Pope Benedict XVI's World Peace Day message is addressed to all
people to say that “fanaticism, fundamentalisms and aggressive
secularism are enemies of true peace,” said the director of the Holy
See's Press Office.
Fr. Federico Lombardi focused this week's Vatican Television
editorial on the Pope's message for Jan. 1 titled "Religious Freedom,
the Path of Peace." The message was presented at a Vatican press
conference on Dec. 16.
One of the "most striking" affirmations in the Pope's message is that
Christians are the religious group that is most persecuted for their
faith worldwide, said Fr. Lombardi. It is "right" to emphasize this
fact, he said, but it isn't the “core” of the message.
The Pope's emphasis on religious freedom as a way to peace is meant
for "the good of all humanity, appealing to the dignity of the human
person, of every human person, and demanding a fundamental right for
them," he said.
The Pope uses the direct experience of the persecution of Christians
to "demand for all the right to seek God, recognize Him and honor Him
with their lives, privately and together with others."
Fr. Lombardi warned it is impossible to establish peaceful
communities if this right is not respected, because "fanaticisms,
fundamentalisms and aggressive secularism are enemies of true peace."
Another Dec. 18 editorial from Fr. Vito del Prete, acting director
the Vatican's Fides news service, added "if we want peace, we must
ensure that the right to choose and profess our own faith is guaranteed
to every human being."
All political institutions and world and religious leaders must work
to promote and protect religious freedom, "a true weapon and the way to
peace,” he wrote.
The 44th World Peace Day, or World Day of Peace, will be celebrated
on Jan. 1, 2011.
Pope Paul VI first celebrated the event on New Year’s
Day of 1967.
SIC: CNA/INT'L