a series of other problems such as foreign investment, the proper functioning of the major international organizations, the price of raw materials and so forth"(13). Recent moves in favour of debt reduction, centred mainly on the needs of the poor, have certainly improved the quality of economic growth. Yet, because of a number of factors, this growth is still quantitatively insufficient, especially in relation to the millennium goals. Poor countries remain trapped in a vicious circle: low income and weak growth limit savings and, in turn, weak investments and an inefficient use of savings do not favour growth. 9. As Pope Paul VI stated and as I myself have reaffirmed, the only really effective means of enabling States to deal with the grave problem of poverty is to provide them with the necessary resources through foreign financial aid public and private granted under reasonable conditions, within the framework of international commercial relations regulated with fairness(14). What is urgently needed is a moral and economic mobilization, one which respects agreements already made in favour of poor countries, and is at the same time prepared to review those agreements which have proved excessively burdensome for some countries. In this regard, new impulse should be given to Public Aid for Development, and new forms of financing for development should be explored, whatever the difficulties entailed(15). Some governments are
351

already looking carefully at promising mechanisms for this; these significant initiatives should be carried out in a spirit of authentic sharing, with respect for the principle of subsidiarity. The management of financial resources destined to the development of poor countries should also entail scrupulous adherence, on the part of both donors and recipients, to sound administrative practices. The Church encourages and contributes to these efforts. One need only mention the significant contribution made by the many Catholic agencies dedicated to aid and development. 10. At the end of the Great Jubilee of the year 2000, in my Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, I spoke of the urgent need for a new creativity in charity(16), in order to spread the Gospel of hope in the world. This need is clearly seen when we consider the many difficult problems standing in the way of development in Africa: numerous armed conflicts, pandemic diseases aggravated by extreme poverty, and political instability leading to widespread insecurity. These are tragic situations which call for a radically new direction for Africa: there is a need to create new forms of solidarity, at bilateral and multilateral levels, through a more decisive commitment on the part of all, with complete conviction that the well-being of the peoples of Africa is an indispensable condition for the attainment of the universal common good. May the peoples of Africa become the protagonists of their own future and their own cultural, civil, social and economic development! May Africa cease to be a mere recipient of aid, and become a responsible agent of convinced and productive sharing! Achieving this goal calls for a new political culture, especially in the area of international cooperation. Once again I wish to state that failure to honour the repeated promises of Public Aid for Development, the still unresolved question of the heavy foreign debt of African countries and the failure to give those countries special consideration in international commercial relations, represent grave obstacles to peace which urgently need to be addressed and resolved. Today more than ever, a decisive condition for bringing peace to the world is an acknowledgement of the interdependence between wealthy and poor countries, such that "development either becomes shared in common by every part of the world or it undergoes a process of regression even in zones marked by constant progress"(17). The universality of evil and Christian hope 11. Faced with the many tragic situations present in the world, Christians confess with humble trust that God alone can enable individuals and peoples to overcome evil and achieve good. By his death and resurrection, Christ has redeemed us and ransomed us "with a price" (1 Cor 6:20; 7:23), gaining salvation for all. With his help, everyone can defeat evil with good. Based on the certainty that evil will not prevail, Christians nourish an invincible hope which sustains their efforts to promote justice and peace. Despite the personal and social sins which mark all human activity, hope constantly gives new impulse to the commitment to justice and peace, as well as firm confidence in the possibility of building a better world.

352

Although the "mystery of iniquity" (2 Th 2:7) is present and active in the world, we must not forget that redeemed humanity is capable of resisting it. Each believer, created in the image of God and redeemed by Christ, "who in a certain way has united himself to each human being"(18), can cooperate in the triumph of good. The work of "the Spirit of the Lord fills the earth" (cf. Wis 1:7). Christians, especially the lay faithful, "should not, then, hide their hope in the depth of their hearts, but rather express it through the structures of their secular lives in continual conversion and in wrestling against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of iniquity' (Eph 6:12)"(19). 12. No man or woman of good will can renounce the struggle to overcome evil with good. This fight can be fought effectively only with the weapons of love. When good overcomes evil, love prevails and where love prevails, there peace prevails. This is the teaching of the Gospel, restated by the Second Vatican Council: "the fundamental law of human perfection, and consequently of the transformation of the world, is the new commandment of love"(20). The same is true in the social and political spheres. In this regard, Pope LeoXIII wrote that those charged with preserving peace in relations between peoples should foster in themselves and kindle in others "charity, the mistress and queen of all the virtues"(21). Christians must be convinced witnesses of this truth. They should show by their lives that love is the only force capable of bringing fulfilment to persons and societies, the only force ca- pable of directing the course of history in the way of goodness and peace.

No man or woman of good will can renounce the struggle to overcome evil with good. This fight can be fought effectively only with the weapons of love. When good overcomes evil, love prevails and where love prevails, there peace prevails.

During this year dedicated to the Eucharist, may the sons and daughters of the Church find in the supreme sacrament of love the wellspring of all communion: communion with Jesus the Redeemer and, in him, with every human being. By Christ's death and resurrection, made sacramentally present in each Eucharistic celebration, we are saved from evil and enabled to do good. Through the new life which Christ has bestowed on us, we can recognize one another as brothers and sisters, despite every difference of language, nationality and culture. In a word, by sharing in the one bread and the one cup, we come to realize that we are "God's family" and that together we can make our own effective contribution to building a world based on the values of justice, freedom and peace. From the Vatican, 8 December 2004. JOHN PAUL II

353

NOTES (1) In this regard, Saint Augustine observed that "two loves have established two cities: love of self, carried to contempt for God, has given rise to the earthly city; love of God, carried to contempt for self, has given rise to the heavenly city" (De Civitate Dei, XIV:28). (2) Cf. Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations for its Fiftieth Anniversary (5 October 1995), 3: Insegnamenti XVIII/2 (1995), 732. (3) Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1958. (4) John Paul II, Homily at Drogheda, Ireland (29 September 1979), 9: AAS 71 (1979), 1081. (5) The common good is widely understood to be "the sum of those conditions of social life which enable groups and individuals to achieve their fulfilment more completely and readily". Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 26. (6) Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), 417. (7) Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 26. (8) Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), 421. (9) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 41: AAS 83 (1991), 844. (10) Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 69. (11) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 35: AAS 83 (1991), 837. (12) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 42: AAS 80 (1988), 572. (13) Address to Participants in the Study Week of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (27 October 1989), 6: Insegnamenti XII/2 (1989), 1050. (14) Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 56-61: AAS 59 (1967), 285-287; John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 33-34: AAS 80 (1988), 557-560. (15) Cf. John Paul II, Message to the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace: L'Osservatore Romano, 10 July 2004, p. 5. (16) Cf. No. 50: AAS 93 (2001), 303. (17) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 17: AAS 80 (1988) 532. (18) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 22. (19) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 35.
354

(20) Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 38. (21) Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum: Acta Leonis XIII 11 (1892), 143; cf. Benedict XV, Encyclical Letter Pacem Dei: AAS 12 (1920), 215.

355

2006: IN TRUTH, PEACE

Pope Benedict XVIs first peace message reveals that peace cannot be established without being founded upon the truth of God and Man. Peace is not the absence of conflict, but harmonious relationship amidst a rightly ordered societyordered according to truth. The root of conflict is sin, and sin began with the lies of the father of lies, Satan, who deceived the first of us, tempting us to doubt both God and man. The restoration of truth compels us to seek God and goodness and peace. Among the finer expressions of the truth of peace is international humanitarian law, which places limits upon conflicts that must always be respected by all parties. Terrorism, nihilism, and religious fanaticism must be condemned not only as enemies of man, but as distortions of truth. Christians must dedicate themselves to proclaiming and living the Gospel of peace, working to disarm nations, and using the resources of the earth not for violence, but for serving the poor. This will take education, but more importantlyprayer and the grace of God.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 2006 IN TRUTH, PEACE

1. In this traditional Message for the World Day of Peace at the beginning of the New Year, I offer cordial greetings and good wishes to men and women everywhere, especially those who are suffering as a result of violence and armed conflicts. My greeting is one filled with hope for a more serene world, a world in which more and more individuals and communities are committed to the paths of justice and peace. 2. Before all else, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to my Predecessors, the great Popes Paul VI and John Paul II, who were astute promoters of peace. Guided by the spirit of the Beatitudes, they discerned in the many historical events which marked their respective Pontificates the providential intervention of God, who never ceases to be concerned for the future of the human race. As tireless heralds of the Gospel, they constantly invited everyone to make God the starting-point of their efforts on behalf of concord and peace throughout the world. This, my first Message for the World Day of Peace, is meant to follow in the path of their noble
356

teaching; with it, I wish to reiterate the steadfast resolve of the Holy See to continue serving the cause of peace. The very name Benedict, which I chose on the day of my election to the Chair of Peter, is a sign of my personal commitment to peace. In taking this name, I wanted to evoke both the Patron Saint of Europe, who inspired a civilization of peace on the whole continent, and Pope Benedict XV, who condemned the First World War as a ''useless slaughter'' and worked for a universal acknowledgment of the lofty demands of peace. 3. The theme chosen for this year's reflectionIn truth, peace expresses the conviction that wherever and whenever men and women are enlightened by the splendour of truth, they naturally set out on the path of peace. The Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, promulgated forty years ago at the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, stated that mankind will not succeed in ''building a truly more human world for everyone, everywhere on earth, unless all people are renewed in spirit and converted to the truth of peace''. But what do those words, ''the truth of peace'', really mean? To respond adequately to this question, we must realize that peace cannot be reduced to the simple absence of armed conflict, but needs to be understood as ''the fruit of an order which has been planted in human society by its divine Founder'', an order ''which must be brought about by humanity in its thirst for ever more perfect justice''. As the result of an order planned and willed by the love of God, peace has an intrinsic and invincible truth of its own, and corresponds ''to an irrepressible yearning and hope dwelling within us''. 4. Seen in this way, peace appears as a heavenly gift and a divine grace which demands at every level the exercise of the highest responsibility: that of conforming human historyin truth, justice, freedom and loveto the divine order. Whenever there is a loss of fidelity to the transcendent order, and a loss of respect for that ''grammar'' of dialogue which is the universal moral law written on human hearts, whenever the integral development of the person and the protection of his fundamental rights are hindered or denied, whenever countless people are forced to endure intolerable injustices and inequalities, how can we hope that the good of peace will be realized? The essential elements which make up the truth of that good are missing. Saint Augustine described peace as tranquillitas ordinis, the tranquillity of order. By this, he meant a situation which ultimately enables the truth about man to be fully respected and realized. 5. Who and what, then, can prevent the coming of peace? Sacred Scripture, in its very first book, Genesis, points to the lie told at the very beginning of history by the animal with a forked tongue, whom the Evangelist John calls ''the father of lies'' (Jn 8:44). Lying is also one of the sins spoken of in the final chapter of the last book of the Bible, Revelation, which bars liars from the heavenly Jerusalem: ''outside are... all who love falsehood'' (22:15). Lying is linked to the tragedy of sin and its perverse consequences, which have had, and continue to have, devastating effects on the lives of individuals and nations. We need but think of the events of the past century, when aberrant ideological and political systems wilfully twisted the truth and brought about the exploitation and murder of an appalling number of men and women, wiping out entire families and communities. After experiences like these, how can we fail to be seriously concerned about lies in our own time, lies which are the framework for menacing scenarios of
357

death in many parts of the world. Any authentic search for peace must begin with the realization that the problem of truth and untruth is the concern of every man and woman; it is decisive for the peaceful future of our planet. 6. Peace is an irrepressible yearning present in the heart of each person, regardless of his or her particular cultural identity. Consequently, everyone should feel committed to service of this great good, and should strive to prevent any form of untruth from poisoning relationships. All people are members of one and the same family. An extreme exaltation of differences clashes with this fundamental truth. We need to regain an awareness that we share a common destiny which is ultimately transcendent, so as to maximize our historical and cultural differences, not in opposition to, but in cooperation with, people belonging to other cultures. These simple truths are what make peace possible; they are easily understood whenever we listen to our own hearts with pure intentions. Peace thus comes to be seen in a new light: not as the mere absence of war, but as a harmonious coexistence of individual citizens within a society governed by justice, one in which the good is also achieved, to the extent possible, for each of them. The truth of peace calls upon everyone to cultivate productive and sincere relationships; it encourages them to seek out and to follow the paths of forgiveness and reconciliation, to be transparent in their dealings with others, and to be faithful to their word. In a particular way, the followers of Christ, recognizing the insidious presence of evil and the need for that liberation brought by the divine Master, look to him with confidence, in the knowledge that ''he committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips'' (1 Pet 2:22; cf. Is 53:9). Jesus defined himself as the Truth in person, and, in addressing the seer of the Book of Revelation, he states his complete aversion to ''every one who loves and practices falsehood'' (Rev 22:15). He has disclosed the full truth about humanity and about human history. The power of his grace makes it possible to live ''in'' and ''by'' truth, since he alone is completely true and faithful. Jesus is the truth which gives us peace. 7. The truth of peace must also let its beneficial light shine even amid the tragedy of war. The Fathers of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, in the Pastoral Constitution the truth of peace Gaudium et Spes, pointed out that ''not everything exists even in the automatically becomes permissible between hostile parties midst of war once war has regrettably commenced''. As a means of limiting the devastating consequences of war as much as possible, especially for civilians, the international community has created an international humanitarian law. In a variety of situations and in different settings, the Holy See has expressed its support for this humanitarian law, and has called for it to be respected and promptly implemented, out of the conviction that the truth of peace exists even in the midst of war. International humanitarian law ought to be considered as one of the finest and most effective expressions of the intrinsic demands of the truth of peace. Precisely for this reason, respect for that law must be considered binding on all peoples. Its value must be appreciated and its correct application ensured; it must also be brought

358

up to date by precise norms applicable to the changing scenarios of today's armed conflicts and the use of ever newer and more sophisticated weapons. 8. Here I wish to express gratitude to the international organizations and to all those who are daily engaged in the application of international humanitarian law. Nor can I fail to mention the many soldiers engaged in the delicate work of resolving conflicts and restoring the necessary conditions for peace. I wish to remind them of the words of the Second Vatican Council: ''All those who enter the military in service to their country should look upon themselves as guardians of the security and freedom of their fellow-countrymen, and, in carrying out this duty properly, they too contribute to the establishment of peace''. On this demanding front the Catholic Church's military ordinariates carry out their pastoral activity: I encourage both the military Ordinaries and military chaplains to be, in every situation and context, faithful heralds of the truth of peace. 9. Nowadays, the truth of peace continues to be dramatically compromised and rejected by terrorism, whose criminal threats and attacks leave the world in a state of fear and insecurity. My predecessors Paul VI and John Paul II frequently pointed out the awful responsibility borne by terrorists, while at the same time condemning their senseless and deadly strategies. These are often the fruit of a tragic and disturbing nihilism which Pope John Paul II described in these words: ''Those who kill by acts of terrorism actually despair of humanity, of life, of the future. In their view, everything is to be hated and destroyed''. Not only nihilism, but also religious fanaticism, today often labeled fundamentalism, can inspire and encourage terrorist thinking and activity. From the beginning, John Paul II was aware of the explosive danger represented by fanatical fundamentalism, and he condemned it unsparingly, while warning against attempts to impose, rather than to propose for others freely to accept, one's own convictions about the truth. As he wrote: ''To try to impose on others by violent means what we consider to be the truth is an offence against the dignity of the human being, and ultimately an offence against God in whose image he is made''. 10. Looked at closely, nihilism and the fundamentalism of which we are speaking share an erroneous relationship to truth: the nihilist denies the very existence of truth, while the fundamentalist claims to be able to impose it by force. Despite their different origins and cultural backgrounds, both show a dangerous contempt for human beings and human life, and ultimately for God himself. Indeed, this shared tragic outcome results from a distortion of the full truth about God: nihilism denies God's existence and his provident presence in history, while fanatical fundamentalism disfigures his loving and merciful countenance, replacing him with idols made in its own image. In analyzing the causes of the contemporary phenomenon of terrorism, consideration should be given, not only to its political and social causes, but also to its deeper cultural, religious and ideological motivations. 11. In view of the risks which humanity is facing in our time, all Catholics in every part of the world have a duty to proclaim and embody ever more fully the ''Gospel of Peace'', and to show that acknowledgment of the full truth of God is the first, indispensable condition for
359

consolidating the truth of peace. God is Love which saves, a loving Father who wants to see his children look upon one another as brothers and sisters, working responsibly to place their various talents at the service of the common good of the human family. God is the unfailing source of the hope which gives meaning to personal and community life. God, and God alone, brings to fulfilment every work of good and of peace. History has amply demonstrated that declaring war on God in order to eradicate him from human hearts only leads a fearful and impoverished humanity toward decisions which are ultimately futile. This realization must impel believers in Christ to become convincing witnesses of the God who is inseparably truth and love, placing themselves at the service of peace in broad cooperation with other Christians, the followers of other religions and with all men and women of good will. 12. Looking at the present world situation, we can note with satisfaction certain signs of hope in the work of building peace. I think, for example, of the decrease in the number of armed conflicts. Here we are speaking of a few, very tentative steps forward along the path of peace, yet ones which even now are able to hold out a future of greater serenity, particularly for the suffering people of Palestine, the land of Jesus, and for those living in some areas of Africa and Asia, who have waited for years for the positive conclusion of the ongoing processes of pacification and reconciliation. These are reassuring signs which need to be confirmed and consolidated by tireless cooperation and activity, above all on the part of the international community and its agencies charged with preventing conflicts and providing a peaceful solution to those in course. 13. All this must not, however, lead to a naive optimism. It must not be forgotten that, tragically, violent fratricidal conflicts and devastating wars still continue to sow tears and death in vast parts of the world. Situations exist where conflict, hidden like flame beneath ashes, can flare up anew and cause immense destruction. Those authorities who, rather than making every effort to promote peace, incite their citizens to hostility towards other nations, bear a heavy burden of responsibility: in regions particularly at risk, they jeopardize the delicate balance achieved at the cost of patient negotiations and thus help make the future of humanity more uncertain and How can there ever be ominous. What can be said, too, about those governments a future of peace when which count on nuclear arms as a means of ensuring the investments are still security of their countries? Along with countless persons of made in the good will, one can state that this point of view is not only production of arms baneful but also completely fallacious. In a nuclear war there and in research aimed would be no victors, only victims. The truth of peace requires at developing new that all whether those governments which openly or secretly ones? possess nuclear arms, or those planning to acquire them agree to change their course by clear and firm decisions, and strive for a progressive and concerted nuclear disarmament. The resources which would be saved could then be employed

360

in projects of development capable of benefiting all their people, especially the poor. 14. In this regard, one can only note with dismay the evidence of a continuing growth in military expenditure and the flourishing arms trade, while the political and juridic process established by the international community for promoting disarmament is bogged down in general indifference. How can there ever be a future of peace when investments are still made in the production of arms and in research aimed at developing new ones? It can only be hoped that the international community will find the wisdom and courage to take up once more, jointly and with renewed conviction, the process of disarmament, and thus concretely ensure the right to peace enjoyed by every individual and every people. By their commitment to safeguarding the good of peace, the various agencies of the international community will regain the authority needed to make their initiatives credible and effective. 15. The first to benefit from a decisive choice for disarmament will be the poor countries, which rightly demand, after having heard so many promises, the concrete implementation of their right to development. That right was solemnly reaffirmed in the recent General Assembly of the United Nations Organization, which this year celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of its foundation. The Catholic Church, while confirming her confidence in this international body, calls for the institutional and operative renewal which would enable it to respond to the changed needs of the present time, characterized by the vast phenomenon of globalization. The United Nations Organization must become a more efficient instrument for promoting the values of justice, solidarity and peace in the world. For her part, the Church, in fidelity to the mission she has received from her Founder, is committed to proclaiming everywhere ''the Gospel of peace''. In the firm conviction that she offers an indispensable service to all those who strive to promote peace, she reminds everyone that, if peace is to be authentic and lasting, it must be built on the bedrock of the truth about God and the truth about man. This truth alone can create a sensitivity to justice and openness to love and solidarity, while encouraging everyone to work for a truly free and harmonious human family. The foundations of authentic peace rest on the truth about God and man. 16. At the conclusion of this Message, I would like to address a particular word to all believers in Christ, inviting them once again to be attentive and generous disciples of the Lord. When we hear the Gospel, dear brothers and sisters, we learn to build peace on the truth of a daily life inspired by the commandment of love. Every community should undertake an extensive process of education and witness aimed at making everyone more aware of the need for a fuller appreciation of the truth of peace. At the same time I ask for an increase of prayers, since peace is above all a gift of God, a gift to be implored incessantly. By God's help, our proclamation and witness to the truth of peace will be all the more convincing and illuminating. With confidence and filial abandonment let us lift up our eyes to Mary, Mother of the Prince of Peace. At the beginning of this New Year, let us ask her to help all God's People, wherever they may be, to work for peace and to be guided by the light of the truth that sets man free (cf. Jn 8:32). Through Mary's intercession, may all mankind grow in esteem for this fundamental good and strive to
361

make it ever more present in our world, and, in this way, to offer a safer and more serene future to generations yet to come. From the Vatican, 8 December 2005. BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

362

2007: THE HUMAN PERSON, THE HEART OF PEACE

Respect for the Person, especially in its nature, rights, and duties, is a condition for true peace. For the person is not a something, but a someone, with dignity rooted in being the very image of God. As persons, we are given much, and what we are given, we must use properly. So too is peace both a gift and task. Using our reason, we can discern a universal moral law that promotes the person, and we are bound by reason and conscience to follow this law. Supreme among this law are the human rights to life and religionboth of which are violated so often in our world. Life is destroyed in war and poverty, and along with it, the very earth that sustains humanity. Reductive visions of man that make human rights negotiable lead to outright disregard of not only rights in the abstract, but in their embodiment in international lawas we have seen in so many modern conflicts. We must prevent not only such violations, but the failure of war itselfmaking disarmament of priority of peacemaking. We can find the grace to do so only by finding the face of Christ in the face of every human person.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 2007 THE HUMAN PERSON, THE HEART OF PEACE

1. At the beginning of the new year, I wish to extend prayerful good wishes for peace to Governments, leaders of nations and all men and women of good will. In a special way, I invoke peace upon all those experiencing pain and suffering, those living under the threat of violence and armed aggression, and those who await their human and social emancipation, having had their dignity trampled upon. I invoke peace upon children, who by their innocence enrich humanity with goodness and hope, and by their sufferings compel us all to work for justice and peace. Out of concern for children, especially those whose future is compromised by exploitation and the malice of unscrupulous adults, I wish on this World Day of Peace to encourage everyone to reflect on the theme: The Human Person, the Heart of Peace. I am convinced that respect for the person promotes peace and that, in building peace, the foundations are laid for an authentic integral humanism. In this way a serene future is prepared for coming generations. The human person and peace: gift and task
363

2. Sacred Scripture affirms that God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them (Gen 1:27). As one created in the image of God, each individual human being has the dignity of a person; he or she is not just something, but someone, capable of self-knowledge, self-possession, free self-giving and entering into communion with others. At the same time, each person is called, by grace, to a covenant with the Creator, called to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his place(). From this supernatural perspective, one can understand the task entrusted to human beings to mature in the ability to love and to contribute to the progress of the world, renewing it in justice and in peace. In a striking synthesis, Saint Augustine teaches that God created us without our aid; but he did not choose to save us without our aid(). Consequently all human beings have the duty to cultivate an awareness of this twofold aspect of gift and task. 3. Likewise, peace is both gift and task. If it is true that peace between individuals and peoples the ability to live together and to build relationships of justice and solidaritycalls for unfailing commitment on our part, it is also true, and indeed more so, that peace is a gift from God. Peace is an aspect of God's activity, made manifest both in the creation of an orderly and harmonious universe and also in the redemption of humanity that needs to be rescued from the disorder of sin. Creation and Redemption thus provide a key that helps us begin to understand the meaning of our life on earth. My venerable predecessor Pope John Paul II, addressing the General Assembly of the United Nations on 5 October 1995, stated that we do not live in an irrational or meaningless world... there is a moral logic which is built into human life and which makes possible dialogue between individuals and peoples() . The transcendent grammar, that is to say the body of rules for individual action and the reciprocal relationships of persons in accordance with justice and solidarity, is inscribed on human consciences, in which the wise plan of God is reflected. As I recently had occasion to reaffirm: we believe that at the beginning of everything is the Eternal Word, Reason and not Unreason(). Peace is thus also a task demanding of everyone a personal response consistent with God's plan. The criterion inspiring this response can only be respect for the grammar written on human hearts by the divine Creator. From this standpoint, the norms of the natural law should not be viewed as externally imposed decrees, as restraints upon human freedom. Rather, they should be welcomed as a call to carry out faithfully the universal divine plan inscribed in the nature of human beings. Guided by these norms, all peoples within their respective culturescan draw near to the greatest mystery, which is the mystery of God. Today too, recognition and respect for natural law represents the foundation for a dialogue between the followers of the different religions and between believers and non-believers. As a great point of convergence, this is also a fundamental presupposition for authentic peace. The right to life and to religious freedom 4. The duty to respect the dignity of each human being, in whose nature the image of the Creator is reflected, means in consequence that the person can not be disposed of at will. Those with
364

greater political, technical, or economic power may not use that power to violate the rights of others who are less fortunate. Peace is based on respect for the rights of all. Conscious of this, the Church champions the fundamental rights of each person. In particular she promotes and defends respect for the life and the religious freedom of everyone. Respect for the right to life at every stage firmly establishes a principle of decisive importance: life is a gift which is not completely at the disposal of the subject. Similarly, the affirmation of the right to religious freedom places the human being in a relationship with a transcendent principle which withdraws him from human caprice. The right to life and to the free expression of personal faith in God is not subject to the power of man. Peace requires the establishment of a clear boundary between what is at man's disposal and what is not: in this way unacceptable intrusions into the patrimony of specifically human values will be avoided. 5. As far as the right to life is concerned, we must denounce its widespread violation in our society: alongside the victims of armed conflicts, terrorism and the different forms of violence, there are the silent deaths caused by hunger, abortion, experimentation on human embryos and euthanasia. How can we fail to see in all this an attack on peace? Abortion and embryonic experimentation constitute a direct denial of that attitude of acceptance of others which is indispensable for establishing lasting relationships of peace. As far as the free expression of personal faith is concerned, another disturbing symptom of lack of peace in the world is represented by the difficulties that both Christians and the followers of other religions frequently encounter in publicly and freely professing their religious convictions. Speaking of Christians in particular, I must point out with pain that not only are they at times prevented from doing so; in some States they are actually persecuted, and even recently tragic cases of ferocious violence have been recorded. There are regimes that impose a single religion upon everyone, while secular regimes often lead not so much to violent persecution as to systematic cultural denigration of religious beliefs. In both instances, a fundamental human right is not being respected, with serious repercussions for peaceful coexistence. This can only promote a mentality and culture that is not conducive to peace. The natural equality of all persons 6. At the origin of many tensions that threaten peace are surely the many unjust inequalities still tragically present in our world. Particularly insidious among these are, on the one hand,
365

As far as the right to life is concerned, we must denounce its widespread violation in our society: alongside the victims of armed conflicts, terrorism and the different forms of violence, there are the silent deaths caused by hunger, abortion, experimentation on human embryos and euthanasia. How can we fail to see in all this an attack on peace?

inequality in access to essential goods like food, water, shelter, health; on the other hand, there are persistent inequalities between men and women in the exercise of basic human rights. A fundamental element of building peace is the recognition of the essential equality of human persons springing from their common transcendental dignity. Equality on this level is a good belonging to all, inscribed in that natural grammar which is deducible from the divine plan of creation; it is a good that cannot be ignored or scorned without causing serious repercussions which put peace at risk. The extremely grave deprivation afflicting many peoples, especially in Africa, lies at the root of violent reactions and thus inflicts a terrible wound on peace. 7. Similarly, inadequate consideration for the condition of women helps to create instability in the fabric of society. I think of the exploitation of women who are treated as objects, and of the many ways that a lack of respect is shown for their dignity; I also think in a different contextof the mindset persisting in some cultures, where women are still firmly subordinated to the arbitrary decisions of men, with grave consequences for their personal dignity and for the exercise of their fundamental freedoms. There can be no illusion of a secure peace until these forms of discrimination are also overcome, since they injure the personal dignity impressed by the Creator upon every human being(). The ecology of peace 8. In his Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, Pope John Paul II wrote: Not only has God given the earth to man, who must use it with respect for the original good purpose for which it was given to him, but man too is God's gift to man. He must therefore respect the natural and moral structure with which he has been endowed(). By responding to this charge, entrusted to them by the Creator, men and women can join in bringing about a world of peace. Alongside the ecology of nature, there exists what can be called a human ecology, which in turn demands a social ecology. All this means that humanity, if it truly desires peace, must be increasingly conscious of the links between natural ecology, or respect for nature, and human ecology. Experience shows that disregard for the environment always harms human coexistence, and vice versa. It becomes more and more evident that there is an inseparable link between peace with creation and peace among men. Both of these presuppose peace with God. The poem-prayer of Saint Francis, known as the Canticle of Brother Sun, is a wonderful and ever timely example of this multifaceted ecology of peace. 9. The close connection between these two ecologies can be understood from the increasingly serious problem of energy supplies. In recent years, new nations have entered enthusiastically into industrial production, thereby increasing their energy needs. This has led to an unprecedented race for available resources. Meanwhile, some parts of the planet remain backward and development is effectively blocked, partly because of the rise in energy prices. What will happen to those peoples? What kind of development or non-development will be imposed on them by the scarcity of energy supplies? What injustices and conflicts will be
366

provoked by the race for energy sources? And what will be the reaction of those who are excluded from this race? These are questions that show how respect for nature is closely linked to the need to establish, between individuals and between nations, relationships that are attentive to the dignity of the person and capable of satisfying his or her authentic needs. The destruction of the environment, its improper or selfish use, and the violent hoarding of the earth's resources cause grievances, conflicts and wars, precisely because they are the consequences of an inhumane concept of development. Indeed, if development were limited to the technicaleconomic aspect, obscuring the moral-religious dimension, it would not be an integral human development, but a one-sided distortion which would end up by unleashing man's destructive capacities. Reductive visions of man 10. Thus there is an urgent need, even within the framework of current international difficulties and tensions, for a commitment to a human ecology that can favour the growth of the tree of peace. For this to happen, we must be guided by a vision of the person untainted by ideological and cultural prejudices or by political and economic interests which can instil hatred and violence. It is understandable that visions of man will vary from culture to culture. Yet what cannot be admitted is the cultivation of anthropological conceptions that contain the seeds of hostility and violence. Equally unacceptable are conceptions of God that would encourage intolerance and recourse to violence against others. war in God's name is This is a point which must be clearly reaffirmed: war in God's never acceptable! name is never acceptable! When a certain notion of God is at the origin of criminal acts, it is a sign that that notion has already become an ideology.

11. Today, however, peace is not only threatened by the conflict between reductive visions of man, in other words, between ideologies. It is also threatened by indifference as to what constitutes man's true nature. Many of our contemporaries actually deny the existence of a specific human nature and thus open the door to the most extravagant interpretations of what essentially constitutes a human being. Here too clarity is necessary: a weak vision of the person, which would leave room for every conception, even the most bizarre, only apparently favours peace. In reality, it hinders authentic dialogue and opens the way to authoritarian impositions, ultimately leaving the person defenceless and, as a result, easy prey to oppression and violence. Human rights and international organizations 12. A true and stable peace presupposes respect for human rights. Yet if these rights are grounded on a weak conception of the person, how can they fail to be themselves weakened? Here we can see how profoundly insufficient is a relativistic conception of the person when it
367

comes to justifying and defending his rights. The difficulty in this case is clear: rights are proposed as absolute, yet the foundation on which they are supposed to rest is merely relative. Can we wonder that, faced with the inconvenient demands posed by one right or another, someone will come along to question it or determine that it should be set aside? Only if they are grounded in the objective requirements of the nature bestowed on man by the Creator, can the rights attributed to him be affirmed without fear of contradiction. It goes without saying, moreover, that human rights imply corresponding duties. In this regard, Mahatma Gandhi said wisely: The Ganges of rights flows from the Himalaya of duties. Clarity over these basic presuppositions is needed if human rights, nowadays constantly under attack, are to be adequately defended. Without such clarity, the expression human rights will end up being predicated of quite different subjects: in some cases, the human person marked by permanent dignity and rights that are valid always, everywhere and for everyone, in other cases a person with changing dignity and constantly negotiable rights, with regard to content, time and place. 13. The protection of human rights is constantly referred to by international bodies and, in particular, the United Nations Organization, which set itself the fundamental task of promoting the human rights indicated in the 1948 Universal Declaration. That Declaration is regarded as a sort of moral commitment assumed by all mankind. There is a profound truth to this, especially if the rights described in the Declaration are held to be based not simply on the decisions of the assembly that approved them, but on man's very nature and his inalienable dignity as a person created by God. Consequently it is important for international agencies not to lose sight of the natural foundation of human rights. This would enable them to avoid the risk, unfortunately everpresent, of sliding towards a merely positivistic interpretation of those rights. Were that to happen, the international bodies would end up lacking the necessary authority to carry out their role as defenders of the fundamental rights of the person and of peoples, the chief justification for their very existence and activity. International humanitarian law and the internal law of States 14. The recognition that there exist inalienable human rights connected to our common human nature has led to the establishment of a body of international humanitarian law which States are committed to respect, even in the case of war. Unfortunately, to say nothing of past cases, this has not been consistently implemented in certain recent situations of war. Such, for example, was the case in the conflict that occurred a few months ago in southern Lebanon, where the duty to protect and help innocent victims and to avoid involving the civilian population was largely ignored. The heart-rending situation in Lebanon and the new shape of conflicts, especially since the terrorist threat unleashed completely new forms of violence, demand that the international community reaffirm international humanitarian law, and apply it to all present-day situations of armed conflict, including those not currently provided for by international law. Moreover, the scourge of terrorism demands a profound reflection on the ethical limits restricting the use of modern methods of guaranteeing internal security. Increasingly, wars are not declared, especially when they are initiated by terrorist groups determined to attain their ends by any means
368

available. In the face of the disturbing events of recent years, States cannot fail to recognize the need to establish clearer rules to counter effectively the dramatic decline that we are witnessing. War always represents a failure for the international community and a grave loss for humanity. When, despite every effort, war does break out, at least the essential principles of humanity and the basic values of all civil coexistence must be safeguarded; norms of conduct must be established that limit the damage as far as possible and help to alleviate the suffering of civilians and of all the victims of conflicts(). 15. Another disturbing issue is the desire recently shown by some States to acquire nuclear weapons. This has heightened even more the widespread climate of uncertainty and fear of a possible atomic catastrophe. We are brought back in time to the profound anxieties of the cold war period. When it came to an end, there was hope that the atomic peril had been definitively overcome and that mankind could finally breathe a lasting sigh of relief. How timely, in this regard, is the warning of the Second Vatican Council that every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and humanity, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation(). Unfortunately, threatening clouds continue to gather on humanity's horizon. The way to ensure a future of peace for everyone is found not only in international accords for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, but also in the determined commitment to seek their reduction and definitive dismantling. May every attempt be made to arrive through negotiation at the attainment of these objectives! The fate of the whole human family is at stake! The Church as safeguard of the transcendence of the human person 16. Finally, I wish to make an urgent appeal to the People of God: let every Christian be committed to tireless peace-making and strenuous defence of the dignity of the human person and his inalienable rights. With gratitude to the Lord for having called him to belong to his Church, which is the sign and safeguard of the transcendental dimension of the human person() in the world, the Christian will tirelessly implore from God the fundamental good of peace, which is of such primary importance in the life of each person. Moreover, he will be proud to serve the cause of peace with generous devotion, offering help to his brothers and sisters, especially those who, in addition to suffering poverty and need, are also deprived of this precious good. Jesus has revealed to us that God is love (1 Jn 4:8) and that the highest vocation of every person is love. In Christ we can find the ultimate reason for becoming staunch champions of human dignity and courageous builders of peace. 17. Let every believer, then, unfailingly contribute to the advancement of a true integral humanism in accordance with the teachings of the Encyclical Letters Populorum Progressio and Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, whose respective fortieth and twentieth anniversaries we prepare to celebrate this year. To the Queen of Peace, the Mother of Jesus Christ our peace (Eph 2:14), I
369

entrust my urgent prayer for all humanity at the beginning of the year 2007, to which we look with hearts full of hope, notwithstanding the dangers and difficulties that surround us. May Mary show us, in her Son, the Way of peace, and enlighten our vision, so that we can recognize Christ's face in the face of every human person, the heart of peace! From the Vatican, 8 December 2006. BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

(1) Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 357. (2) Sermo 169, 11, 13: PL 38, 923. (3) No. 3. (4) Homily at Islinger Feld, Regensburg, 12 September 2006. (5) Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the collaboration of men and women in the Church and in the world (31 May 2004), 15-16. (6) No. 38. (7) In this regard, the Catechism of the Catholic Church indicates strict and precise criteria: cf. 2307-2317.

370

2008: THE HUMAN FAMILY, A COMMUNITY OF PEACE

All of mankind is one family, and within the family of man, woman, and child, we learn the elements that constitute peace - not only in our homes, but in the entire world. The family is the primary school and agent of peace, and any obstacle to the family is an obstacle to peace, whether the obstacle is ideological or material. Just as peace requires a yes among all members of the family to one another, peach on earth requires all nations to say yes to one another. We must work together to protect our common home t he earthprudently cooperating to be good stewards of Gods creation. Moreover, we must share, according to the moral law written in every human heart. We must put an end to the arms race, and seek to demilitarize ourselves in mutual disarmament, especially in the dismantling of all nuclear weapons, for we are all one family!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 2008 THE HUMAN FAMILY, A COMMUNITY OF PEACE

1. At the beginning of a New Year, I wish to send my fervent good wishes for peace, together with a heartfelt message of hope to men and women throughout the world. I do so by offering for our common reflection the theme which I have placed at the beginning of this message. It is one which I consider particularly important: the human family, a community of peace. The first form of communion between persons is that born of the love of a man and a woman who decide to enter a stable union in order to build together a new family. But the peoples of the earth, too, are called to build relationships of solidarity and cooperation among themselves, as befits members of the one human family: All peoplesas the Second Vatican Council declaredare one community and have one origin, because God caused the whole human race to dwell on the face of the earth (cf. Acts 17:26); they also have one final end, God(1). The family, society and peace 2. The natural family, as an intimate communion of life and love, based on marriage between a man and a woman(2), constitutes the primary place of humanization' for the person and
371

society(3), and a cradle of life and love(4). The family is therefore rightly defined as the first natural society, a divine institution that stands at the foundation of life of the human person as the prototype of every social order(5). 3. Indeed, in a healthy family life we experience some of the fundamental elements of peace: justice and love between brothers and sisters, the role of authority expressed by parents, loving concern for the members who are weaker because of youth, sickness or old age, mutual help in the necessities of life, readiness to accept others and, if necessary, to forgive them. For this reason, the family is the first and indispensable teacher of peace. It is no wonder, therefore, that violence, if perpetrated in the family, is seen as particularly intolerable. Consequently, when it is said that the family is the primary living cell of society(6), something essential is being stated. The family is the foundation of society for this reason too: because it enables its members in decisive ways to experience peace. It follows that the human community cannot do without the service provided by the family. Where can young people gradually learn to savour the genuine taste of peace better than in the original nest which nature prepares for them? The language of the family is a language of peace; we must always draw from it, lest we lose the vocabulary of peace. In the inflation of its speech, society cannot cease to refer to that grammar which all children learn from the looks and the actions of their mothers and fathers, even before they learn from their words. 4. The family, since it has the duty of educating its members, is the subject of specific rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which represents a landmark of juridic civilization of truly universal value, states that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State(7). For its part, the Holy See sought to acknowledge a special juridic dignity proper to the family by publishing the Charter of the Rights of the Family. In its Preamble we read: the rights of the person, even if they are expressed as rights of the individual, have a fundamental social dimension which finds an innate and vital expression in the family(8). The rights set forth in the Charter are an expression and explicitation of the natural law written on the heart of the human being and made known to him by reason. The denial or even the restriction of the rights of the family, by obscuring the truth about man, threatens the very foundations of peace. 5. Consequently, whoever, even unknowingly, circumvents the institution of the family undermines peace in the entire community, national and international, since he weakens what is in effect the primary agency of peace. This point merits special reflection: everything that serves to weaken the family based on the marriage of a man and a woman, everything that directly or indirectly stands in the way of its openness to the responsible acceptance of a new life, everything that obstructs its
372

whoever, even unknowingly, circumvents the institution of the family undermines peace in the entire community

right to be primarily responsible for the education of its children, constitutes an objective obstacle on the road to peace. The family needs to have a home, employment and a just recognition of the domestic activity of parents, the possibility of schooling for children, and basic health care for all. When society and public policy are not committed to assisting the family in these areas, they deprive themselves of an essential resource in the service of peace. The social communications media, in particular, because of their educational potential, have a special responsibility for promoting respect for the family, making clear its expectations and rights, and presenting all its beauty. Humanity is one great family 6. The social community, if it is to live in peace, is also called to draw inspiration from the values on which the family community is based. This is as true for local communities as it is for national communities; it is also true for the international community itself, for the human family which dwells in that common house which is the earth. Here, however, we cannot forget that the family comes into being from the responsible and definitive yes of a man and a women, and it continues to live from the conscious yes of the children who gradually join it. The family community, in order to prosper, needs the generous consent of all its members. This realization also needs to become a shared conviction on the part of all those called to form the common human family. We need to say our own yes to this vocation which God has inscribed in our very nature. We do not live alongside one another purely by chance; all of us are progressing along a common path as men and women, and thus as brothers and sisters. Consequently, it is essential that we should all be committed to living our lives in an attitude of responsibility before God, acknowledging him as the deepest source of our own existence and that of others. By going back to this supreme principle we are able to perceive the unconditional worth of each human being, and thus to lay the premises for building a humanity at peace. Without this transcendent foundation society is a mere aggregation of neighbours, not a community of brothers and sisters called to form one great family. The family, the human community and the environment 7. The family needs a home, a fit environment in which to develop its proper relationships. For the human family, this home is the earth, the environment that God the Creator has given us to inhabit with creativity and responsibility. We need to care for the environment: it has been entrusted to men and women to be protected and cultivated with responsible freedom, with the good of all as a constant guiding criterion. Human beings, obviously, are of supreme worth vis-vis creation as a whole. Respecting the environment does not mean considering material or animal nature more important than man. Rather, it means not selfishly considering nature to be at the complete disposal of our own interests, for future generations also have the right to reap its benefits and to exhibit towards nature the same responsible freedom that we claim for ourselves. Nor must we overlook the poor, who are excluded in many cases from the goods of creation destined for all. Humanity today is rightly concerned about the ecological balance of tomorrow.
373

It is important for assessments in this regard to be carried out prudently, in dialogue with experts and people of wisdom, uninhibited by ideological pressure to draw hasty conclusions, and above all with the aim of reaching agreement on a model of sustainable development capable of ensuring the well-being of all while respecting environmental balances. If the protection of the environment involves costs, they should be justly distributed, taking due account of the different levels of development of various countries and the need for solidarity with future generations. Prudence does not mean failing to accept responsibilities and postponing decisions; it means being committed to making joint decisions after pondering responsibly the road to be taken, decisions aimed at strengthening that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying. 8. In this regard, it is essential to sense that the earth is our common home and, in our stewardship and service to all, to choose the path of dialogue rather than the path of unilateral decisions. Further international agencies may need to be established in order to confront together the stewardship of this home of ours; more important, however, is the need for ever greater conviction about the need for responsible cooperation. The problems looming on the horizon are complex and time is short. In order to face this situation effectively, there is a need to act in harmony. One area where there is a particular need to intensify dialogue between nations is that of the stewardship of the earth's energy resources. The technologically advanced countries are facing two pressing needs in this regard: on the one hand, to reassess the high levels of consumption due to the present model of development, and on the other hand to invest sufficient resources in the search for alternative sources of energy and for greater energy efficiency. The emerging counties are hungry for energy, but at times this hunger is met in a way harmful to poor countries which, due to their insufficient infrastructures, including their technological infrastructures, are forced to undersell the energy resources they do possess. At times, their very political freedom is compromised by forms of protectorate or, in any case, by forms of conditioning which appear clearly humiliating. Family, human community and economy 9. An essential condition for peace within individual families is that they should be built upon the solid foundation of shared spiritual and ethical values. Yet it must be added that the family experiences authentic peace when no one lacks what is needed, and when the family patrimonythe fruit of the labour of some, the savings of others, and the active cooperation of allis well-managed in a spirit of solidarity, without extravagance and without waste. The peace of the family, then, requires an openness to a transcendent patrimony of values, and at the same time a concern for the prudent management of both material goods and inter-personal relationships. The failure of the latter results in the breakdown of reciprocal trust in the face of the uncertainty threatening the future of the nuclear family.

374

10. Something similar must be said for that other family which is humanity as a whole. The human family, which today is increasingly unified as a result of globalization, also needs, in addition to a foundation of shared values, an economy capable of responding effectively to the requirements of a common good which is now planetary in scope. Here too, a comparison with the natural family proves helpful. Honest and straightforward relationships need to be promoted between individual persons and between peoples, thus enabling everyone to cooperate on a just and equal footing. Efforts must also be made to ensure a prudent use of resources and an equitable distribution of wealth. In particular, the aid given to poor countries must be guided by sound economic principles, avoiding forms of waste associated principally with the maintenance of expensive bureaucracies. Due account must also be taken of the moral obligation to ensure that the economy is not governed solely by the ruthless laws of instant profit, which can prove inhumane. The family, the human community and the moral law 11. A family lives in peace if all its members submit to a common standard: this is what prevents selfish individualism and brings individuals together, fostering their harmonious coexistence and giving direction to their work. This principle, obvious as it is, also holds true for wider communities: from local and national communities to the international community itself. For the sake of peace, a common law is needed, one which would foster true freedom rather than blind caprice, and protect the weak from oppression by the strong. The family of peoples experiences many cases of arbitrary conduct, both within individual States and in the relations of States among themselves. In many situations the weak must bow not to the demands of justice, but to the naked power of those stronger than themselves. It bears repeating: power must always be disciplined by law, and this applies also to relations between sovereign States. 12. The Church has often spoken on the subject of the nature and function of law: the juridic norm, which regulates relationships between individuals, disciplines external conduct and establishes penalties for offenders, has as its criterion the moral norm grounded in nature itself. Human reason is capable of discerning this moral norm, at least in its fundamental requirements, and thus ascending to the creative reason of God which is at the origin of all things. The moral norm must be the rule for decisions of conscience and the guide for all human behaviour. Do juridic norms exist for relationships between the nations which make up the human family? And if they exist, are they operative? The answer is: yes, such norms exist, but to ensure that they are truly operative it is necessary to go back to the natural moral norm as the basis of the juridic norm; otherwise the latter constantly remains at the mercy of a fragile and provisional consensus. 13. Knowledge of the natural moral norm is not inaccessible to those who, in reflecting on themselves and their destiny, strive to understand the inner logic of the deepest inclinations present in their being. Albeit not without hesitation and doubt, they are capable of discovering, at least in its essential lines, this common moral law which, over and above cultural differences, enables human beings to come to a common understanding regarding the most important aspects
375

of good and evil, justice and injustice. It is essential to go back to this fundamental law, committing our finest intellectual energies to this quest, and not letting ourselves be discouraged by mistakes and misunderstandings. Values grounded in the natural law are indeed present, albeit in a fragmentary and not always consistent way, in international accords, in universally recognized forms of authority, in the principles of humanitarian law incorporated in the legislation of individual States or the statutes of international bodies. Mankind is not lawless. All the same, there is an urgent need to persevere in dialogue about these issues and to encourage the legislation of individual States to converge towards a recognition of fundamental human rights. The growth of a global juridic culture depends, for that matter, on a constant commitment to strengthen the profound human content of international norms, lest they be reduced to mere procedures, easily subject to manipulation for selfish or ideological reasons. Overcoming conflicts and disarmament 14. Humanity today is unfortunately experiencing great division and sharp conflicts which cast dark shadows on its future. Vast areas of the world are caught up in situations of increasing tension, while the danger of an increase in the number of countries possessing nuclear weapons causes well-founded apprehension in every responsible person. Many civil wars are still being fought in Africa, even though a number of countries there have made progress on the road to freedom and democracy. The Middle East is still a theatre of conflict and violence, which also affects neighbouring nations and regions and risks drawing them into the spiral of violence. On a broader scale, one must acknowledge with regret the growing number of States engaged in the arms race: even some developing nations allot a significant portion of their scant domestic product to the purchase of weapons. The responsibility for this baneful commerce is not limited: the countries of the industrially developed world profit immensely from the sale of arms, while the ruling oligarchies in many poor countries wish to reinforce their stronghold by acquiring ever more sophisticated weaponry. In difficult times such as these, it is truly necessary it is truly necessary for all persons of good will to come together to reach concrete for all persons of good agreements aimed at an effective demilitarization, especially will to come together in the area of nuclear arms. At a time when the process of to reach concrete nuclear non-proliferation is at a stand-still, I feel bound to agreements aimed at entreat those in authority to resume with greater determination an effective negotiations for a progressive and mutually agreed demilitarization dismantling of existing nuclear weapons. In renewing this appeal, I know that I am echoing the desire of all those concerned for the future of humanity.

15. Sixty years ago the United Nations Organization solemnly issued the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948-2008). With that document the human family reacted against the horrors of the Second World War by acknowledging its own unity, based on the equal dignity of all men and women, and by putting respect for the fundamental rights of individuals and peoples at the
376

centre of human coexistence. This was a decisive step forward along the difficult and demanding path towards harmony and peace. This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the Holy See's adoption of the Charter of the Rights of the Family (1983-2008) and the 40th anniversary of the celebration of the first World Day of Peace (1968-2008). Born of a providential intuition of Pope Paul VI and carried forward with great conviction by my beloved and venerable predecessor Pope John Paul II, the celebration of this Day of Peace has made it possible for the Church, over the course of the years, to present in these Messages an instructive body of teaching regarding this fundamental human good. In the light of these significant anniversaries, I invite every man and woman to have a more lively sense of belonging to the one human family, and to strive to make human coexistence increasingly reflect this conviction, which is essential for the establishment of true and lasting peace. I likewise invite believers to implore tirelessly from God the great gift of peace. Christians, for their part, know that they can trust in the intercession of Mary, who, as the Mother of the Son of God made flesh for the salvation of all humanity, is our common Mother. To all my best wishes for a joyful New Year! From the Vatican, 8 December 2007 BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

(1) Declaration Nostra Aetate, 1. (2) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 48. (3) John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, 40: AAS 81 (1989), 469. (4) Ibid. (5) Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, No. 211. (6) Second Vatican Council, Decree Apostolicam Actuositatem, 11. (7) Art. 16/3. (8) Holy See, Charter of the Rights of the Family, 24 November 1983, Preamble, A.

377

2009: FIGHTING POVERTY TO BUILD PEACE

War creates poverty and poverty creates war, and so we cannot defeat one without the other. Globalization grants new opportunities to fight poverty, though we must not fail to see that poverty is essentially an ethical, rather than technical, failure. The developed world is often morally underdeveloped. Witness the attempts to fight poverty by relying upon abortion, contraception, and any number of anti-life procedures that makes population an enemy rather than the resource it truly is. Deadly sexual disease that destroy nations are only given free reign by refusal to education children and adults about chasteness and the sacred bond of marriage. Childrenthe futureare marginalized as woman and families are discriminated against or simply forgotten. Money is diverted from protecting families to arms and militarization. We must seek peace and disarmament for the sake of the poor. Poverty will only be solved by the outrage of every man and woman on earth, not by an equation of finance. Real development is not the mere redistribution of goods, but in enabling the poor to be agents of their own wealth creation. We must realize that the rich only hurt themselves by their greed and domination. We must truly love the poor with reborn hearts and remade lives!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 2009 FIGHTING POVERTY TO BUILD PEACE

1. Once again, as the new year begins, I want to extend good wishes for peace to people everywhere. With this Message I would like to propose a reflection on the theme: Fighting Poverty to Build Peace. Back in 1993, my venerable Predecessor Pope John Paul II, in his Message for the World Day of Peace that year, drew attention to the negative repercussions for peace when entire populations live in poverty. Poverty is often a contributory factor or a compounding element in conflicts, including armed ones. In turn, these conflicts fuel further tragic situations of poverty. Our world, he wrote, shows increasing evidence of another grave threat to peace: many individuals and indeed whole peoples are living today in conditions of extreme poverty. The gap between rich and poor has become more marked, even in the most economically developed nations. This is a problem which the conscience of humanity cannot ignore, since the conditions in which a great number of people are living are an insult to their
378

innate dignity and as a result are a threat to the authentic and harmonious progress of the world community [1]. 2. In this context, fighting poverty requires attentive consideration of the complex phenomenon of globalization. This is important from a methodological standpoint, because it suggests drawing upon the fruits of economic and sociological research into the many different aspects of poverty. Yet the reference to globalization should also alert us to the spiritual and moral implications of the question, urging us, in our dealings with the poor, to set out from the clear recognition that we all share in a single divine plan: we are called to form one family in which allindividuals, peoples and nationsmodel their behaviour according to the principles of fraternity and responsibility. This perspective requires an understanding of poverty that is wide-ranging and well articulated. If it were a question of material poverty alone, then the social sciences, which enable us to measure phenomena on the basis of mainly quantitative data, would be sufficient to illustrate its principal characteristics. Yet we know that other, non-material forms of poverty exist which are not the direct and automatic consequence of material deprivation. For example, in advanced wealthy societies, there is evidence of marginalization, as well as affective, moral and spiritual poverty, seen in people whose interior lives are disoriented and who experience various forms of malaise despite their economic prosperity. On the one hand, I have in mind what is known as moral underdevelopment[2], and on the other hand the negative consequences of superdevelopment[3]. Nor can I forget that, in so-called poor societies, economic growth is often hampered by cultural impediments which lead to inefficient use of available resources. It remains true, however, that every form of externally imposed poverty has at its root a lack of respect for the transcendent dignity of the human person. When man is not considered within the total context of his vocation, and when the demands of a true human ecology [4] are not respected, the cruel forces of poverty are unleashed, as is evident in certain specific areas that I shall now consider briefly one by one. Poverty and moral implications 3. Poverty is often considered a consequence of demographic change. For this reason, there are international campaigns afoot to reduce birth-rates, sometimes using methods that respect neither the dignity of the woman, nor the right of parents to choose responsibly how many children to have[5]; graver still, these methods often fail to respect even the right to life. The extermination of millions of unborn children, in the name of the fight against poverty, actually constitutes the destruction of the poorest of all human beings. And yet it remains the case that in 1981, around 40% of the world's population was below the threshold of absolute poverty, while today that percentage has been reduced by as much as a half, and whole peoples have escaped from poverty despite experiencing substantial demographic growth. This goes to show that resources to solve the problem of poverty do exist, even in the face of an increasing population. Nor must it be forgotten that, since the end of the Second World War, the world's population has grown by four
379

billion, largely because of certain countries that have recently emerged on the international scene as new economic powers, and have experienced rapid development specifically because of the large number of their inhabitants. Moreover, among the most developed nations, those with higher birth-rates enjoy better opportunities for development. In other words, population is proving to be an asset, not a factor that contributes to poverty. 4. Another area of concern has to do with pandemic diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS. Insofar as they affect the wealth-producing sectors of the population, they are a significant factor in the overall deterioration of conditions in the country concerned. Efforts to rein in the consequences of these diseases on the population do not always achieve significant results. It also happens that countries afflicted by some of these pandemics find themselves held hostage, when they try to address them, by those who make economic aid conditional upon the implementation of anti-life policies. It is especially hard to combat AIDS, a major cause of poverty, unless the moral issues connected with the spread of the virus are also addressed. First and foremost, educational campaigns are needed, aimed especially at the young, to promote a sexual ethic that fully corresponds to the dignity of the person; initiatives of this kind have already borne important fruits, causing a reduction in the spread of AIDS. Then, too, the necessary medicines and treatment must be made available to poorer peoples as well. This presupposes a determined effort to promote medical research and innovative forms of treatment, as well as flexible application, when required, of the international rules protecting intellectual property, so as to guarantee necessary basic healthcare to all people. 5. A third area requiring attention in programmes for fighting poverty, which once again highlights its intrinsic moral dimension, is child poverty. When poverty strikes a family, the children prove to be the most vulnerable victims: almost half of those living in absolute poverty today are children. To take the side of children when considering poverty means giving priority to those objectives which concern them most directly, such as caring for mothers, commitment to education, access to vaccines, medical care and drinking water, safeguarding the environment, and above all, commitment to defence of the family and the stability of relations within it. When the family is weakened, it is inevitably children who suffer. If the dignity of women and mothers is not protected, it is the children who are affected most. 6. A fourth area needing particular attention from the moral standpoint is the relationship between disarmament and development. The current level of world military expenditure gives cause for concern. As I have pointed out before, it can happen that immense military expenditure, involving material and human resources and arms, is in fact diverted from development projects for peoples, especially the poorest who are most in need of aid. This is contrary to what is stated in the Charter of the United Nations, which engages the international community and States in particular to promote the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security with the least diversion for armaments of the world's human and economic resources' (art. 26) [6].
380

This state of affairs does nothing to promote, and indeed seriously impedes, attainment of the ambitious development targets of the international community. What is more, an excessive increase in military expenditure risks accelerating the arms race, producing pockets of underdevelopment and desperation, so that it can paradoxically become a cause of instability, tension and conflict. As my venerable Predecessor Paul VI wisely observed, the new name for peace is development[7]. States are therefore invited to reflect seriously on the underlying reasons for conflicts, often provoked by injustice, and to practise courageous self-criticism. If relations can be improved, it should be possible to reduce expenditure on arms. The resources saved could then be earmarked for development projects to assist the poorest and most needy individuals and peoples: efforts expended in this way would be efforts for peace within the human family. 7. A fifth area connected with the fight against material poverty concerns the current food crisis, which places in jeopardy the fulfilment of basic needs. This crisis is characterized not so much by a shortage of food, as by difficulty in gaining access to it and by different forms of speculation: in other words, by a structural lack of political and economic institutions capable of addressing needs and emergencies. Malnutrition can also cause grave mental and physical damage to the population, depriving many people of the energy necessary to escape from poverty unaided. This contributes to the widening gap of inequality, and can provoke violent reactions. All the indicators of relative poverty in recent years point to an increased disparity between rich and poor. No doubt the principal reasons for this are, on the one hand, advances in technology, which mainly benefit the more affluent, and on the other hand, changes in the prices of industrial products, which rise much faster than those of agricultural products and raw materials in the possession of poorer countries. In this way, the majority of the population in the poorest countries suffers a double marginalization, through the adverse effects of lower incomes and higher prices. Global solidarity and the fight against poverty 8. One of the most important ways of building peace is through a form of globalization directed towards the interests of the whole human family[8]. In order to govern globalization, however, there needs to be a strong sense of global solidarity [9] between rich and poor countries, as well as within individual countries, including affluent ones. A common code of ethics[10] is also needed, consisting of norms based not upon mere consensus, but rooted in the natural law inscribed by the Creator on the conscience of every human being (cf. Rom 2:14-15). Does not every one of us sense deep within his or her conscience a call to make a personal contribution to the common good and to peace in society? Globalization eliminates certain barriers, but is still able to build new ones; it brings peoples together, but spatial and temporal proximity does not of itself create the conditions for true communion and authentic peace. Effective means to redress the marginalization of the world's poor through globalization will only be found if people everywhere feel personally outraged by the injustices in the world and by the concomitant
381

violations of human rights. The Church, which is the sign and instrument of communion with God and of the unity of the entire human race [11] will continue to offer her contribution so that injustices and misunderstandings may be resolved, leading to a world of greater peace and solidarity. 9. In the field of international commerce and finance, there are processes at work today which permit a positive integration of economies, leading to an overall improvement in conditions, but there are also processes tending in the opposite direction, dividing and marginalizing peoples, and creating dangerous situations that can erupt into wars and conflicts. Since the Second World War, international trade in goods and services has grown extraordinarily fast, with a momentum unprecedented in history. Much of this global trade has involved countries that were industrialized early, with the significant addition of many newly- emerging countries which have now entered onto the world stage. Yet there are other low-income countries which are still seriously marginalized in terms of trade. Their growth has been negatively influenced by the rapid decline, seen in recent decades, in the prices of commodities, which constitute practically the whole of their exports. In these countries, which are mostly in Africa, dependence on the exportation of commodities continues to constitute a potent risk factor. Here I should like to renew an appeal for all countries to be given equal opportunities of access to the world market, without exclusion or marginalization. 10. A similar reflection may be made in the area of finance, which is a key aspect of the phenomenon of globalization, owing to the development of technology and policies of liberalization in the flow of capital between countries. Objectively, the most important function of finance is to sustain the possibility of long- term investment and hence of development. Today this appears extremely fragile: it is experiencing the negative repercussions of a system of financial dealingsboth national and globalbased upon very short-term thinking, which aims at increasing the value of financial operations and concentrates on the technical management of various forms of risk. The recent crisis demonstrates how financial activity can at times be completely turned in on itself, lacking any long-term consideration of the common good. This lowering of the objectives of global finance to the very short term reduces its capacity to function as a bridge between the present and the future, and as a stimulus to the creation of new opportunities for production and for work in the long term. Finance limited in this way to the short and very short term becomes dangerous for everyone, even for those who benefit when the markets perform well[12]. 11. All of this would indicate that the fight against poverty requires cooperation both on the economic level and on the legal level, so as to allow the international community, and especially poorer countries, to identify and implement coordinated strategies to deal with the problems discussed above, thereby providing an effective legal framework for the economy. Incentives are needed for establishing efficient participatory institutions, and support is needed in fighting crime and fostering a culture of legality. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that policies which place too much emphasis on assistance underlie many of the failures in providing aid to
382

poor countries. Investing in the formation of people and developing a specific and wellintegrated culture of enterprise would seem at present to be the right approach in the medium and long term. If economic activities require a favourable context in order to develop, this must not distract attention from the need to generate revenue. While it has been rightly emphasized that increasing per capita income cannot be the ultimate goal of political and economic activity, it is still an important means of attaining the objective of the fight against hunger and absolute poverty. Hence, the illusion that a policy of mere redistribution of existing wealth can definitively resolve the problem must be set aside. In a modern economy, the value of assets is utterly dependent on the capacity to generate revenue in the present and the future. Wealth creation therefore becomes an inescapable duty, which must be kept in mind if the fight against material poverty is to be effective in the long term. 12. If the poor are to be given priority, then there has to be enough room for an ethical approach to economics on the part of those active in the international market, an ethical approach to politics on the part of those in public office, and an ethical approach to participation capable of harnessing the contributions of civil society at local and international levels. International agencies themselves have come to recognize the value and advantage of economic initiatives taken by civil society or local administrations to promote the emancipation and social inclusion of those sectors of the population that often fall below the threshold of extreme poverty and yet are not easily reached by official aid. The history of twentieth-century economic development teaches us that good development policies depend for their effectiveness on responsible implementation by human agents and on the creation of positive partnerships between markets, civil society and States. Civil society in particular plays a key part in every process of development, since development is essentially a cultural phenomenon, and culture is born and develops in the civil sphere[13]. 13. As my venerable Predecessor Pope John Paul II had occasion to remark, globalization is notably ambivalent[14] and therefore needs to be managed with great prudence. This will include giving priority to the needs of the world's poor, and overcoming the scandal of the imbalance between the problems of poverty and the measures which have been adopted in order to address them. The imbalance lies both in the cultural and political order and in the spiritual and moral order. In fact we often consider only the superficial and instrumental causes of poverty without attending to those harboured within the human heart, like greed and narrow vision. The problems of development, aid and international cooperation are sometimes addressed without any real attention to the human element, but as merely technical questionslimited, that is, to establishing structures, setting up trade agreements, and allocating funding impersonally. What the fight against poverty really needs are men and women who live in a profoundly fraternal way and are able to accompany individuals, families and communities on journeys of authentic human development. Conclusion
383

14. In the Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, John Paul II warned of the need to abandon a mentality in which the pooras individuals and as peoplesare considered a burden, as irksome intruders trying to consume what others have produced. The poor, he wrote, ask for the right to share in enjoying material goods and to make good use of their capacity for work, thus creating a world that is more just and prosperous for all [15]. In today's globalized world, it is increasingly evident that peace can be built only if everyone is assured the possibility of reasonable growth: sooner or later, the distortions produced by unjust systems have to be paid for by everyone. It is utterly foolish to build a luxury home in the midst of desert or decay. Globalization on its own is incapable of building peace, and in many cases, it actually creates divisions and conflicts. If anything it points to a need: to be oriented towards a goal of profound solidarity that seeks the good of each and all. In this sense, globalization should be seen as a good opportunity to achieve something important in the fight against poverty, and to place at the disposal of justice and peace resources which were scarcely conceivable previously. 15. The Church's social teaching has always been concerned with the poor. At the time of the Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum, the poor were identified mainly as the workers in the new industrial society; in the social Magisterium of Pius XI, Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II, new forms of poverty were gradually explored, as the scope of the social question widened to reach global proportions[16]. This expansion of the social question to the worldwide scale has to be considered not just as a quantitative extension, but also as a qualitative growth in the understanding of man and the needs of the human family. For this reason, while attentively following the current phenomena of globalization and their impact on human poverty, the Church points out the new aspects of the social question, not only in their breadth but also in their depth, insofar as they concern man's identity and his relationship with God. These principles of social teaching tend to clarify the links between poverty and globalization and they help to guide action towards the building of peace. Among these principles, it is timely to recall in particular the preferential love for the poor[17], in the light of the primacy of charity, which is attested throughout Christian tradition, beginning with that of the early Church (cf. Acts 4:3236; 1 Cor 16:1; 2 Cor 8-9; Gal 2:10). Everyone should put his hand to the work which falls to his share, at once and immediately, wrote Leo XIII in 1891, and he added: In regard to the Church, her cooperation will never be wanting, be the time or the occasion what it may[18]. It is in the same spirit that the Church to this day carries out her work for the poor, in whom she sees Christ[19], and she constantly hears echoing in her heart the command of the Prince of Peace to his Apostles: Vos date illis manducareGive them something to eat yourselves (Lk 9:13). Faithful to this summons from the Lord, the Christian community will never fail, then, to assure the entire human family of her support through gestures of creative solidarity, not only by giving from one's surplus, but above all by a change of life- styles, of models of production and consumption, and of the established structures of power which today govern societies [20]. At the start of the New Year, then, I extend to every disciple of Christ and to every person of good will a warm invitation to
384

expand their hearts to meet the needs of the poor and to take whatever practical steps are possible in order to help them. The truth of the axiom cannot be refuted: to fight poverty is to build peace. From the Vatican, 8 December 2008. BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

[1] Message for the 1993 World Day of Peace, 1. [2] Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 19. [3] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 28. [4] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 38. [5] Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 37; John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 25. [6] Benedict XVI, Letter to Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino on the occasion of the International Seminar organized by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace on the theme: Disarmament, Development and Peace. Prospects for Integral Disarmament, 10 April 2008: L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 30 April 2008, p. 2. [7] Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 87. [8] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 58. [9] Cf. John Paul II, Address to the Christian Associations of Italian Working People, 27 April 2002, 4: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, XXV:1 (2002), p. 637. [10] John Paul II, Address to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, 27 April 2001, 4: L'Osservatore Romano, English Edition, 2 May 2001, p. 7. [11] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 1. [12] Cf. Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 368. [13] Cf. ibid., 356. [14] Address to Leaders of Trade Unions and Workers' Associations, 2 May 2000, 3: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, XXIII, 1 (2000), p. 726. [15] No. 28.
385

[16] Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 3. [17] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 42; cf. Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 57. [18] Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum, 45. [19] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 58. [20] Ibid.

386

Appendix

387

Pope Benedict XVI Feb 18th, 2007 Angelus: On the Revolution of Love http://www.zenit.org/article-18951?l=english Dear Brothers and Sisters, This Sunday's Gospel contains some of the most typical and forceful words of Jesus' preaching: "Love your enemies" (Lk 6:27). It is taken from Luke's Gospel but is also found in Matthew's (5:44), in the context of the programmatic discourse that opens with the famous "Beatitudes". Jesus delivered it in Galilee at the beginning of his public life: it is, as it were, a "manifesto" presented to all, in which he asks for his disciples' adherence, proposing his model of life to them in radical terms. But what do his words mean? Why does Jesus ask us to love precisely our enemies, that is, a love which exceeds human capacities? Actually, Christ's proposal is realistic because it takes into account that in the world there is too much violence, too much injustice, and therefore that this situation cannot be overcome except by countering it with more love, with more goodness. This "more" comes from God: it is his mercy which was made flesh in Jesus and which alone can "tip the balance" of the world from evil to good, starting with that small and decisive "world" which is the human heart. This Gospel passage is rightly considered the magna carta of Christian non-violence. It does not consist in succumbing to evil, as a false interpretation of "turning the other cheek" (cf. Lk 6:29) claims, but in responding to evil with good (cf. Rom 12:17-21) and thereby breaking the chain of injustice. One then understands that for Christians, non-violence is not merely tactical behaviour but a person's way of being, the attitude of one who is so convinced of God's love and power that he is not afraid to tackle evil with the weapons of love and truth alone. Love of one's enemy constitutes the nucleus of the "Christian revolution", a revolution not based on strategies of economic, political or media power: the revolution of love, a love that does not rely ultimately on human resources but is a gift of God which is obtained by trusting solely and unreservedly in his merciful goodness. Here is the newness of the Gospel which silently changes the world! Here is the heroism of the "lowly" who believe in God's love and spread it, even at the cost of their lives.

388

Dear brothers and sisters, Lent, which will begin this Wednesday with the Rite of Ashes, is the favourable season in which all Christians are asked to convert ever more deeply to Christ's love. Let us ask the Virgin Mary, docile disciple of the Redeemer who helps us to allow ourselves to be won over without reserve by that love, to learn to love as he loved us, to be merciful as Our Father in Heaven is merciful (cf. Lk 6:36).

389

Pope Benedict XVI Jul 25, 2005 Address: A Reflection on Peace http://www.zenit.org/article-16679?l=english I only wish to offer some brief words of meditation on the reading we have heard. With the background of the tragic situation of the Middle East, we are moved by the beauty of the vision illustrated by the Apostle Paul (cf. Ephesians 2:13-18): Christ is our peace. He has reconciled one another, Jews and pagans, uniting them in his Body. He has overcome the enmity with his Body, on the cross. With his death, he has overcome the enmity and has united us all in his peace. However, more than the beauty of this vision, we are impressed by the contrast with the reality that we experience and see. And, initially, we can do no more than ask the Lord: "But, Lord, what is your apostle saying to us: 'They have been reconciled'?" In reality, we see that they are not reconciled. There is still war between Christians, Muslims, Jews; and others foment war and all continues full of enmity, of violence. Where is the efficacy of your sacrifice? Where in history is this peace of which your apostle speaks to us? We men cannot resolve the mystery of history, the mystery of human freedom that says "no" to the peace of God. We cannot resolve the whole mystery of the relationship between God and man, of his action and our response. We must accept the mystery. However, there are elements of response that the Lord offers us. A first element is that this reconciliation of the Lord, this sacrifice of his, is not without efficacy. There is the great reality of the communion of the universal Church, of all peoples, the network of Eucharistic Communion, which transcends the frontiers of cultures, civilizations, peoples and times. This communion exists; these "islands of peace" exist in the Body of Christ. They exist. And forces of peace exist in the world. If we look at history, we can see the great saints of charity who have created "oases" of this peace of God in the world, who have again lit their light, and have been able to reconcile and to create peace again. The martyrs exist who suffered with Christ; they have given this witness of peace, of love, which puts a limit to violence. And, seeing that the reality of peace exists, though the other reality persists, we can reflect further on the message of this Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians. The Lord has conquered on the cross. He has not conquered with a new empire, with a force that is more powerful than others, capable of destroying them; he has not conquered in a human manner, as we imagine, with an empire stronger than the other. He has conquered with a love capable of going to death. This is God's new way of conquering: He does not oppose violence with a stronger violence. He opposes violence precisely with the contrary: with love to the end, his cross. This is God's humble way of overcoming: With his love and only thus is it possible he puts a limit to violence. This is a way of conquering that seems very slow to us, but it is the true way of overcoming evil, of overcoming violence, and we must trust this divine way of overcoming.
390

To trust means to enter actively in this divine love, to participate in this endeavor of pacification, to be in line with what the Lord says: "Blessed are the peacemakers, the agents of peace, because they are the sons of God." We must take, in the measure of our possibilities, our love to all those who are suffering, knowing that the Judge of the Last Judgment identifies himself with those who suffer. Therefore, what we do to those who suffer, we do to the Last Judge of our life. This is important: At this moment we can take his victory to the world, taking part actively in his charity. Today, in a multicultural and multireligious world, many are tempted to say: "For peace in the world, among religions, among cultures, it is better not to speak too much of what is specific to Christianity, that is, of Jesus, of the Church, of the sacraments. Let us be content with what can be more or less common ." But it is not true. Precisely at this time, a time of great abuse of the name of God, we have need of the God who overcomes on the cross, who does not conquer with violence, but with his love. Precisely at this time we have need of the Face of Christ to know the true Face of God and so be able to take reconciliation and light to this world. For this reason, together with love, with the message of love, we must also take the testimony of this God, of God's victory, precisely through the nonviolence of his cross. In this way, we return to the starting point. What we can do is to give witness of love, witness of faith and, above all, to raise a cry to God: We can pray! We are certain that our Father hears the cry of his children. In the Mass, as we prepare for holy Communion, to receive the Body of Christ that unites us, we pray with the Church: "Deliver us, Lord, from all evils, and grant us peace in our days." May this be our prayer at this time: "Deliver us from all evils and give us peace," not tomorrow, or the day after: Lord, give us peace today! Amen.

391

Father Reniero Cantalamessa Apr 11, 2004 Homily for Good Friday 2004: Victor because Victim http://www.zenit.org/article-9864?l=english Let us reflect for a while on the song of the Servant of Yahweh of the first reading (Isaiah 52:1353:12), in the light of the story of the Passion to which we have just been listening. The structure of the passage is very simple: It opens with a prologue, spoken by God in heaven; there follows a long piece in which an anonymous crowd reflects on what has happened and draws its own conclusions, like the chorus in a Greek tragedy; it closes with God taking up the word again and delivering his final verdict. The event is such that it cannot be properly understood except in the light of its final outcome; this is why God anticipates from the beginning the end result: "See, my servant will prosper. He shall be lifted up, exalted, rise to great heights." We hear of crowds who marvel, of kings struck speechless: The horizon widens to a universality that no narrative of history, not even the Gospels themselves, can convey, constrained as they are within space and time. *** A nameless crowd now starts talking. First, as if to excuse their own blindness, they give reasons why they could not recognize the servant. "Without beauty, without majesty, we saw him, with no looks to attract our eyes": How then could we have known that we were looking on "the power of the Lord"? A thing despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering, a man to make people screen their faces, he was despised and we took no account of him. But see now, here comes the "revelation"! We are allowed to witness the blossoming of faith in its "nascent state." And yet ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried. But we, we thought of him as someone punished, struck by God and brought low. Yet he was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins. On him lies a punishment that brings us peace, and through his wounds we are healed. To understand what was happening among the crowd at this moment, let's remember what happened when the prophecy was fulfilled. For a while, after the death of Christ, the only thing people were sure of was that he had died, and died on the cross; that he was "accursed of God," because it is written, "cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree" (Deuteronomy 21:23;
392

Galatians 3:13). Then the Holy Spirit came to "convince the world of sin" (John 16:8), and the paschal faith of the Church bloomed forth: "Christ died for our sins" (Romans 4:25); "He was bearing our sins in his own body on the cross" (1 Peter 2:24). No one else can be cast in the role of the Servant; on the one side he stands alone, and on the other, "all of us." We had all gone astray like sheep, each taking his own way, and the Lord burdened him with the sins of all of us. The prophet himself, writing these words, places himself among "us." How could anyone think that the Servant could be taken in a collective sense, the people, if it is precisely for the sins of "his" people that he was struck down and died (see Isaiah 53:8)? The Apostle Paul was to do away with all doubt on this point: "Jews and Greeks are all under sin's dominion"; there are no distinctions, all have "sinned and forfeited God's glory" (Romans 3:9,22-23). The Bible gives the key by which we can tell true prophecy from false: its fulfillment. A prophecy that in fact comes about is true, and one that is not fulfilled is false (Deuteronomy 18:21f.; Jeremiah 28:9). But where, or when, or in whom did the things come about that are said of this Servant of God? We cannot imagine that the prophet is speaking of himself, or of some personage of the past, without reducing the whole song of the Servant to a string of pitiful exaggerations. In what unknown figure of the time did this "something never heard" come about? Where are the crowds justified by him, and where the kings who stood speechless? Of whom, other than Christ, have millions upon millions over the course of 20 centuries exclaimed, without hesitation: "He is my salvation! By his wounds I am healed"? *** It is now God's turn to speak again, and deliver the final verdict. His soul's anguish over he shall see the light and be content. By his sufferings shall my servant justify many, taking their faults upon himself. In the whole of the story, the most surprising thing is not that the Servant should be like a lamb, meek, not crying to God for justice and revenge like Job or Jeremiah or many of the psalmists. The great new thing is that not even God himself intends to vindicate his Servant and see justice done for him. Or let us rather say that the justice God sees done for his Servant consists not in punishing his persecutors but in saving them; not in giving sinners what they justly deserve, but in making them just! "My Servant will justify many."

393

This is the thing unheard that leaves kings and peoples speechless. This was the thing that the Apostle Paul saw realized in Christ and triumphantly proclaimed in the Letter to the Romans: "All have sinned and forfeited God's glory, but all are justified through the free gift of his grace by being redeemed in Christ Jesus" (see Romans 3:24-25). There remains, it is true, a cloud of obscurity over the way this God goes about his work. "The Lord has been pleased to crush him with suffering." We shudder at the thought of a God who would "be pleased" to cause his own Son, or in fact any creature, to suffer. And so we ask ourselves, was he really "pleased"? And what was it, exactly, that pleased him? It was not the means that gave him pleasure, but the end! Not the Servant's suffering, but the salvation of the many. "Non mors placuit, sed voluntas sponte morientis," explains St. Bernard1; it was not the death of his Son that pleased him, but his Son's willingness to die for the salvation of the world. Hence I will grant whole hordes for his tribute, he shall divide the spoil with the mighty, for surrendering himself to death and letting himself be taken for a sinner, while he was bearing the faults of many and praying all the time for sinners. This is what truly pleased God, what it was that gave him the greatest joy to do. The Apostle Paul reminded us of it in the text we heard in the Gospel acclamation, acting as a link between the prophecy of Isaiah and the reading of the Passion: For our sake Christ became obedient unto death, even to death on a cross. That is why God has raised him high and given him the name that is above all names (Philippians 2:8-9). *** The passion of Christ, described prophetically in the Deutero-Isaiah text and historically in the Gospels in our present liturgy, has a special message for the times in which we are living. The message is: No to violence! The Servant committed no violent act and nevertheless all the violence of the world turned upon him. He was struck, pierced, ill-treated, crushed, condemned, torn from the land of the living and finally thrown into a common pit ("they gave him a grave with the wicked"). Through all of this he did not open his mouth, he behaved like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter, he threatened no revenge, offering himself in expiation and interceding for those who were killing him: "Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). That is how he overcame violence; he overcame it, not by confronting it with a greater violence, but by undergoing it, revealing the naked reality of all its injustice and futility. He brought about
394

a new kind of victory one that St. Augustine summed up in three words: "Victor quia victima": victor because victim.2 The problem of violence is one that assails and scandalizes us today as it comes in new and fearsome forms, senseless and cruel, and invades even those areas that ought to be a remedy for violence: sport, art, family life. We Christians recoil with horror from the idea that one might resort to violence and kill in the name of God. Some may object: But isn't the Bible itself full of stories of violence? Isn't God called "the Lord of hosts"? Doesn't it say that he gave the order to impose the ban, to exterminate entire cities? Isn't he the one who, in the Mosaic law, prescribes the death penalty in many cases? If someone had put the same objection to Jesus during his life on earth, he would surely have answered in the same way as he answered the question about divorce: "It was because you were so hardhearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning" (Matthew 19:8). On the question of violence too, "it was not like this from the beginning." The first chapter of Genesis shows us a world where the very idea of violence was unthinkable, not only in regard to relationships of human beings one with another, but even in regard to animals. It was not permissible to kill, not even to avenge the death of Abel (see Genesis 4:15). What God really thinks is shown in the commandment, "You shall not kill," rather than in the exceptions that the law makes, allowing them as concessions to the people's hardness of heart. Violence was a facet of the life of those times, and in reflecting that life the Bible, in its lawmaking and even in dealing with punishment by death, tries at least to set limits to violence, to prevent it degenerating to a matter of mere personal decision.3 Paul speaks of a time when "sins went unpunished" because God "held his hand" (Romans 3:25). God put up with violence, as he put up with polygamy, divorce and other things, but all the while he was teaching the people, leading them toward the time when his original plan would again be put in place, restored to honor as by a new creation. This time came when Jesus, on the mountain, proclaimed: "You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. ... If anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other one as well. You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:38-39;43-44). God in Christ pronounces a definitive, commanding "No" to violence, and substitutes in its place not non-violence merely, but more: forgiveness, meekness, gentleness: "Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart" (Matthew 11:29). Yet the true sermon on the mountain was not the one Jesus preached one day on a hillside in Galilee; it is the one he preaches now not with words but with deeds, from the cross, on Calvary hill. If there is still violence, it cannot any longer, even in the remotest sense, claim to be of God or
395

try to cloak itself with his authority. To do that is to drive the idea of God back to its primitive stages, which modern religious and civil conscience rejects. Better atheism than that. Better not to believe that there is a god at all than to believe in a god who would order us to kill innocents. Nor is it possible to justify violence in the name of progress. "Violence," someone has said, "is the midwife of history" (Marx and Engels). To some extent that is true. It is true that new and more just social orders are sometimes the outcome of revolutions and wars, but the contrary is also true: What results from them is injustice and evils worse than before. Yet it is precisely in this that we see how disordered is the state of the world: that it is necessary to have recourse to violence to redress evil; that we cannot achieve what is good without doing what is bad. Violence is only midwife of further violence. Reflecting on the events that in 1989 led without bloodshed to the fall of totalitarian regimes of Eastern Europe, John Paul II in the encyclical "Centesimus Annus" saw the change as the result of men and women who knew how and when to give testimony of the truth without recourse to violence. He ended by expressing a wish that, at the distance of 15 years, resounds today more urgently than ever: "May humankind learn to fight for justice without recourse to violence."4 It is this wish that we want to transform now into prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, we don't ask you to blot out the violent and those who boast of the terror they inflict, but to change their hearts and bring them to conversion. Help us too to say: 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.' Break this chain of violence and revenge that keeps the whole world waiting with bated breath. You created the earth in harmony and peace; may it cease to be 'the threshing-floor that makes us so ferocious'" (Dante). The world is so full of people who, like you in your Passion, are "without beauty, ... despised and rejected, men and women of sorrow and very familiar with suffering": Teach us not to "screen our faces" at their sight, not to run away from them, but to take up the burden of their pain and their loneliness. Mary, "suffering with your Son dying on the cross, you cooperated in a unique way in the work of the Savior by your obedience, your faith, your hope and ardent love"5: inspire thoughts of peace and pardon in the men and women of our time. Amen." [Translation by Denis Barrett] *** NOTES 1 Bernard of Clairveaux, "De errore Abelardi," 8, 21: PL 182, 1070; see also Anselmo d'Aosta, "Meditatio redemptionis humanae," ed. F.S. Schmitt, "Opera omnia," III, Stoccarda 1968, p. 84 f. 2 St. Augustine, "Confessions," X, 43. 3 See R. Girard, "Des choses caches depuis la fondation du monde, II, L'Ecriture judo396

chrtienne," Paris 1981. 4 John Paul II, "Centesimus Annus," III, 23. 5 "Lumen Gentium," 61

397