Following a year marred by war and terrorism, Pope Francis told
diplomats Monday that for 2017, peace has to be more than just an idea
or a nice theory, but must be actively pursued with concrete policies
aimed at promoting the common good and the dignity of the human person.
“Peace is a positive good...it is more than the absence of war. Nor
can it be reduced to the maintenance of a balance of power between
opposing forces,” the Pope said Jan. 9. Instead, peace “demands the
commitment of those persons of good will who thirst for an ever more
perfect reign of justice.”
While some nations seem to take for granted long periods of peace
enjoyed since the close of the First World War, for millions of others
peace “remains merely a distant dream.”
“Millions of people still live in the midst of senseless conflicts,”
he said, noting that we are frequently bombarded “by images of death, by
the pain of innocent men, women and children,” as well as by the grief
of those who have lost loved ones due to violence and the “drama” of
forced migration.
In the current global climate of fear, apprehension, uncertainty and
anxiety for both the present and future, “a word of hope” is needed, he
said, which is capable of indicating a path on which to move forward.
Pope Francis spoke to the Diplomatic Corps Accredited to the Holy See
as part of his traditional exchange of New Year’s greetings with the
diplomats. There are currently 182 ambassadors of other countries to the
Holy See, 88 of whom reside in Rome.
For the Pope, part of the peace-building process means eradicating
the causes of violence and injustice, one of which is the “deplorable
arms trade and the never-ending race to create and spread ever more
sophisticated weaponry,” which he has frequently condemned.
In his speech, Francis said that one “particularly disturbing”
example of negative effects of the arms trade “are the experiments being
conducted on the Korean Peninsula.”
The nuclear tests that are continually being conducted there
“destabilize the entire region and raise troubling questions for the
entire international community about the risk of a new nuclear arms
race,” he said.
Quoting St. John XXIII, the Pope stressed that “justice, right reason
and the recognition of human dignity cry out insistently for a
cessation to the arms race.”
“The stockpiles of armaments which have been built up in various
countries must be reduced all round by the parties concerned. Nuclear
weapons must be banned,” he said, adding that the Holy See seeks to
promote “an ethics of peace and security that goes beyond that fear and
closure which condition the debate on nuclear weapons.”
Francis also threw in what seemed to be a plug for tighter gun
control. Turning to the sale of conventional weapons, he said that easy
access to arms, “including those of small caliber,” not only “aggravates
various conflicts, but also generates a widespread sense of insecurity
and fear.”
“This is all the more dangerous in times, like our own, of social uncertainty and epochal changes,” he said.
On the topic of different forms of fundamentalism that have gripped
the global scene over the past year, the Pope said that when it comes to
religion, “every expression of religion is called to promote peace.”
“There has been no shortage of acts of religiously motivated
violence, beginning with Europe itself, where the historical divisions
between Christians have endured all too long,” he said, noting that
healing the wounds of the past means above all “journeying together
toward common goals” on a path of genuine dialogue.
However, he noted that “sadly” religion has been used as “a pretext for rejection, marginalization and violence.”
Over the past year, fundamentalist terrorism “has also reaped
numerous victims throughout the world,” he said, pointing to
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Egypt, France, Germany,
Jordan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, the United States of America, Tunisia
and Turkey as just a few examples.
“We are dealing with a homicidal madness which misuses God’s name in
order to disseminate death, in a play for domination and power,” the
Pope said, renewing his appeal for all religious authorities “to join in
reaffirming unequivocally that one can never kill in God’s name.”
“Fundamentalist terrorism is the fruit of a profound spiritual
poverty, and often is linked to significant social poverty,” he said,
noting that the only way for it to be fully defeated is with “the joint
contribution of religious and political leaders.”
Pope Francis insisted that political authorities ought to focus not
just on the security of their own citizens, “a concept which could
easily be reduced to a mere ‘quiet life,’” but are also concerned with
working “actively” for the growth of peace on a global level.
Peace, he said, “is an active virtue, one that calls for the
engagement and cooperation of each individual and society as a whole.”
Turning to the Jubilee of Mercy, Francis said part of building “a
culture of mercy” means eliminating indifference and striving to become
societies that “are open and welcoming toward foreigners and at the same
time internally secure and at peace.”
“This is all the more needed at the present time, when massive waves
of migration continue in various parts of the world,” he said, calling
for a “common commitment” to offering migrants and displaced persons “a
dignified welcome.”
On the topic of migrants, the Pope stressed that respect must be
given both right of every person to migrate while at the same time
ensuring that incoming foreigners are fully integrated into their new
society without feeling “their security, cultural identity and
political-social stability are threatened.”
However, he also said incoming migrants must “not forget that they
have a duty to respect the laws, culture and traditions of the countries
in which they are received.”
For public authorities to have prudence “does not mean enacting
policies of exclusion vis-à-vis migrants,” but rather entails
“evaluating, with wisdom and foresight, the extent to which their
country is in a position, without prejudice to the common good of
citizens, to offer a decent life to migrants, especially those truly in
need of protection,” he said.
The issue of migration isn’t one that just some countries have to
face while others are indifferent, he said, stressing that “all should
feel responsible” for pursuing international policies aimed at promoting
solidarity and the common good.
Pope Francis then voiced his thanks to the countries who have taken
on the bulk of the burden of the migration crisis, naming Italy,
Germany, Greece and Sweden in particular.
He called for a quick and peaceful resolution to the “brutal
conflict” in Syria, asking the international community “to make every
effort to encourage serious negotiations for an end to the conflict,
which is causing a genuine human catastrophe.”
“Each of the parties must give priority to international humanitarian
law, and guarantee the protection of civilians and needed humanitarian
aid for the populace,” he said, voicing his hope that the
recently-signed truce “will be a sign of hope for the whole Syrian
people, so greatly in need of it.”
The Pope also urged swift resolutions to the conflicts in Ukraine,
Iran and Yemen, and renewed his appeal for Israel and Palestine to
resume dialogue aimed at “a stable and enduring solution that guarantees
the peaceful coexistence of two states within internationally
recognized borders.”
“No conflict can become a habit impossible to break. Israelis and
Palestinians need peace. The whole Middle East urgently needs peace!”
Francis closed his speech saying peace is “a gift, a challenge and a
commitment.” True peace, he said, “can only come about on the basis of a
vision of human beings capable of promoting an integral development
respectful of their transcendent dignity.”
“This, then, is my prayerful hope for the year just begun: that our
countries and their peoples may find increased opportunities to work
together in building true peace.”
He reaffirmed the commitment on the part of the Holy See and the
Secretariat of State, saying they will “always be ready to cooperate
with those committed to ending current conflicts and to offer support
and hope to all who suffer.”