A threat worse than war: “lack of will to build peace” – ZENIT
“We realized that the human family, threatened by war, faces a greater danger: will be to build peace”: Pope Francis emphasized this Friday, December 2, 2022.
On the morning of Friday, December 2, 2022, Pope Francis received members of the NGO “Leaders for Peace” together with its president, former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, in front of an audience for a training for young people in Rome. NGO “Traveling Peace School” in cooperation with the Pontifical Lateran University.
If the first step in the face of war is to “silence the guns”, then “it is necessary to rebuild the present and the future of coexistence, institutions, structures and services,” the Pope stressed. “Peace requires forms of reconciliation, shared values, education and training.”
It takes “courage” to work for peace, to “work together” to give back their “dignity” to the little ones. Also, the courage of mediation and reconciliation, the courage “not to put oneself above others”, the courage to “attack the causes of conflict, to renounce interests and hegemonic projects”, to go beyond the category of “enemy”, human brotherhood.
The goal of Leaders for Peace is to “provide political wisdom in the service of peace and common interests by raising awareness among leaders and the public about the risks of armed conflict.” Its International Network of Peace Schools aims to provide “the transfer of peace-building tools and techniques” to make young people “peacemakers in their environment”.
Speech of Pope Francis
Ladies and gentleman,
I am glad to meet with you and the deputies this time Leaders for peaceand thank you for your presence and for what Traveling Peace Schoolthese days it is held at the Pontifical Lateran University.
be a Leader for Peace It is a great responsibility and not just an obligation in our time. We realized that the human family, threatened by war, faces a greater danger: will be make peace. lack of will be make peace. You know from experience that in wartime, silencing the guns is the first step. But then you have to rebuild the present and the future of coexistence, institutions, structures and services. Peace requires forms of reconciliation, shared values and, crucially, ways of education and training.
Peacebuilding requires us to be creative, if necessary, to deviate from the usual patterns of international relations, and at the same time to oppose those who assign the role of resolving disputes between and within states to war, or even think of achieving it. conditions of justice necessary for the coexistence of nations by force. It should not be forgotten that the sacrifice of human life, the suffering of the population, the indiscriminate destruction of civilian structures, and the violation of the principle of humanity are not “collateral effects” of war, but international crimes. We must say it and repeat it.
Resorting to weapons to resolve conflicts is a sign of weakness and fragility. It takes courage to negotiate, mediate, and engage in reconciliation. Courage not to feel superior to others; Courage to eliminate the causes of conflict, renouncing interests and hegemonic plans; the courage to go beyond the category of enemies, to be the founder of a universal brotherhood that finds its strength in diversity and its unity in common dreams for all people.
Face-to-face the call of the latter The courage to work together is even more necessary for those who want hope for life, not theoretical peace. Therefore, building peace means initiating and supporting development processes to eradicate poverty, eradicate hunger, guarantee health and care, protect the common home, promote fundamental rights and eliminate discrimination caused by human mobility. Only then will peace be synonymous with dignity for every brother and sister.
I beg God’s bountiful favors on all of you and your work, and I ask you not to forget to pray for me. If one or the other does not pray because he does not know or cannot, at least send me “good feelings”: I need them for this work. Thanks.
