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POPE FRANCIS

Against War

Building a Culture of Peace



 



POPE FRANCIS

Against War

Building a Culture of Peace

With an Afterword by Andrea Tornielli

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Contents

Introduction: War Is a Sacrilege. Let's Stop Feeding It! 1

With War, No One Wins ••• + • + •• + • + + • + + + • + • + ••• + • + •• + + •• +7

War Destroys the Future + + + • + • + + • + + + + • + • + + ••••• + + + • +
• + + 7

We Have Accumulated Weapons and Lost the Peace. + • + + + + +8

What's the Point of Showing Your Teetl)? + + + • + + • + + + ••• + • + •• 9

With War, No One Wins + ••• + + •• + + + + + ••••• + •••• + + ••• 10

Spending on Weapons Sullies the Soul + ••••• + ••••
11

Human Life before Any Strategy ... + •••• + + ••••••••••• + + 12

Abuse of Power Condemns the Helpless. + • + ••••••• + ••••• 14

Every Conflict Is a Defeat of Humanity + ••••••••• + + + • + • + 15

The Good Sense to Negotiate .. + ••••• + •••• + ••• + •••••• +. 17

Let's Not Forget the Many Wars around the World! . + •••••
18

Those Who Have Weapons Sooner or
Later End Up Using Them + + • + + • + ••••• + + +. 19

A Culture of Death • + ••• + •• + + + ••• + •• + • + • + •• + ••••••••••• 23

The Culture of IndijJ"erence .. + + + •• + •• + • + •••• + + •• + • + • + •• 23

War Is Born in Human Hearts + •••••• + ••• + •• 24

War Eliminates All Development + •• + • + • + • + + + + • + + + + + • •• 26

v



VI Contents

A Madness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 27

A Monster That Destroys Humanity and the World 27

Conflicts Also Disfigure the Environment. 28
The «Piecemeal" 1Vorld War 29

Affecting the Little Ones ... + • + ••• + • + • + ••••• + •••••••••• 29
We Listen to the Little Ones + • + •••• + •••••••••••• + •••• + 30

Looking at Reality through the Eyes of Its Victims 30
Terrorism Has Nothing to Do with True Religion + •• 31

The Criminal Folly of Nuclear Weapons . + •••••••••••••••• 33

A Global Problem 33

A Tremendous Power + + .. + +. 36

A Great Deception. + + + + + 37

Peace Cannot Be Built on Jvfutual Distrust 38

Atomic Weapons Are Senseless .. + ..... + . + + + . + + 41

Protect Every Life: From the Apostolic Journey to Japan
(November 23-26,2019) + + +. + . + .. + + + + .. 45

The Dream of a World Free of Nuclear Weapons. + + + + + 45
Nuclear Powerfor Military Purposes Is Immoral. + .. + + 49

Hiroshima Is a Catechesis on Cruelty. + + + + + 54

The Only Solution to Conflicts Is Dialogue .. + + + . +. 55

Peace and Fraternity: From the Apostolic Journey to Iraq
(March 5-8, 2021)+ + + .. + + + •••••••••• 56

Fraternity Is Nourished by Solidarity 56

Weaving a Single Fraternity 60

We Look to Heaven and Journey on Earth 62

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Contents
Vll

Love Wins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
69

Jesus at Our Side
74

Church and Society Open to All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 76

A Better World 80

vVhen the Seed Dies) It Bears Much Fruit 80

Peace Is a Gift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 82

There Is No Alternative to Peace 84

Peace Comes from the Cross 85

True Peace Costs 86

Nonviolence: A Style ofPolitics for Peace 89

An Artisanal Path 95

Peace Is a Path 95

Peace Is Daily. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 99

Dialogue Opens the Way. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 99

Pray for Those Who Do Not Love Us
100

Learning the Art of Dialogue 101

Architecture of Reconciliation 102

Overcoming Evil with Good
102

Peace Is the Priority 103

Ecological Conversion
106

Brothers and Sisters 108

Fraternity Is the Grace of God tl)e Father 110

Easter Makes the Encounter with the Other Sprout Up 112

Follow Another Logic 114



V11l Contents

Prayers 116
A Prayer to tJJe Creator 116
An Ecumenical Christian Prayer 117

Prayer for Fraternity 117

Prayer of the Children of Abraham 119

Prayerfor the Victims of War 120

Afterword: A Century- Long Magisterium of
Peace by Andrea Tornielli 123

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Introduction

War Is a Sacrilege. Let's Stop Feeding It!

A year ago, on my pilgrimage to tormented Iraq, I was
able

to see for myself the disaster caused by war, fratricidal vio­
lence, and terrorism; I saw the rubble of houses and the

wounded hearts, but I also saw seeds of hope for rebirth. I
would never have imagined then that a year later a conflict
would break out in Europe.

From the beginning of my service as bishop of Rome,
I have talked about the Third World War, saying that we

are already living it, though still in pieces. Those pieces
have become bigger and bigger, welding together.... So

many wars are going on in the world right now, causing
immense pain for innocent victims, especially children­
wars that cause the flight of millions of people, forced to
leave their land, their homes, their devastated cities, to save

their own lives. 111ese are the many forgotten wars that

reappear from time to time before our
disenchanted eyes.

These wars often seemed "far away"-until now, suddenly,

1



2 Introduction

when war has broken out so close to us. Ukraine was
attacked and invaded. Many innocent civilians, women,
children, and elderly people have been affected by the
conflict, forced to live in shelters dug out of the earth to
escape the bombs. Families have been divided as husbands,
fathers, and grandparents remain in the fight, while wives,
mothers, and grandmothers seek refuge after long jour­
neys, hoping to cross the border to find shelter in other
countries that receive them with open hearts.

As every day we face heartbreaking images and hear
the cry of children and women, we can only scream, "Stop!"
War is not the solution. War is madness, war is a monster,
war is a cancer that feeds on itself, engulfing everything!
What is more, war is a sacrilege that wreaks havoc on what
is most precious on our earth: human life, the innocence
of the little ones, the beauty of creation. Yes, war is a sacri­
lege! I cannot fail to recall the plea with which Saint John
XXIII in 1962 asked the leaders of his time to halt an
escalation that could have dragged the world into the abyss
of nuclear conflict. I cannot forget the force with which
Saint Paul VI, speaking in 1965 at the United Nations
General Assembly, said, "Never again war! Never again
war!" Nor can I forget the many appeals for peace made
by Saint John Paul II, who in 1991 described war as Han
adventure without return:'

What we are witnessing is yet another barbarity and
unfortunately we have a short memory. Yes, because if we
had a memory, we would remember what our grandpar­
ents and our parents told us, and we would feel the need

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Introduction 3

r arirr anJ
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eei rhe need

for peace just as our lungs need oxygen. If we had
mern­

ory, we would not spend tens and hundreds of
billions of

dollars for rearmament, equipping ourselves with increas­

ingly sophisticated armaments, increasing the
market and

the trafficking of weapons that end up killing children,
women, and old people: $1.981 trillion per year, accord

...

ing to the calculations of an important
research center in

Stockholm. That marks a dramatic increase of 2.6 percent

in military spending in the second year of the pandemic,
when all our efforts should have been focused on global
health and saving lives from the virus. If we had memory,
we would know that war, before it reaches the front lines,

must be stopped in the heart. Hate, before it is too late,
must be eradicated from hearts. And in order to do so,

there is a need for dialogue, negotiation, listening, diplo­
matic skills and creativity, and farsighted politics capable
of building a new system of coexistence that is no longer
based on the power of weapons, but on

deterrence. Every
war is not only a defeat of politics but also a shameful sur­
render to the forces of evil.

In November 2019, in Hiroshima, a symbolic city
whose inhabitants, along with those of Nagasaki, were

slaughtered during the Second World War by two nuclear
bombs, I reaffirmed that the use of atomic energy for the

purposes of war is, today more than ever, a crime, not only
against man and his dignity, but against any possibility of
a future in our common home. The use of atomic energy

for purposes of war is immoral, just as the possession of
atomic weapons is immoral.



4 Introduction

Who could have imagined that less than three years
later the specter of a nuclear war would loom over Europe?
So, step by step, we are moving toward catastrophe. Piece
by piece the world risks becoming the scene of a unique
Third World War. We are moving toward it as if it were
inevitable.

Instead, we must forcefully repeat: No, it is not inev­
itable! No, war is not inescapable! When we allow our­
selves to be devoured by this monster represented by war,
when we allow this monster to raise its head and guide
our actions, we lose everything, we destroy God's creation,
we commit sacrilege and prepare a future of death for our
children and grandchildren.

Greed, intolerance, ambition for power, and violence

are motives that push forward the decision for war, and
these motives are often justified by a war ideology that
forgets the immeasurable dignity of human life, of every
human life, and the respect and care we owe them.

Faced with the images of death that come to us from
Ukraine, it is difficult to hope. Yet there are seeds of hope.
There are millions of people who do not aspire to war,
who do not justify war, but are asking for peace. There are
millions of young people who are asking us to do every�
thing possible and seemingly impossible to stop the war,
to stop all wars. It is in thinking first of all of them, of

young people and children, that we must repeat together:
Never again war! And together we must commit ourselves
to building a world that is more peaceful because it is more
just, where it is peace that triumphs

and not the folly of

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Introduction
5

war; justice, and not the injustice of war;
mutual forgive­

ness, and not the hatred that divides and makes
us see the

other, the person who is different from us, as an enemy.
Here I would like to quote an Italian pastor of souls,

the venerable Don Tonino Bello, bishop of Molfetta­
Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi, in Puglia, a tireless prophet of

peace, who loved to repeat:
conflicts and all wars Hfind their

root in the fading away of faces:' When we erase the face
of the other, then the noise of weapons crackles. When we

keep the other person, his or her face and pain,
before our

eyes, then we are not
allowed to violently disfigure his or

her dignity.
In my encyclical Fratelli tutti I proposed

that the

money spent on arms and other military expenditures
be

used to set up a World Fund to finally eliminate hunger
and to foster the development of the poorest countries, so

that their inhabitants would not resort to violent or decep­
tive solutions and would not be forced to leave their coun­

tries in search of a more dignified life.
I renew this proposal today, especially today. Because

war must be stopped, all wars must be stopped, and they
will only stop if we stop Hfeeding" them.

From the Vatican

March 29) 2022

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With War, No One Wins

War Destroys the Future

Dear brothers and sisters, more than a month has gone by
since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, since the

beginning of this cruel and senseless war, that, like every
war, represents a defeat for everyone, for everyone

of us.

We need to reject war, a place of death where fathers and
mothers bury their children, where men kill their brothers
and sisters without even having seen them, where the pow­
erful decide and the poor die.

War does not devastate the present only, but the future
of a society as well. I read that from the beginning of the

aggression in Ukraine, one out of every two children have
been displaced from their country. This means destroy­
ing the future, causing dramatic trauma in the lives of the
smallest and most innocent among us. This is the brutality
of war-a barbaric and sacrilegious act!

War should not be something that is inevitable. We
should not accustom ourselves to war. Instead, we need

to convert today's indignation into tomorrow's commit­
ment, because if we emerge from these events the way we

7



8 Against War

were before, we will all be guilty in some way. Faced with
the danger of self-destruction, may humanity understand
that the moment has come to abolish war, to erase it from
human history, before it erases humans from history.

I pray that every political leader may reflect on this,
to commit themselves to this! And, looking on martyred
Ukraine, to understand how each day of war worsens
the situation for everyone. Therefore, I renew my appeal:
Enough. Stop. May weapons be silenced. May peace be
seriously pursued. Let us continue to pray untiringly to
the Queen of Peace, to whom we consecrated humanity,
in particular Russia and Ukraine, with such a huge and
intense participation for which I thank all of you.

Angelus
March 27, 2022

We Have Accumulated Weapons and Lost the Peace

We have strayed from that path of peace. We have for­
gotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last
century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world

wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a
community of nations. We have betrayed peoples' dreams
of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with
greed, we thought only of our own nations and their inter­
ests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs
and concerns. We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with
our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress
innocent lives and to stockpile weapons. We stopped being

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With War, No One Wins
9

our neighbor's keepers and stewards of our
common home.

We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war
and by

our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father,
who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indif­

ferent to everyone and everything except ourselves.
Now

with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!

Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
March 25, 2022

What's the Point of Showing Your Teeth?

It is now evident that good politics cannot come from the
culture of power understood as domination

and oppres ..

,0 .... sion, but only from a culture of care, care for the person
and his or her dignity, and care for our common home.
This is proven, unfortunately negatively, by the shameful
war we are witnessing. I think that for those of you

who

belong to my generation it is unbearable to see
what has

happened and is happening in Ukraine. But unfortunately
this is the fruit of the old logic of power that still domi

..

nates the so .. called geopolitics. The history of the last sev
..

enty years shows that there
has been no lack of regional

wars; that's why I said that we were in the Third World
War in bits and pieces, all over the world, until we got to

this one, which has a bigger dimension and threatens the
whole world. But the basic problem is the same: the world
continues to be governed as a "chessboard," where the pow

..

erful study the moves to extend their dominance to
the

detriment of others.



10 Against War

The real answer is not more weapons, more sanctions. I
was ashamed when I read that a group of states has pledged
to spend 2 percent, I believe, of their GOP on arms pur�
chases, as a response to what is happening now. Madness!
The real answer, as I said, is not more weapons, more
sanctions, more political-military alliances, but a different
approach, a different way to govern the world, now global�
ized-not by showing teeth, as now-but a different way to
set up international relations. The model of care is already in
place, thank God, but unfortunately it is still subservient to
that of economic-technocratic-military power.

Address to meeting sponsored
by the Italian Women's Center

Sala Clementina
March 24, 2022

With War, No One Wins

The news of displaced persons, of people fleeing, killed,
wounded, of so many soldiers fallen on both sides,
is news of death. Let us ask the Lord of life to deliver

us from this death of war. With war everything is lost,
everything. There is no victory in a war; everything is
defeated. May the Lord send his Spirit to make us under­
stand that war is a defeat of humanity, to make us under­
stand that instead we need to defeat war. May the Spirit
of the Lord free us all from this self-destructive need that

is manifested in waging war. Let us also pray that lead­
ers may understand that buying and making weapons is

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With War} No One Wins

not the solution to the problem. The solution is to work

together for peace and, as the Bible says, to
turn weapons

into instruments for peace.

General Audience

Paul VI Hall

March 23} 2022

Spending on Weapons Sullies the Soul

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Why, then, wage war on each other over conflicts
that we

should resolve by talking to each other as fellow people?
Why not rather join our forces and

resources to fight
together the real battles of civilization: the fight against
hunger and thirst, the fight against disease and epidemics,
the fight against today's poverty and slavery? Why?

Certain

choices are not neutral: to allocate a large part of spend ...

ing to weapons means taking it away from something
else,

which means continuing to take it away yet again, from

those who lack the basic necessities. And this is a scandal:

spending on weapons. How much is spent on weapons,
terrible! I don't know the exact figure, but it's a high per ...

centage. And we spend on arms in order to wage wars,
not

only this one, which is very serious, and that
we are experi ...

encing now. We feel it more because it is closer,
but there

are continuous wars in Africa, in the Middle East, in Asia.

This is serious. We need to create the awareness that con
...

tinuing to spend on weapons sullies the soul,
sullies the

heart, sullies humanity. What is the use of solemnly com
...

mitting ourselves all together, on an international level,
in

11



12 Against War

campaigns against poverty, against hunger, against the deg­
radation of the planet, if we then fall back into the old vice
of war, into the old strategy of the power of armaments,
which takes everything and everyone backward? A war
always takes you backward, always. We walk backward.
We will have to start over again.

Greeting to members of I Was Thirsty
(volunteer organization)

Clementine Hall
March 21, 2022

Human Life before Any Strategy

Unfortunately, the violent aggression against Ukraine has
not stopped, a senseless massacre where slaughter and
atrocities are repeated every day. There is no justification
for this! I plead with all those who are involved in the
international community to truly be committed to putting
an end to this abhorrent war.

Again this week, missiles and bombs have fallen on
civilians, the elderly, children, and pregnant mothers. I
went to see the wounded children who are here in Rome.

One was missing an arm; another had a head injury ...
innocent children. I think of the millions of Ukrainian

refugees who have to flee, leaving everything behind, and
I feel a great pain for those who do not even have the

opportunity to escape. Many grandparents, sick and poor
people separated from their own families. Many children
and fragile people are left to die under the bombs, with-

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With War} No One 1Vim

out being able to receive help and without finding safety
even in the air raid shelters. All this is inhuman! Indeed, it

is also sacrilegious because it goes against the
sacredness

of human life, especially against defenseless human life,
which should be respected and protected, not eliminated,
and which comes before any strategy! Let us not forget, it
is inhuman and sacrilegious cruelty! Let us pray in silence
for those who are suffering.

It comforts me to know that the people left under the
bombs do not lack the closeness of their pastors, who in

these tragic days are living the Gospel of charity and
Ira­

ternity, I have spoken with some of them on the phone
during these days. They are close to the people of

God.

Thank you, dear brothers and sisters,
for this witness and

for the concrete support you are offering courageously to so

many desperate people! I also think of the Apostolic
Nun­

cio, who was just made a Nuncio, Archbishop
Visvaldas

Kulbokas, who has remained in Kyiv since the beginning of

the war along with his collaborators and who with his pres�
ence brings me close every day to the martyred

Ukrainian

people. Let us be close to this people, let us
embrace them

with affection, with concrete commitment and prayer. And

please, let us not get used to war and violence!
Let us not tire

of welcoming [refugees] with generosity as is being done,
not only now during the emergency, but also in

the weeks

and months to come. Because you know that at first, we all

do everything we can to welcome them, but then with
habit

our hearts are somewhat cooled and we forget. Let us think
of these women and children who in time, without work,

13



14 Against War

separated from their husbands, will be sought out by the
"vultures" of society. Please, let us protect them.

I invite every community and all the faithful to join
me on Friday, March 25, Solemnity of the Annunciation,
for the Solemn Act of Consecration of humanity, espe�
cially Russia and Ukraine, to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary, so that she, the Queen of Peace, may bring peace
to the world.

Angelus
March 20) 2022

Abuse of Power Condemns the Helpless

What we have been experiencing in recent weeks is not
what we had hoped for after the difficult health emergency
caused by the pandemic, which made us experience a sign
of powerlessness and fear, together with the fragile condi­
tion of our existence. The tragedy of the war that is taking
place in the heart of Europe leaves us astonished; we never
thought we would see such scenes again, reminiscent of
the great wars of the last century. The heartbreaking cry
for help from our Ukrainian brothers and sisters urges us
as a community of believers not only to reflect seriously,
but to cry with them and to do something for them-to
share the anguish of a people whose identity, history, and
tradition have been wounded. The blood and tears of chil­

dren, the suffering of women and men who are defend­
ing their land or fleeing from bombs rattle our conscience.

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With War, No One Wins
15

Once again humanity is threatened by a perverse
abuse of

power and partisan interests, which
condemns defenseless

people to suffer all forms of brutal violence....

Today more than ever it is urgent to review
the style

and effectiveness of the ars politica. In the face of the many
changes we are witnessing at an international level,

it is our

duty to make possible "the development of a global
com ...

munity of fraternity based on the practice of
social friend ...

ship on the part of peoples and nations" (Fratelli tutti, 154).
War, which "leaves our world worse than it was

before" and

is "a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitu
...

lation ... before the forces of evil" (261), may in this sense

provoke an opposite reaction, a commitment to
reestablish

an architecture of peace at the global level (see 231), in
which the European house, born to guarantee peace

after

the world wars, has a primary role.

Message on occasion of opening of
European Catholic Social Days

Bratislava

March 15, 2022

Every Conflict Is a Defeat of Humanity

We are used to hearing news of wars, but far away: Syria,
Yemen ... the usual. Now the war has come closer, it is

practically on our doorstep. And this makes
us think

about the "savagery" of human nature, how far we are

capable of going. Murderers of our brothers.
Thank you,



16 Against War

Ri

Monsignor Guy-Real Thivierge, for this letter that you
brought, which is a wake-up call. It draws attention to
what is happening. We talk about education, and when
one thinks of education one thinks of children, young

people.... Let us think of so many soldiers who are sent
to the front, very young Russian soldiers, poor things.
Think of the many young Ukrainian soldiers; think of the

inhabitants, the young people, the boys and girls.... This
is happening close to us. The Gospel only asks us not to
look the other way, which is precisely the most pagan atti­
tude of Christians: when Christians become used to look­

ing the other way, they slowly become pagans disguised as
Christians. This is why I wanted to begin with this, with
this reflection. The war is not far away: it is on our door­

step. What am I doing� Here in Rome, at the Bambino
Gesu Hospital, there are children wounded by the bomb­
ings. At home, they take them home. Do I pray? Do I fast�
Do I do penance? Or do I live carefree, as we normally
live through distant wars? A war is always-always!-the
defeat of humanity, always. We, the educated, who work
in education, are defeated by this war, because [it is] "else-
where"; we are responsible. There is no such thing as a just
war: they do not exist!

to

m

vit

Do

[it

dti

tio

dn

Dr

Speech to meeting promoted
by the Gravissium Educationis foundation

Clementine Hall
March 18, 2022

it�

to



With War) No One Wins

The Good Sense to Negotiate

: {jl}�� pro/ll�Ui
••

I Jj;.i I�J(//Jdali�1i
o JJ1�nti1/e Hal:
tll'·/J 18, 2021

Rivers of blood and tears are flowing in Ukraine. It is not

merely a military operation, but a war that sows death,
destruction, and misery. The number of victims is increas­

ing, as are the people fleeing, especially
mothers and chil­

dren. The need for humanitarian assistance in that trou­

bled country is growing dramatically by the hour.
I make a heartfelt appeal for humanitarian corridors

to be genuinely secured, and for access to the besieged
areas to be guaranteed and facilitated, in order to offer
vital relief to our brothers and sisters oppressed by
bombs and fear.

I thank all those who are taking in refugees. Above all,
I implore that the armed attacks cease and that negoti­
ation-and common sense-prevail. And that interna­

tionallaw be respected once again!
And I would also like to thank the journalists who

put their lives at risk to guarantee
information. Thank

you, brothers and sisters, for this
service! A service that

allows us to be close to the tragedy of that population
and enables us to assess the cruelty of a war. Thank you,
brothers and sisters.

Let us pray together for Ukraine: here in the front are
its flags. Let us pray together, as brothers and sisters, to
Our Lady, Queen of Ukraine. Hail Mary....

111e Holy See is prepared to do everything to put itself
at the service of this peace. In these days, two cardinals went
to Ukraine to serve the people, to help. Cardinal Konrad

17



18 Against War

Krajewski, the almoner, to bring aid to the needy, and Car­
dinal Michael Czerny, interim prefect of the Dicastery
for Promoting Integral Human Development. The pres�
ence of the two cardinals there is the presence, not only
of the pope, but of all Christian people who want to draw
closer and say, "War is madness! Stop, please! Look at
this cruelty!"

Angelus
March 6, 2022

Let's Not Forget the Many Wars around the World!

In recent days we have been shaken by something tragic:
war. Several times we have prayed that this road would
not be taken. And let us not stop praying; indeed, let us

implore God more intensely. For this reason, I renew to all
the invitation to make March 2, Ash Wednesday, a day of
prayer and fasting for peace in Ukraine. A day to be close
to the sufferings of the Ukrainian people, to feel that we
are all brothers and sisters, and to implore God for the end
of the war.

Those who wage war, those who provoke war, forget
humanity. They do not start from the people, they do not
look at the real life of people, but place partisan interests
and power before all else. They trust in the diabolical and
perverse logic of weapons, which is furthest from the will
of God. And they distance themselves from ordinary peo�
ple, who want peace, and who are the real victims in every

Wit

cont
I tbii
these

They

�um�
UKrai�
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lo�ei(on�io
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With War, No One Wins
19

conflict, who pay for the follies of war
with their own skin.

I think of the elderly, of those who are seeking refuge in
these hours, of mothers fleeing with their children....

TI1ey are brothers and sisters for whom it is urgent to open
humanitarian corridors, and who should be welcomed.

With a heart broken by what is happening in
Ukraine-and let us not forget the wars in other parts of
the world, such as in Yemen, in Syria, in Ethiopia ...

- I

repeat: Silence all weapons! God is with the peacemak­
ers, not with those who use violence. Because those

who

love peace, as the Italian Constitution states, reject "war
as

an instrument of aggression against the freedom of other

peoples and as a means for the settlement of international

disputes:'
Angelus

February 27) 2022

Those Who Have Weapons Sooner or
Later End Up Using Them

Dialogue and fraternity are two essential focal points in
our efforts to overcome the crisis of the present moment.

Yet "despite numerous efforts aimed at constructive dia­

logue between nations, the deafening noise of war and
conflict is intensifying" [Message for the 2022 World Day
of Peace, 1]. The entire international community must
address the urgent need to find solutions to endless

con­

flicts that at times appear as true proxy wars.



20 Against War
Wit!

I think first of Syria, where the country's rebirth does
not yet clearly appear on the horizon. Even today, the Syr-

endel

ian people mourn their dead and the loss of everything,
offefl(

and continue to hope for a better future. Political and ronBj(
constitutional reforms are required for the country to be izatianj
reborn, but the imposition of sanctions should not strike l�m�al

directly at everyday life, in order to provide a glimmer of vulnera

hope to the general populace, increasingly caught in the
Rei

grip of poverty.
�ion�n

Nor can we overlook the conflict in Yemen, a human anala�

tragedy that has gone on for years, silently, far from the !Outne

spotlight of the media and with a certain indifference on �voiae
the part of the international community, even as it contin-

Di

ues to claim numerous civil victims, particularly women neeae
and children. �i�tna

In the past year, no steps forward were made in
the meW

Ipeace process between Israel and Palestine. I would truly ��ntin
like to see these two peoples rebuild mutual trust and N
resume speaking directly to each other, in order to reach aanee
the point where they can live in two states, side by side, in tno�ev
peace and security, without hatred and resentment, but the aeeeiv

healing born of mutual forgiveness. toai��
Other sources of concern are the institutional ten- aailr

sions in Libya, the episodes of violence by international Tno�e
terrorism in the Sahel region, and the internal conflicts in !inee,
Sudan, South Sudan, and Ethiopia, where there is need \Vitno
lito find once again the path of reconciliation and peace Oeto�
through a forthright encounter that places the needs of the lo�ie
people above all else" [Urbi et Orbi, December 25, 2021J. aiala



With War) No One Wins

e here is neeu

I ; cion nd pearl
h� needs of tDe

et 25, 2021 J.

Profound situations of inequality and injustice,
endemic corruption, and various forms of poverty

that

offend the dignity of persons also continue to fuel social
conflicts on the American continent, where growing polar­
ization is not helping to resolve the real and pressing prob­
lems of its people, especially those who are most poor and
vulnerable.

Reciprocal trust and readiness to engage in calm discus­
sion should also inspire all parties at stake, so that acceptable
and lasting solutions can be found in Ukraine and in the
southern Caucasus, and the outbreak of new crises can be

avoided in the Balkans, primarily in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Dialogue and fraternity are all the more urgently

needed for dealing wisely and effectively with the cri­
sis that for almost a year now has affected Myanmar; its

streets, once places of encounter, are now the scene of

fighting that does not spare even houses of prayer.
Naturally, these conflicts are exacerbated by the abun­

dance of weapons on hand and the unscrupulousness of

those who make every effort to supply them. At times, we
deceive ourselves into thinking that these weapons serve
to dissuade potential aggressors. History and, sadly, even

daily news reports make it clear that this is not the case.
Those who possess weapons will eventually use them,
since, as Saint Paul VI observed, "a person cannot love

with offensive weapons in his hands" [Address to the UN,
October 4, 1965J. Furthermore, "When we yield to the

logic of arms and distance ourselves from the practice of

dialogue, we forget to our detriment that, even before

21



22 Against War

causing victims and ruination, weapons can create night­
mares" [Meeting for Peace, Hiroshima, November 24,
2019J. Today these concerns have become even more real,
if we consider the availability and employment of auton­
omous weapon systems that can have terrible and unfore­

seen consequences, and should be subject to the responsi­
bility of the international community.

Among the weapons humanity has produced, nuclear
arms are of particular concern. At the end of last Decem­
ber, the Tenth Review Conference of the parties to the

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,
which was to meet in New York, was once again post­
poned due to the pandemic. A world free of nuclear arms
is possible and necessary. I therefore express my hope that
the international community will view that conference as
an opportunity to take a significant step in this direction.
The Holy See continues steadfastly to maintain that in
the twenty-first century nuclear arms are an inadequate
and inappropriate means of responding to security threats,
and that possession of them is immoral. Their production
diverts resources from integral human development, and
their employment not only has catastrophic humanitarian
and environmental consequences, but also threatens the

very existence of humanity.
Address to members of the diplomatic corps

accredited to the Holy See
Aula della Benedizione

January 10) 2022

AC

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f�milr i
jUHice
in�teaa
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Tni� il
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we face

Ji�arr I
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rulture



A Culture of Death

The Culture ofIndifference

In today's world, the sense of belonging to a single human

family is fading, and the dream of working together for

justice and peace seems an outdated utopia. What reigns
instead is a cool, comfortable, and globalized indiffer­
ence, born of deep disillusionment concealed behind a

deceptive illusion: thinking that we are all-powerful,
while failing to realize that we are all in the same boat.
This illusion, unmindful of the great fraternal values,

leads to a sort of cynicism. For that is the temptation
we face if we go down the road of

disenchantment and

disappointment.... Isolation and withdrawal into one's
own interests are never the way to restore hope and bring
about renewal. Rather, it is closeness; it is the culture of

encounter. Isolation, no; closeness, yes. Culture clash, no;
culture of encounter, yes.

Fratelli tutti, 30

23



24 Against War

WalA Is Born in Human Hearts

A hundred years after the end of the First World War, as
we remember the young people killed in those battles and
the civilian populations torn apart, we are more conscious
than ever of the terrible lesson taught by fratricidal wars:
peace can never be reduced solely to a balance between
power and fear. To threaten others is to lower them to the
status of objects and to deny their dignity. This is why we
state once more that an escalation of intimidation, and the
uncontrolled proliferation of arms, is contrary to morality
and the search for true peace. Terror exerted over those

who are most vulnerable contributes to the exile of entire

populations who seek a place of peace. Political addresses
that tend to blame every evil on migrants and to deprive
the poor of hope are unacceptable. Rather, there is a need
to reaffirm that peace is based on respect for each person,
whatever his or her background, on respect for the law and
the common good, and on respect for the environment
entrusted to our care and for the richness of the moral tra­

dition inherited from past generations.
Our thoughts turn in a particular way to all those chil­

dren currently living in areas of conflict, and to all those
who work to protect their lives and defend their rights.
One out of every six children in our world are affected by
the violence of war or its effects, even when they are not
enrolled as child soldiers or held hostage by armed groups.
TIle witness given by those who work to defend them and
their dignity is most precious for the future of humanity.

AC

of tb
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A Culture ofDeath
25

In these days, we celebrate the seventieth anniversary
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted
in the wake of the Second World War. In this context,

let

us also remember the observation of Pope John XXIII:

"Man's awareness of his rights must inevitably lead him

to the recognition of his duties. The possession
of rights

involves the duty of implementing those rights, for they are
the expression of a man's personal dignity. And the posses­
sion of rights also involves their recognition and respect by
others" [Pacem in Terris, 44].

Peace, in effect, is the fruit of a great political proj­
ect grounded in the mutual responsibility and

interde­

pendence of human beings. But it is also a challenge
that

demands to be taken up ever anew. It entails a
conversion

of heart and soul; it is both interior and communal; and it

has three inseparable aspects:

• Peace with oneself rejecting inflexibility, anger,
and impatience; in the words of Saint Francis de

Sales, showing "a bit of sweetness towards oneself"
in order to offer "a bit of sweetness to others:'

• Peace with others: family members, friends, strang­
ers, the poor and the suffering, being unafraid to
encounter them and listen to what they have to say.

• Peace with all creation, rediscovering the grandeur
of God's gift and our individual and shared re­

sponsibility as inhabitants of this world, citizens
and builders of the future.



26 Against War

The politics of peace, conscious of and deeply con­
cerned for every situation of human vulnerability, can
always draw inspiration from the Magnificat, the hymn
that Mary, the Mother of Christ the Savior and Queen
of Peace, sang in the name of all mankind: HHe has mercy
on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown
the strength of his arm; he has scattered the proud in their
conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly; ... for he has remembered his
promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to
Abraham and his children forever" (Lk 1:50-55).

Message for the LII World Day of Peace
January 1, 2019

War Eliminates All Development

"Deceit is in the mind of those who plan evil, but those
who counsel peace have joy" (Prov 12:20). Yet there are
those who seek solutions in war, frequently fueled by a
breakdown in relations, hegemonic ambitions, abuses of
power, fear of others, and a tendency to see diversity as an
obstacle. War is not a ghost from the past but a constant
threat. Our world is encountering growing difficulties on
the slow path to peace upon which it had embarked and
that had already begun to bear good fruit.

Since conditions that favor the outbreak of wars are
once again increasing, I can only reiterate that war is the
negation of all rights and a dramatic assault on the envi-

ronm

all,wl
and pI

A MaJi
lnave:
numoe
million
Thi� te
ne�� fro
Decau� ,

are �til
tni� le�
to una

for�ive
witnw

AMo



A Culture ofDeath
27

ronrnent. If we want true integral human development for

all, we must work tirelessly to avoid war between nations

and peoples.
Fratelli tutti) 256-57

A Madness

I have prayed for those who fell in the Great War. The
numbers are frightening: it is said that approximately eight
million young soldiers fell and seven

million civilians died.

This tells us the extent to which war is madness! A mad
...

ness from which humanity has not yet learned its lesson,
because a second world war followed it and many more

are still in progress today. But when will we learn from
this lesson? I invite everyone to look to the Crucified Jesus
to understand that hatred and evil are defeated through
forgiveness and goodness, to understand that responding
with war only increases evil and death!

Angelus
September 14) 2014

A Monster That Destroys Humanity and the WMld

War is always that monster that transforms itself with the

change of epochs and continues to devour humanity. But
the

response to war is not another war;
the response to weap

...

ons is not other weapons. And I ask myself: Who is selling
weapons to the terrorists? Who sells weapons today to the



28 Against War

terrorists, who are carrying out massacres in other areas­
let us think of Africa, for example? It is a question that I
would like someone to answer. 111e response is not war, but

the response is fraternity. 111is is the challenge not only for
Iraq: it is the challenge for many regions in conflict and, ulti­
mately, it is the challenge for the entire world: fraternity. Will
we be capable of creating fraternity among us, of building a
culture of brothers and sisters? Or will we continue with the

logic Cain began, war? Brotherhood, fraternity.
General Audience

Library of the Apostolic Palace
March 20, 2021

Conflicts Also Disfigure the Environment

It is foreseeable that, once certain resources have been

depleted, the scene will be set for new wars, albeit under the
guise of noble claims. War always does grave harm to the
environment and to the cultural riches of peoples, risks that
are magnified when one considers nuclear arms and biolog­
ical weapons. "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"
[John Paul II, Messagefor 1990 World Day Prayer, 12J. Pol­
itics must pay greater attention to foreseeing new conflicts
and addressing the causes that can lead to them. But pow,
erful financial interests prove most resistant to this effort,
and political planning tends to lack breadth of vision. What

waul
to be

wasu

�rotn
of the

di�ni
maim
the r�
hOWl
time



A Culture ofDeath
29

would induce anyone, at this stage,
to hold on to power only

to be remembered for their inability to take action when it

was urgent and necessary to do
so?

Laudato si; 57

The "Piecemeal" World War

War, terrorist attacks, racial or religious persecution, and

many other affronts to
human dignity are judged differ­

ently, depending on how convenient it proves
for certain,

primarily economic, interests. What is true as long as
it is

convenient for someone in power stops being true once it
becomes inconvenient. These situations of violence, sad to

say, have become so
common as to constitute a real "third

world war" fought piecemeaL
Fratelli tutti, 25

Affecting the Little Ones

Brothers and sisters, never war! Never war! I think mostly
of the children, of those who are deprived of the hope for a

dignified life, of a future: dead children, wounded children,
maimed children, orphaned children, children who have
the remnants of war as toys, children who do not

know

how to smile. Stop, please! I ask you with all my heart. It is
time to stop! Stop, please!

Angelus
July 27, 2014



30 Against War

We Listen to the Little Ones

Hope has the face of children. In the Middle East, for
years, an appalling number of young people have been
mourning violent deaths in their families and seeing
their native land threatened, often with their only pros�
pect being that of flight. This is the death of hope. All too
many children have spent most of their lives looking at
rubble instead of schools, hearing the deafening explosion
of bombs rather than the happy din of playgrounds. May
humanity listen-this is my plea-to the cry of children,
whose mouths proclaim the glory of God (cf. Ps 8:3). Only
by wiping away their tears will the world recover its dig�
nity,

Address at the Conclusion of the Dialogue
Bari, Italy

July 7, 2018

Looking at Reality through the Eyes of Its Victims

Every war leaves our world worse than it was before. War
is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capit­
u1ation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil. Let us
not remain mired in theoretical discussions, but touch the
wounded flesh of the victims. Let us look once more at

all those civilians whose killing was considered "collateral
damage:' Let us ask the victims themselves. Let us think of
the refugees and displaced, those who suffered the effects
of atomic radiation or chemical attacks, the mothers who

lost

aept
of th

eres,
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neart
(noos

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aiml
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\ninstWar A Culture of Death
31

lost their children, and the boys and girls maimed or

deprived of their childhood. Let us hear the true
stories

of these victims of violence, look at reality through their

eyes, and listen with an open
heart to the stories they tell.

In this way, we will be able to grasp
the abyss of evil at the

heart of war. Nor will it trouble us to be deemed naive for

choosing peace.
Fratclli tutti, 261

Terrorism Has Nothing to Do with True Religion

Sincere and humble worship of God "bears fruit not in
discrimination, hatred and violence, but in respect for

the sacredness of life, respect for the dignity and freedom
of others, and loving commitment to the welfare of all"

[Homily, Colombo, Sri Lanka, January 15,2015]. Truly,
"Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is

love" (1 In 4:8). For this reason, terrorism is deplorable
and threatens the security of people- be they in the East
or the West, the North or the South-and disseminates

panic, terror, and pessimism, but this is not due to religion,
even when terrorists instrumentalize it. It is due, rather, to

an accumulation of incorrect interpretations of religious
texts and to policies linked to hunger, poverty, injustice,
oppression, and pride. That is why it is so necessary to stop
supporting terrorist movements fueled by financing, the

provision of weapons and strategy, and by attempts to jus
...

tify these movements, even using the media. All these must
be regarded as international crimes that threaten security



32 Against War

and world peace. Such terrorism must be condemned in

all its forms and expressions. Religious convictions about
the sacred meaning of human life permit us to recognize
the fundamental values of our common humanity, values
in the name of which we can and must cooperate, build

and dialogue, pardon and grow; this will allow different
voices to unite in creating a melody of sublime nobility and
beauty, instead of fanatical cries of hatred.

At times, fundamentalist violence is unleashed in some

groups, of whatever religion, by the rashness of their lead­
ers. Yet, "The commandment of peace is inscribed in the

depths of the religious traditions that we represent.... As
religious leaders, we are called to be true 'people of dia­
logue,' to cooperate in building peace not as intermediar­
ies but as authentic mediators. Intermediaries seek to give
everyone a discount, ultimately in order to gain something
for themselves. The mediator, on the other hand, is one
who retains nothing for himself but rather spends himself
generously until he is consumed, knowing that the only
gain is peace. Each one of us is called to be an artisan of

peace, by uniting and not dividing, by extinguishing hatred
and not holding on to it, by opening paths of dialogue and
not by constructing new walls" [Address to the International
Meetingfor Peace, September 30, 2013J.

Fratelli tutti} 283-84

The

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The Criminal Folly of
Nuclear Weapons

A Global Problem

Nuclear weapons are a global problem, affecting all
nations, and impacting future generations and the planet
that is our home. A global ethic is needed if we are to
reduce the nuclear threat and work toward nuclear disar

...

mament. Now more than ever, technological, social, and

political interdependence urgently call for an ethic of sol
...

idarity, which encourages peoples to work together for a
more secure world, and a future that is increasingly rooted
in moral values and responsibility on a global scale.

The humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons

are predictable and planetary. While the focus is often

placed on nuclear weapons' potential for mass killing,
more attention must be given to the "unnecessary suffer

...

ing" brought on by their use. Military codes and
inter ...

national law, among others, have long banned peoples
from inflicting unnecessary suffering. If such suffering is
banned in the waging of conventional war, then it should

33



34 Against War

all the more be banned in nuclear conflict. There are

those among us who are victims of these weapons; they
warn us not to commit the same irreparable mistakes
that have devastated populations and creation. I extend
warm greetings to the Hibakusha, as well as other victims
of nuclear weapons testing who are present at this meet­

ing. I encourage them all to be prophetic voices, calling
the human family to a deeper appreciation of beauty, love,
cooperation, and fraternity, while reminding the world of
the risks of nuclear weapons, which have the potential to
destroy us and civilization.

Nuclear deterrence and the threat of mutually assured
destruction cannot be the basis for an ethics of fraternity
and peaceful coexistence among peoples and states. The
youth of today and tomorrow deserve far more. They
deserve a peaceful world order based on the unity of the
human family, grounded on respect, cooperation, solidar­
ity, and compassion. Now is the time to counter the logic
of fear with the ethic of responsibility, and so foster a eli­
mate of trust and sincere dialogue.

Spending on nuclear weapons squanders the wealth
of nations. To prioritize such spending is a mistake and a
misallocation of resources that would be far better invested

in the areas of integral human development, education,
health, and the fight against extreme poverty. When these
resources are squandered, the poor and the weak living on
the margins of society pay the price.

The desire for peace, security, and stability is one of
the deepest longings of the human heart. It is rooted in

the

itary
weapo
(anna

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tator�n

ju�ti(e,
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The Criminal Folly ofNuclear Weapons
35

the Creator who makes all people members of the one
human family. This desire can never be satisfied by

mil­

itary means alone, much less the possession
of nuclear

weapons and other weapons of
mass destruction. Peace

cannot "be reduced solely to maintaining a balance of

power between enemies;
nor is it brought about by dic­

tatorship" (Gaudium et Spes) 78). Peace must be built
on

justice, socioeconomic development, freedom, respect
for fundamental human rights, the participation of all
in public affairs, and the building of trust between peo­
ples. Pope Paul VI stated this succinctly in his encycli­
cal Populorum Progrcssio: "Development is the new

name

for peace" (76). It is incumbent on us to adopt
concrete

actions that promote peace and security, while remaining

always aware of the limitation of shortsighted approaches
to problems of national and international security.

We

must be profoundly committed to strengthening mutual

trust, for only through such trust can true and lasting
peace among nations be

established ....

I wish to encourage sincere and open dialogue between

parties internal to each nuclear state,
between various

nuclear states, and between nuclear states and nonnuclear

states. This dialogue must be inclusive, involving interna­
tional organizations, religious communities, and civil soci­

ety, and oriented toward the
common good and not the

protection of vested interests. ((A world
without nuclear

weapons" is a goal shared by all nations and echoed by
world leaders, as well as the aspiration of millions of men

and women. The future and the survival of the human



36 Against War 'Ihe

family hinge on moving beyond this ideal and ensuring how
that it becomes a reality. nuci(

I am convinced that the desire for peace and fraternity centu
planted deep in the human heart will bear fruit in concrete mum:
ways to ensure that nuclear weapons are banned once and bl19
for all, to the benefit of our common home. The security deadl�1of our own future depends on guaranteeing the peaceful In \Vn
security of others, for if peace, security, and stability are tuallr
not established globally, they will not be enjoyed at all. huma�
Individually and collectively, we are responsible for the
present and future well-being of our brothers and sisters.
It is my great hope that this responsibility will inform our
efforts in favor of nuclear disarmament, for a world with­
out nuclear weapons is truly possible.

Message on the occasion of the Vienna Conference
on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons natio

December 7) 2014 ofais
oetwe
ana iA Tremendous Power

We must recognize that nuclear energy, biotechnology,
information technology, knowledge of our DNA, and
many other abilities that we have acquired have given
us tremendous power. More precisely, they have given
those with the knowledge, and especially the economic
resources to use them, an impressive dominance over
the whole of humanity and the entire world. Never has
humanity had such power over itself, yet nothing ensures
that it will be used wisely, particularly when we consider

to tne
aestr
oasea
mea
affron
wnich
Ther

wear
inlet
Ofth



The Criminal Folly ofNuclear Weapons
37

how it is currently being used. We need but think of
the

nuclear bombs dropped in the middle of the twentieth

century, or the array of technology that Nazism,
Com­

munism, and other totalitarian regimes have employed to

kill millions of people, to say nothing of the increasingly
deadly arsenal of weapons available for modern

warfare.

In whose hands does all this power lie, or will it even­

tually end up: It is extremely risky for a small part
of

humanity to have it.
Laudato si; 104

A Great Deception

The Preamble and the first Article of the Charter of the

United Nations set forth the foundations of the inter­

national juridical framework: peace, the pacific solution
of disputes, and the development of friendly relations
between the nations. Strongly opposed to such statements,
and in practice denying them, is the constant tendency
to the proliferation of arms, especially weapons of mass

destruction, such as nuclear weapons. An ethics and a law

based on the threat of mutual destruction-and possibly
the destruction of all mankind-are self-contradictory and an

affront to the entire framework of the United Nations,

which would end up as "nations united by fear and distrust:'
There is urgent need to work for a world

free of nuclear

weapons, in full application of the Non-Proliferation Treaty,
in letter and spirit, with the goal of a complete prohibition
of these weapons.



38 Against War

The recent agreement reached on the nuclear question
in a sensitive region of Asia and the Middle East is proof
of the potential of political goodwill and of law, exercised
with sincerity, patience, and constancy. I express my hope
that this agreement will be lasting and efficacious, and
bring forth the desired fruits with the cooperation of all
the parties involved.

Address to the UN General Assembly
New York

September 25) 2015

Peace Cannot Be Built on Mutual Distrust

We must commit ourselves to a world without nuclear

weapons, by fully implementing the Non-Proliferation
Treaty, both in letter and spirit.

But why give ourselves this demanding and forward­
looking goal in the present international context characterized
by an unstable climate of conflict, which is both cause and
indication of the difficulties encountered in advancing and
strengthening the process of nuclear disarmament and
nuclear nonproliferation?

If we take into consideration the principal threats to
peace and security with their many dimensions in this
multipolar world of the twenty-first century-as, for
example, terrorism, asymmetrical conflicts, cybersecurity,
environmental problems, and poverty-not a few doubts
arise regarding the inadequacy of nuclear deterrence as an
effective response to such challenges. These concerns are

1he

even

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The Criminal Folly ofNuclear Weapons
39

even greater when we consider
the catastrophic humani­

tarian and environmental consequences that would follow

from any use of nuclear weapons,
with devastating, indis­

criminate, and uncontainable effects, over time and space.
Similar cause for concern arises when examining the waste

of resources spent on nuclear issues for military purposes,
which could instead be used for worthy priorities like the

promotion of peace and integral human development,
as

well as the fight against poverty, and the implementation
of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

We need also to ask ourselves how sustainable is a

stability based on fear, when it actually increases fear
and

undermines relationships of trust between peoples.
International peace and stability cannot be based on a

false sense of security, on the threat of mutual destruction

or total annihilation, or on simply maintaining a balance of

power. Peace must be built on justice, on integral
human

development, on respect for fundamental human rights,
on the protection of creation, on the participation of

all

in public life, on trust between peoples, on the support
of

peaceful institutions, on access to education and health,
on

dialogue and solidarity. From this perspective, we need
to

go beyond nuclear deterrence: the international
commu­

nity is called upon to adopt forward-looking strategies
to

promote the goal of peace and stability and to avoid short­

sighted approaches to the problems surrounding
national

and international security.
In this context, the ultimate goal of the total elimina­

tion of nuclear weapons becomes both a challenge and a



40 Against War me

moral and humanitarian imperative. A concrete approach
should promote a reflection on an ethics of peace and
multilateral and cooperative security that goes beyond the
fear and isolationism that prevail in many debates today.
Achieving a world without nuclear weapons involves a
long-term process, based on the awareness that "everything
is connected" within the perspective of an integral ecol­
ogy (see Laudato si'. 117, 138). The common destiny of
humankind demands the pragmatic strengthening of dia­
logue and the building and consolidating of mechanisms
of trust and cooperation, capable of creating the condi­
tions for a world without nuclear weapons.

Growing interdependence and globalization mean that
any response to the threat of nuclear weapons should be
collective and concerted, based on mutual trust. This trust
can be built only through dialogue that is truly directed
to the common good and not to the protection of veiled
or particular interests. Such dialogue, as far as possible,
should include all: nuclear states, countries that do not

possess nuclear weapons, the military and private sectors,
religious communities, civil societies, and international
organizations. And in this endeavor we must avoid those
forms of mutual recrimination and polarization that hin­
der dialogue rather than encourage it. Humanity has the
ability to work together in building up our common home;
we have the freedom, intelligence, and capacity to lead and
direct technology, to place limits on our power, and to put
all this at the service of another type of progress: one that
is more human, social, and integral.

Dye
andi
alon�
Altho

�oalJ i

Mom

Acer

fora
mam�



The Criminal Folly of Nuclear Weapons
41

This conference intends to negotiate a treaty inspired
by ethical and moral arguments. It is an exercise

in hope
and it is my wish that it may also

constitute a decisive step

along the road toward a world without nuclear weapons.
Although this is a significantly complex and long-term
goat it is not beyond our reach.

Message to the UN Conference to Negotiate
a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit

Nuclear Weapons, Leading towards
Their Total Elimination

New York

March 23,2017

Atomic Weapons Are Senseless

A certain pessimism might make us think that "prospects
for a world free from nuclear arms and for integral disar­

mament;' the theme of your meeting, appear increasingly
remote. Indeed, the escalation of the arms race continues

unabated, and the price of modernizing and developing
weaponry, not only nuclear weapons, represents a consid­
erable expense for nations. As a result, the real priorities

facing our human family, such as the fight against poverty;
the promotion of peace; the undertaking of educational,

ecological, and health-care projects; and the development
of human rights, are relegated to second place.

Nor can we fail to be genuinely concerned by the

catastrophic humanitarian and environmental effects of

any employment of nuclear devices. If we also
take into



42 Against War 1he

account the risk of an accidental detonation as a result of
error of any kind, the threat of their use, as well as their

very possession, is to be firmly condemned. For they exist
in the service of a mentality of fear that affects not only
the parties in conflict but the entire human race. Interna­
tional relations cannot be held captive to military force,
mutual intimidation, and the parading of stockpiles of
arms. Weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear
weapons, create nothing but a false sense of security.
They cannot constitute the basis for peaceful coexistence
between members of the human family, which must
rather be inspired by an ethics of solidarity. Essential
in this regard is the witness given by the HibakuslJa, the
survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
together with other victims of nuclear arms testing. May
their prophetic voice serve as a warning, above all for
coming generations!

Furthermore, weapons that result in the destruction
of the human race are senseless even from a tactical stand­

point. For that matter, while true science is always at the
service of humanity, in our time we are increasingly trou­
bled by the misuse of certain projects originally conceived
for a good cause. Suffice it to note that nuclear technolo­
gies are now spreading, also through digital communica­
tions, and that the instruments of international law have
not prevented new states from joining those already in
possession of nuclear weapons. The resulting scenarios are
deeply disturbing if we consider the challenges of contem­
porary geopolitics, like terrorism or asymmetric warfare.

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The Criminal Folly of Nuclear Weapons 43

At the same time, a healthy realism continues to shine
a light of hope on our unruly world. Recently, for example,
in a historic vote at the United Nations, the majority of

the members of the international community determined

that nuclear weapons are not only immoral, but must also
be considered an illegal means of warfare. This decision
filled a significant juridical lacuna, inasmuch as chemical

weapons, biological weapons, anti-personnel mines, and
cluster bombs are all expressly prohibited by international
conventions. Even more important is the fact that it was

mainly the result of a "humanitarian initiative" sponsored
by a significant alliance between civil society, states, inter-­
national organizations, churches, academies, and groups of

experts ....

It is therefore necessary, first of all, to reject the culture

of waste and to care for individuals and peoples laboring
under painful disparities through patient efforts to favor

processes of solidarity over selfish and contingent inter-­
ests. This also entails integrating the individual and the

social dimensions through the application of the principle
of subsidiarity, encouraging the contribution of all, as indi-­
viduals and as groups. Lastly, there is a need to promote
human beings in the indissoluble unity of soul and body,
of contemplation and action.

In this way, progress that is both
effective and inclusive

can achieve the utopia of a world free of deadly instru-­
ments of aggression, contrary to the criticism of those who

consider idealistic any process of dismantling arsenals. The

teaching ofJohn XXIII remains ever valid. In pointing to



44 Against War

the goal of an integral disarmament, he stated, "Unless
this process of disarmament be thoroughgoing and com­
plete, and reach men's very souls, it is impossible to stop
the arms race, or to reduce armaments, or-and this is the

main thing-ultimately to abolish them entirely" (Pacem
in Terris, 113).

The Church does not tire of offering the world this
wisdom and the actions it inspires, conscious that integral
development is the beneficial path that the human family
is called to traveL I encourage you to carry forward this

activity with patience and constancy, in the trust that the
Lord is ever at our side. May he bless each of you and your
efforts in the service ofjustice and peace. Thank you.

To Participants in the International Symposium
"Prospects for a World Free of Nuclear

Weapons and for Integral Disarmament"
Clementine Hall

November la, 2017

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Protect Every Life
From the Apostolic Journey to Japan
(November 23-26) 2019)

The Dream of a World Free of Nuclear Weapons

This place makes us deeply aware of the pain and hor­
ror that we human beings are capable of inflicting upon
one another. The damaged cross and statue of Our Lady
recently discovered in the Cathedral of Nagasaki

remind

us once more of the unspeakable horror suffered in the
flesh by the victims of the bombing and their families.

One of the deepest longings of the human heart is for

security, peace, and stability. The possession of
nuclear

and other weapons of mass destruction is not
the answer

to this desire; indeed they seem always to thwart it. Our
world is marked by a perverse dichotomy that tries to
defend and ensure stability and peace through a false sense
of security sustained by a mentality of fear and mistrust,
one that ends up poisoning relationships between peoples
and obstructing any form of dialogue.

Peace and international stability are incompatible with

attempts to build upon the fear of
mutual destruction or

45



46 Against War

the threat of total annihilation. They can be achieved only
on the basis of a global ethic of solidarity and cooperation
in the service of a future shaped by interdependence and
shared responsibility in the whole human family of today
and tomorrow.

Here in this city, which witnessed the catastrophic
humanitarian and environmental consequences of a
nuclear attack, our attempts to speak out against the arms
race will never be enough. 111e arms race wastes precious
resources that could be better used to benefit the integral
development of peoples and to protect the natural envi­
ronment. In a world where millions of children and fami�
lies live in inhumane conditions, the money that is squan�
dered and the fortunes made through the manufacture,
upgrading, maintenance, and sale of ever more destructive
weapons are an affront crying out to heaven.

A world of peace, free from nuclear weapons, is the

aspiration of millions of men and women everywhere. To
make this ideal a reality calls for involvement on the part
of all: individuals, religious communities and civil society,
countries that possess nuclear weapons and those that do

not, the military and private sectors, and international
organizations. Our response to the threat of nuclear weap�
ons must be joint and concerted, inspired by the arduous
yet constant effort to build mutual trust and thus sur­
mount the current climate of distrust. In 1963, Saint John
XXIII, writing in his encyclical letter Pacem in Terris, in
addition to urging the prohibition of atomic weapons (see
no. 112), stated that authentic and lasting international

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Protect Every Life
47

peace cannot rest on a balance
of military power, but only

upon mutual trust (see no. 113).
There is a need to break down the climate of distrust

that risks leading to a dismantling of the
international

arms control framework. We are witnessing an erosion

of multilateralism that is all the more serious in light of
the growth of new forms of military technology. Such

an

approach seems highly incongruous in today's context of
interconnectedness; it represents a situation that urgently
calls for the attention and commitment of all leaders.

For her part, the Catholic Church is irrevocably com­

mitted to promoting peace between peoples and nations.
This is a duty to which the Church feels bound before
God and every man and woman in

our world. We must

never grow weary of working to support the principal
international legal instruments of nuclear disarmament
and nonproliferation, including the treaty on the prohi

..

bition of nuclear weapons. Last July, the bishops ofJapan
launched an appeal for the abolition of nuclear arms, and
each August the Church in Japan holds a ten

.. day prayer
meeting for peace. May prayer, tireless work in support

of

agreements, and insistence on dialogue be the most pow
..

erful "weapons" in which we put our trust and the inspira
..

tion of our efforts to build a world ofjustice and solidarity
that can offer an authentic assurance of peace.

Convinced as I am that a world without nuclear

weapons is possible and necessary, I ask political leaders
not to forget that these weapons cannot protect us from
current threats to national and international security. We



48 Against War

need to ponder the catastrophic impact of their deploy­
ment, especially from a humanitarian and environmental
standpoint, and reject heightening a climate of fear, mis­
trust, and hostility fomented by nuclear doctrines. The
current state of our planet requires a serious reflection
on how its resources can be employed in light of the com­
plex and difficult implementation of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, in order to achieve the goal of
an integrated human development. Saint Paul VI sug­
gested as much in 1964, when he proposed the establish­
ment of a Global Fund to assist those most impoverished
peoples, drawn partially from military expenditures (Pop�
ulorum Prooressio, 51).

All of this necessarily calls for the creation of tools
for ensuring trust and reciprocal development, and counts
on leaders capable of rising to these occasions. It is a task
that concerns and challenges everyone of us. No one can
be indifferent to the pain of millions of men and women
whose sufferings trouble our consciences today. No one
can turn a deaf ear to the plea of our brothers and sisters
in need. No one can turn a blind eye to the ruin caused by
a culture incapable of dialogue.

I ask you to join in praying each day for the conversion
of hearts and for the triumph of a culture of life, reconcil­
iation, and fraternity: a fraternity that can recognize and
respect diversity in the quest for a common destiny.

I know that some here are not Catholics, but I am cer­
tain that we can all make our own the prayer for peace
attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi:

I�
from
W� ti
&�ctl
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Protect Every Life

Lord) make me an instrument ofyour peace:
where there is hatred) let me sow love;

where there is injury) pardon;
where there is doubt) faith;
where there is despair) hope;
where there is darkness) light;
where there is sadness) joy.

In this striking place of remembrance that stirs us
from our indifference, it is all the more meaningful that
we turn to God with trust, asking him to teach us to be
effective instruments of peace and to make every effort not

to repeat the mistakes of the past.

May you and your families, and this entire nation,
know the blessings of prosperity and social harmony!

Message on Nuclear Weapons
Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Park (Nagasaki)

November 24) 2019

Nuclear Powerfor Military Purposes Is Immoral

For love of my brethren and friends) I say:
((Peace upon you!" (Ps 122:8)

God of mercy and Lord of history, to you we lift up our

eyes from this place, where death and life have met,
loss

and rebirth, suffering and compassion.
Here, in an incandescent burst of lightning and fire,

so many men and women, so many
dreams and hopes,

disappeared, leaving behind only shadows and silence.

49



50 Against War Pro II

In barely an instant, everything was devoured by a black
hole of destruction and death. From that abyss of silence,
we continue even today to hear the cries of those who are
no longer. They came from different places, had different
names, and some spoke different languages. Yet all were
united in the same fate, in a terrifying hour that left its
mark forever not only on the history of this country but
on the face of humanity.

Here I pay homage to all the victims, and I bow before
the strength and dignity of those who, having survived
those first moments, for years afterward bore in the flesh
immense suffering, and in their spirit seeds of death that
drained their vital energy.

I felt a duty to come here as a pilgrim of peace, to stand
in silent prayer, to recall the innocent victims of such vio­

lence, and to bear in my heart the prayers and yearnings
of the men and women of our time, especially the young,
who long for peace, who work for peace, and who sacrifice
themselves for peace. I have come to this place of memory
and of hope for the future, bringing with me the cry of the
poor, who are always the most helpless victims of hatred and
conflict.

It is my humble desire to be the voice of the voice­

less, who witness with concern and anguish the growing
tensions of our own time: the unacceptable inequalities
and injustices that threaten human coexistence, the grave
inability to care for our common home, and the constant
outbreak of armed conflict, as if these could guarantee a
future of peace.

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Protect Every Life

With deep conviction I wish once more to declare
that the use of atomic energy for purposes of

war is

today, more than ever, a crime not only against
the dig ...

nity of human beings but against any possible
future for

our common home. The use of atomic energy for pur
...

poses of war is immoral, just as the possessing
of nuclear

weapons is immoral, as I already said two years ago. We
will be judged on this. Future generations will rise to
condemn our failure if we spoke of peace but did not act
to bring it about among the peoples of the earth. How
can we speak of peace even as we build terrifying new

weapons of war? How can we speak about peace even
as we justify illegitimate actions by speeches filled with
discrimination and hate?

I am convinced that peace is no more than an empty

word unless it is founded on truth, built up in justice, ani ...

mated and perfected by charity, and attained in freedom.

Building peace in truth and justice entails acknowledg
...

ing that "people frequently differ widely in knowledge,
vir ...

tue, intelligence, and wealth" (Pacem in Terris) 87), and that
this can never justify the attempt to impose our own par

...

ticular interests upon others. Indeed, those differences
call

for even greater responsibility and respect. Political com
...

munities may legitimately differ from one another in terms
of culture or economic development, but all are called to
commit themselves to work "for the common cause;' for

the good of all (88).
Indeed, if we really want to build a more just and

secure society, we must let the weapons fall from our

51



52 Against War Pm

hands.
II

No one can love with offensive weapons in their tOn
hands" (Saint Paul VI, United Nations address, October 4, tnat
1965). When we yield to the logic of arms and distance and
ourselves from the practice of dialogue, we forget to our wilL
detriment that, even before causing victims and ruination, dna
weapons can create nightmares; "they call for enormous worl
expenses, interrupt projects of solidarity and of useful verr
labor, and warp the outlook of nations:' How can we pro- tnan

pose peace if we constantly invoke the threat of nuclear tor�1
war as a legitimate recourse for the resolution of conflicts? oftn
May the abyss of pain endured here remind us of bound­
aries that must never be crossed. A true peace can only be
an unarmed peace. For "peace is not merely the absence of
war ... but must be built up ceaselessly" (Gaudium et Spes,
78). It is the fruit ofjustice, development, solidarity, care
for our common home, and the promotion of the common
good, as we have learned from the lessons of history. mo

To remember, to journey together, to protect. These llHD
three moral imperatives here in Hiroshima assume even nave
more powerful and universal significance, and can open a ma]
path to peace. For this reason, we cannot allow present and
future generations to lose the memory of what happened a�o
here. It is a memory that ensures and encourages the ana

building of a more fair and fraternal future; an expansive -
memory, capable of awakening the consciences of all men
and women, especially those who today playa crucial role uro
in the destiny of the nations; a living memory that helps us
say in every generation: never again!

That is why we are called to journey together with a
gaze of understanding and forgiveness, to open the horizon



Protect Every Life

to hope and to bring a ray of light amid the many clouds
that today darken the sky. Let us open our hearts to hope,
and become instruments of reconciliation and peace. This

will always be possible if we are able to protect one another
and realize that we are joined by a common destiny. Our
world, interconnected not only by globalization but by the

very earth we have always shared, demands, today more
than ever, that interests exclusive to certain groups or sec­

tors be left to one side, in order to achieve the greatness
of those who struggle co-responsibly to ensure a common
future.

In a single plea to God and to all men and women of

goodwill, on behalf of all the victims of atomic bombings
and experiments, and of all conflicts, let us together cry
out from our hearts: Never again war, never again the clash
of arms, never again so much suffering! May peace come
in our time and to our world. 0 God, you have promised
us that "mercy and faithfulness have met, justice and peace
have embraced; faithfulness shall spring from the earth,
and justice look down from heaven" (Ps 84:11-12).

Come, Lord, for it is late, and where destruction has.

abounded, may hope also abound today that we can write
and achieve a different future. Come, Lord, Prince of

Peace! Make us instruments and reflections of your peace!
"For love of my brethren and friends, I say: 'Peace

upon you!'" (Ps 122:8).
Meetingfor Peace

Peace Memorial (Hiroshima)
November 24, 2019

53



54 Against War Prol

Hiroshima Is a Catechesis on Cruelty [aifc
ariol

Hiroshima was a true human catechesis on cruelty. Cru­
elty ... and there I reaffirmed that the use of nuclear weap­
ons is immoral-this must also be included in the Cate­
chism of the Catholic Church-and not only its use, but also
its possession because an accident [due to] possession, or
the madness of some government leader, a person's mad­
ness can destroy humanity. Let us think about that quote
from Einstein: "World War IV will be fought with sticks
and stones:'

I return to the possession of nuclear industries. An
accident can always occur. You have experienced this, as
well as the triple disaster [of FukashimaJ that destroyed
so much. Nuclear power is at its limits. Let us exclude

weapons because they are destructive. But the use of
nuclear power is very much at its limits because we have
not reached complete safety yet. We have not reached it.
You could say to me, (Yes, you could have a disaster due to
lack of safety with electricity too:' But it is a small disas­
ter. A nuclear disaster, from a nuclear plant, will be a huge
disaster. And safety measures have not yet been developed.
I-but it is my personal opinion-would not use nuclear
energy until its use is completely safe. But I am profane in
this and I am expressing an idea. Some say nuclear energy
goes against the care of creation, that it will destroy it and
that it must stop. It is under discussion. I stop at safety.
It does not have the safety measures to avoid a disaster.
Yes, there is one in the world every ten years, but then it

lil�l�
jillt
ofr
ture

mn

rew



Protect Every Life
55

[affects] creation: the disaster of a nuclear power on
ere ..

ation and also on people.
Press conference on return flightfrom Japan

November 26, 2019

The Only Solution to Conflicts Is Dialogue

In the footsteps of my predecessors, I have also come to

implore God and to invite all persons of goodwill to
encour..

age and promote every necessary
means of dissuasion so that

the destruction generated by atomic bombs in Hiroshima
and Nagasaki will never take place again in human history.
History teaches us that conflicts and misunderstandings
between peoples and nations can find valid solutions only
through dialogue, the only weapon worthy of humanity

and

capable of ensuring lasting peace. I am convinced of the
need

to deal with the nuclear question on the multilateral plane,
promoting a political and institutional process capable

of

creating a broader international consensus and
action.

A culture of encounter and dialogue, marked by wisdom,

insight, and breadth of vision, is essential for building a
more

just and fraternal world. Japan has recognized the importance
of promoting personal contacts in the fields of education,

cul..

ture, sport, and tourism, knowing that these can contribute
in no small measure to the harmony, justice, solidarity, and
reconciliation that are the mortar of the edifice of peace.

Meeting with the authorities and diplomatic corps
Kantei, Great Hall (Tokyo)

November 25, 2019



Peac

Peace and Fraternity
From the Apostolic Journey to Iraq
(March 5-8) 2021)

Fraternity Is Nourished by Solidarity

Fraternal coexistence calls for patient and honest dialogue,
protected by justice and respect for law. This task is not
easy; it demands hard work and a commitment on the part
of all to set aside rivalries and contrapositions and instead
to speak with one another from our deepest identity as fel­
low children of the one God and Creator. On the basis of
this principle, the Holy See, in Iraq as elsewhere, tirelessly
appeals to competent authorities to grant all religious
communities recognition, respect, rights, and protection.
I appreciate the efforts already being made in this regard,
and I join men and women of goodwill in calling for these
efforts to continue for the benefit of the nation.

A society that bears the imprint of fraternal unity is
one whose members live in solidarity with one another.
"Solidarity helps us to regard others + + + as our neighbors,
companions on our journey" (Message for the 2021 World

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56



Peace and Fraternity
57

Day of Peace). It is a virtue that leads us to carry out con'
crete acts of care and service with particular concern for
the vulnerable and those most in need. Here, I think of all

those who have lost family members and loved ones, home
and livelihood due to violence, persecution, or terrorism.

I think too of those who continue to struggle for security
and the means of personal and economic survival at a time
of growing unemployment and poverty. The

'consciousness

that we are responsible for the fragility of others" (Fratelli
tutti) 115) ought to inspire every effort to create concrete

opportunities for progress, not only economically, but also
in terms of education and care for our common home. Fol­

lowing a crisis, it is not enough simply to rebuild; we
need

to rebuild well, so that all can enjoy a dignified life. We
never emerge from a crisis the same as

we were; we emerge

from it either better or worse.

As governmental leaders and diplomats, you are called
to foster this spirit of fraternal solidarity. It is necessary,
but not sufficient, to combat the scourge of corruption,
misuse of power, and disregard for law. Also necessary
is the promotion of justice and the fostering of honesty,
transparency, and the strengthening of the institutions

responsible in this regard. In this way, stability within

society grows and a healthy politics arises, able to offer
to

all, especially the young of whom there are so many in this

country, sure hope for a better future....
I come as a penitent, asking forgiveness of heaven and

my brothers and sisters for so
much destruction and cru­

elty. I come as a pilgrim of peace in the name of Christ,



58 Against War Peace

the Prince of Peace. How much we have prayed in these entin
years for peace in Iraq! Saint John Paul II spared no ini- �caleJ
tiatives and above all offered his prayers and sufferings ine�u,
for this intention. And God listens, he always listens! It oftne,
is up to us to listen to him and to walk in his ways. May nizati
the clash of arms be silenced! May their spread be curbed, itdfial
here and everywhere! May partisan interests cease, those thO�e
outside interests uninterested in the local population. �helte
May the voice of builders and peacemakers find a hear, outt�
ing! The voice of the humble, the poor, the ordinary men dnarf
and women who want to live, work, and pray in peace. d�WCl
May there be an end to acts of violence and extremism, manr
factions and intolerance! May room be made for all those thiH
citizens who seek to cooperate in building up this coun- �rotn
try through dialogue and through frank, sincere, and con, (Cntti
structive discussion-citizens committed to reconciliation the in
and prepared, for the common good, to set aside their own Ira�i I
interests. Iraq has sought in these years to lay the Iounda- mucl
tions for a democratic society. For this, it is essential to of�n
ensure the participation of all political, social, and religious Imro
groups and to guarantee the fundamental rights of all cit,
izens. May no one be considered a second-class citizen. I reace
encourage the strides made so far on this journey and I ju�ti�
trust that they will strengthen tranquility and concord. the co

The international community also has a role to play in niry
the promotion of peace in this land and in the Middle East will,
as a whole. As we have seen during the lengthy conflict in tone
neighboring Syria-which began ten years ago these very coo�
days!-the challenges facing our world today engage the caliS,



Peace and Fraternity
59

entire human family. They call for cooperation on a global
scale in order to address, among other things, the economic

inequalities and regional tensions that threaten the stability
of these lands. I thank the countries and international orga�

nizations working in Iraq to rebuild and to provide human­
itarian assistance to refugees, the internally displaced, and
those attempting to return home, by making food, water,
shelter, health care, and hygiene services available through­
out the country, together with programs of reconciliation
and peacebuilding. Here I cannot fail to mention the many
agencies, including a number of Catholic agencies, that

for

many years have been
committed to helping the people of

this country. Meeting the basic needs of so many of
our

brothers and sisters is an act of charity and justice, and
contributes to a lasting peace. It is my prayerful hope that
the international community will not withdraw from the

Iraqi people the outstretched hand of friendship and
con­

structive engagement, but will continue to act
in a spirit

of shared responsibility with the local authorities, without

imposing political or ideological interests.

Religion, by its very nature, must be at the service of

peace and fraternity. The name of God cannot be used
to

justify acts of murder, exile, terrorism, and oppression. On
the contrary, God, who created human beings equal in dig�
nity and rights, calls us to spread the values of love, good�
will, and concord. In Iraq, too, the Catholic Church desires

to be a friend to all and, through interreligious dialogue, to

cooperate constructively with other religions in serving the
cause of peace. The age�old presence of Christians in this



60 Against War

land, and their contributions to the life of the nation, con­
stitute a rich heritage that they wish to continue to place
at the service of all. Their participation in public life, as
citizens with full rights, freedoms, and responsibilities, will
testify that a healthy pluralism of religious beliefs, ethnic­
ities, and cultures can contribute to the nation's prosperity
and harmony.

Meeting with authorities) civil society)
and the diplomatic corps

Baghdad
March 5) 2021

Weaving a Single Fraternity

The love of Christ summons us to set aside every kind
of self-centeredness or competition; it impels us to uni­
versal communion and challenges us to form a commu­
nity of brothers and sisters who accept and care for one
another. Here I think of the familiar image of a carpet.
The different churches present in Iraq, each with its age­
old historical, liturgical, and spiritual patrimony, are like
so many individual colored threads that, woven together,
make up a single beautiful carpet, one that displays not
only our fraternity but points also to its source. For God
himself is the artist who imagined this carpet, patiently
wove it, and carefully mends it, desiring us ever to remain
closely knit as his sons and daughters. May we thus take
to heart the admonition of Saint Ignatius of Antioch: "Let
nothing exist among you that may divide you ... but let

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Peace and Fraternity
61

there be one prayer, one mind, one hope, in love and in

joy:' How important is this witness of fraternal union in
a

world all too often fragmented and torn by division! Every
effort made to build bridges between ecclesial, parish,
and diocesan communities and institutions will serve as a

prophetic gesture on the part of the Church in Iraq and a
fruitful response to Jesus's prayer that all may be one (see
Jn 17:21).

Pastors and faithful, priests, religious, and catechists

share, albeit in distinct ways, in the responsibility for

advancing the Church's mission. At times, misunderstand­

ings can arise and we can experience certain tensions;
these

are the knots that hinder the weaving of fraternity. They
are knots we carry within ourselves; after all, we

are all

sinners. Yet these knots can be untied by grace, by a greater
love; they can be loosened by the medicine of forgiveness
and by fraternal dialogue, by patiently bearing one anoth­
er's burdens (see Gal 6:2) and strengthening each other in
moments of trial and difficulty....

I am thinking especially of the young. Young people
everywhere are a sign of promise and hope, but partic­
ularly in this country. Here you have not only priceless
archaeological treasures but also inestimable treasure for
the future: the young! Young people are your treasure;

they need you to care for them, to nurture their dreams,
to accompany their growth and to foster their hope. Even

though they are young, their patience has already
been

sorely tried by the conflicts of these years. Yet let us
never

forget that, together with the elderly, they are the point
of



62 Against War Peac

We Look to Heaven and Journey on Earth

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the diamond in this country, the richest fruit of the tree.
It is up to us to cultivate their growth in goodness and to
nurture them with hope.

Meeting with bishops, priests, religious,
seminarians, and catechists

Baghdad
March 5, 2021

This blessed place brings us back to our origins, to the
sources of God's work, to the birth of our religions. Here,
where Abraham our father lived, we seem to have returned
home. It was here that Abraham heard God's call; it was
from here that he set out on a journey that would change
history. We are the fruits of that call and that journey. God
asked Abraham to raise his eyes to heaven and to count its
stars (see Gen 15:5). In those stars, he saw the promise of
his descendants; he saw us. Today we-Jews, Christians,
and Muslims-together with our brothers and sisters of
other religions honor our father Abraham by doing as he
did: we look up to heaven and we journey on earth.

We look up to heaven. Thousands of years later, as we
look up to the same sky, those same stars appear. They
illumine the darkest nights because they shine together.
Heaven thus imparts a message of unity: the Almighty
above invites us never to separate ourselves from our

neighbors. The otherness of God points us toward others,
toward our brothers and sisters. Yet if we want to preserve



Peace and Fraternity 63

fraternity, we must not lose sight of heaven. May we-the
descendants of Abraham and the representatives of differ­

ent religions-sense that, above all, we have this role: to

help our brothers and sisters to raise their eyes and prayers
to heaven. We all need this because we are not self-sufficient.

Man is not omnipotent; we cannot make it on our own.

If we exclude God, we end up worshiping the things of
this earth. Worldly goods, which lead so many people to
be unconcerned with God and others, are not the reason

why we journey on earth. We raise our eyes to heaven in
order to raise ourselves from the depths of our vanity; we
serve God in order to be set free from enslavement to our

egos, because God urges us to
love. This is true religios­

ity: to worship God and to love our neighbor. In today's
world, which often forgets or presents distorted images of
the Most High, believers are called to bear witness to his

goodness, to show his paternity through our fraternity.
From this place, where faith was born, from the land

of our father Abraham, let us affirm that God is merciful
and that the greatest blasphemy is to profane his name by
hating our brothers and sisters. Hostility, extremism, and
violence are not born of a religious heart: they are betrayals
of religion. We believers cannot be silent when terrorism
abuses religion; indeed, we are called unambiguously to

dispel all misunderstandings. Let us not allow the light of
heaven to be overshadowed by the clouds of hatred! Dark
clouds of terrorism, war, and violence have gathered over
this country. All its ethnic and religious communities have
suffered. In particular, I would like to mention the Yazidi



64 Against War Peac

community, which has mourned the deaths of many men
and witnessed thousands of women, girls, and children
kidnapped, sold as slaves, and subjected to physical vio­
lence and forced conversions. Today, let us pray for those
who have endured these sufferings, for those who are still
dispersed and abducted, that they may soon return home.
And let us pray that freedom of conscience and freedom
of religion will everywhere be recognized and respected;
these are fundamental rights because they make us free to
contemplate the heaven for which we were created.

When terrorism invaded the north of this beloved

country, it wantonly destroyed part of its magnificent
religious heritage, including the churches, monasteries,
and places of worship of various communities. Yet, even
at that dark time, some stars kept shining. I think of the
young Muslim volunteers of Mosul, who helped to repair
churches and monasteries, building fraternal friendships
on the rubble of hatred, and those Christians and Muslims
who today are restoring mosques and churches together.
Professor Ali Thajeel spoke too of the return of pilgrims to
this city. Making pilgrimages to holy places is important,
for it is the most beautiful sign on earth of our yearning
for heaven. To love and protect holy places, therefore, is
an existential necessity, in memory of our father Abraham,
who in various places raised to heaven altars of the Lord
(see Gen 12:7-8; 13:18; 22:9). May the great Patriarch
help us to make our respective sacred places oases of peace
and encounter for all! By his fidelity to God, Abraham
became a blessing for all peoples (see Gen 12:3); may our

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Peace and Fraternity
65

presence here today, in his footsteps, be a sign of blessing
and hope for Iraq, for the Middle East and for the whole
world. Heaven has not grown weary of the earth:

God

loves every people, everyone of his daughters and
sons!

Let us never tire of looking up to heaven, of looking up to
those same stars that, in his day, our father Abraham con­

templated.
We journey on earth. For Abraham, looking up to

heaven, rather than being a distraction, was an incentive
to journey on earth, to set out on a path that, through
his descendants, would lead to every time and place. It all
started from here, with the Lord who brought him forth
from Or (see Gen 15:7). His was a journey outward, one
that involved sacrifices. Abraham had to leave his land,

home, and family. Yet by giving up his own family, he
became the father of a family of peoples. Something sim­
ilar also happens to us: on our own journey, we are called
to leave behind those ties and attachments that, by keeping
us enclosed in our own groups, prevent us from

welcom­

ing God's boundless love and from seeing
others as our

brothers and sisters. We need to move beyond ourselves,
because we need one another. The pandemic has made us

realize that "no one is saved alone" (Fratelli tutti) 54). Still,
the temptation to withdraw from others is never-ending,

yet at the same time we know
that lithe notion ofevery man

for himself will rapidly degenerate into a free-for-all that
would prove worse than any pandemic" (36). Amid the

tempests we are currently experiencing, such
isolation will

not save us. Nor will an arms race or the erection of walls



66 Against War

that will only make us all the more distant and aggressive.
Nor the idolatry of money, for it closes us in on ourselves
and creates chasms of inequality that engulf humanity.
Nor can we be saved by consumerism, which numbs the
mind and deadens the heart.

The way that heaven points out for our journey is
another: the way of peace. It demands, especially amid
the tempest, that we row together on the same side. It is
shameful that, while all of us have suffered from the cri­
sis of the pandemic, especially here, where conflicts have
caused so much suffering, anyone should be concerned
simply for his own affairs. There will be no peace with­
out sharing and acceptance, without a justice that ensures
equity and advancement for all, beginning with those most
vulnerable. There will be no peace unless peoples extend a
hand to other peoples. There will be no peace as long as
we see others as them and not us. There will be no peace
as long as our alliances are against others, for alliances of
some against others only increase divisions. Peace does not
demand winners or losers, but rather brothers and sisters
who, for all the misunderstandings and hurts of the past,
are journeying from conflict to unity. Let us ask for this in
praying for the whole Middle East. Here I think especially
of neighboring war-torn Syria.

The Patriarch Abraham, who today brings us together
in unity, was a prophet of the Most High. An ancient
prophecy says that the peoples "shall beat their swords
into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks" (Is
2:4). This prophecy has not been fulfilled; on the contrary,

mo

rrvo

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Peace and Fraternity
67

swords and spears have turned into missiles
and bombs.

From where, then, can the journey of peace begin2 From
the decision not to have enemies. Anyone with the courage
to look at the stars, anyone who believes in God, has no

enemies to fight. He or she has only one enemy to face, an

enemy that stands at the door of
the heart and knocks to

enter. That enemy is hatred. While some try
to have ene­

mies more than to be friends, while many seek their own

profit at the expense of others, those who look at the
stars

of the promise, those who follow the ways of God,
cannot

be against someone, but for everyone. They cannot justify
any form of imposition, oppression, and

abuse of power;

they cannot adopt an attitude of belligerence.
Dear friends, is all this possible? Father Abraham, who

was able to hope against all hope (see Rom 4:18), encour­

ages us. Throughout history, we have frequently pursued
goals that are overly worldly and journeyed on our own,
but with the help of God, we can change for the better. It is

up to us, today's humanity, especially those of us,
believers

of all religions, to turn instruments of hatred into instru­
ments of peace. It is up to us to appeal firmly to the lead­
ers of nations to make the increasing proliferation of arms

give way to the distribution of food for all. It is up
to us to

silence mutual accusations in order to make heard the cry

of the oppressed and discarded in our world: all too many
people lack food, medicine, education, rights, and dignity!
It is up to us to shed light on the shady maneuvers

that

revolve around money and to demand that money
not end

up always and only reinforcing the unbridled luxury
of a



68 Against War Peace

few. It is up to us to preserve our common home from our

predatory aims. It is up to us to remind the world that
human life has value for what it is and not for what it has.
That the lives of the unborn, the elderly, migrants, and
men and women, whatever the color of their skin or their

nationality, are always sacred and count as much as the
lives of everyone else! It is up to us to have the courage to

lift up our eyes and look at the stars, the stars that our father
Abraham saw, the stars of the promise.

The journey of Abraham was a blessing of peace. Yet
it was not easy: he had to face struggles and unforeseen
events. We too have a rough journey ahead, but like the
great Patriarch, we need to take concrete steps to set out
and seek the face of others, to share memories, gazes and
silences, stories and experiences. I was struck by the testi­
mony of Dawood and Hasan, a Christian and a Muslim,
respectively, who, undaunted by the differences between
them, studied and worked together. Together they built
the future and realized that they are brothers. In order to
move forward, we too need to achieve something good and
concrete together. This is the way, especially for young peo�
ple, who must not see their dreams cut short by the con­
flicts of the past! It is urgent to teach them fraternity, to
teach them to look at the stars. This is a real emergency; it
will be the most effective vaccine for a future of peace. For

you, dear young people, are our present and our future!
Only with others can the wounds of the past be

healed. Rafah told us of the heroic example of Najy, from
the Sabean Mandean community, who lost his life in an

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Peace and Fraternity
69

attempt to save the family of his Muslim neighbor. How

many people here, amid the silence and indifference
of the

world, have embarked upon journeys of fraternity! Rafah
also told us of the unspeakable sufferings of the war that
forced many to abandon home and country

in search of

a future for their children. Thank you, Rafah, for having
shared with us your firm determination to stay here, in

the

land of your fathers. May those who were unable to do so,
and had to flee, find a kindly welcome, befitting those who
are vulnerable and suffering.

It was precisely through hospitality, a distinctive Iea­
ture of these lands, that Abraham was visited by God and

given the gift of a son, when it seemed that all hope
was

past (see Gen 18:1-10). Brothers and sisters of
different

religions, here we find ourselves at home, and from here,

together, we wish to commit ourselves to fulfilling
God's

dream that the human family may become hospitable and

welcoming to all his children; that looking up to the
same

heaven, it will journey in peace on the same earth.

Interfaith meeting
Ur Plain

March 6, 2021

Love Wins

Jesus, who is Wisdom in person, completes this
reversal in

the Gospel, and he does so with his very first sermon,
with

the Beatitudes. The reversal is total: the poor, those who

mourn, the persecuted are all called blessed. How is this



70 Against War

possible? For the world, it is the rich, the powerful, and the
famous who are blessed! It is those with wealth and means
who count! But not for God: It is no longer the rich who
are great, but the poor in spirit; not those who can impose
their will on others, but those who are gentle with all. Not
those acclaimed by the crowds, but those who show mercy
to their brothers and sisters. At this point, we may won­
der: If I live as Jesus asks, What do I gain� Don't I risk let­
ting others lord it over me? Is Jesus's invitation worthwhile
or a lost cause? That invitation is not worthless, but wise.

Jesus's invitation is wise because love, which is the
heart of the Beatitudes, even if it seems weak in the
world's eyes, in fact always triumphs. On the cross, it
proved stronger than sin; in the tomb, it vanquished
death. That same love made the martyrs victorious in
their trials-and how many martyrs have there been in
the last century, more even than in the past! Love is our
strength, the source of strength for those of our broth­
ers and sisters who here too have suffered prejudice and
indignities, mistreatment and persecutions for the name
of Jesus. Yet while the power, the glory, and the vanity of
the world pass away, love remains. As the Apostle Paul
told us, "Love never ends" (1 Cor 13:8). To live a life
shaped by the Beatitudes, then, is to make passing things
eternal, to bring heaven to earth.

But how do we practice the Beatitudes? They do not
ask us to do extraordinary things, feats beyond our abili­
ties. They ask for daily witness. The blessed are those who
live meekly, who show mercy wherever they happen to be,
who are pure of heart wherever they live. To be blessed,

wear

mo

evil



Peace and Fraternity
71

we do not need to become occasional heroes, but to become

witnesses day after day. Witness is the way to embody the
wisdom ofJesus. That is how the world is changed: not by
power and might, but by the Beatitudes. For that is what

Jesus did: he lived to the end what he said from the begin­
ning. Everything depends on bearing witness to the

love

of Jesus, that same charity that Saint Paul magnificently
describes in today's second reading [1 Cor 13:4-7J. Let us
see how he presents it.

First, Paul says that "love is patient" (v. 4). We were
not expecting this adjective. Love seems synonymous
with goodness, generosity, and good works, yet Paul says
that charity is above all patient. The Bible speaks first and
foremost of God's patience. Throughout history, men and
women proved constantly unfaithful to the covenant with

God, falling into the same old sins. Yet instead of growing
weary and walking away, the Lord always remained faith­

ful, forgave and began anew. This patience to begin anew
each time is the first quality of love, because love is not
irritable, but always starts over again. Love does not grow
weary and despondent, but always presses ahead. It

does

not get discouraged, but stays creative. Faced with evil,
it

does not give up or surrender. Those who love do not
close

in on themselves when things go wrong, but respond to
evil with good, mindful of the triumphant wisdom of the
cross. God's witnesses are like that: not passive or fatal­

istic, at the mercy of happenings, feelings, or immediate
events. Instead, they are constantly hopeful, because they
are grounded in the love that "bears all things, believes

all

things, hopes all things, endures all things" (v. 7).



72 Against War Peace

We can ask ourselves: how do we react to situations udo
that are not right? In the face of adversity, there are always Hhi
two temptations. The first is flight: we can run away, turn looK
our backs, trying to keep aloof from it all. The second is to wnon
react with anger, with a show of force. Such was the case dna�[
of the disciples in Gethsemane: in their bewilderment, �ooul
many fled and Peter took up the sword. Yet neither flight IVona
nor the sword achieved anything. Jesus, on the other hand, G
changed history. How? With the humble power of love, IrOKe
with his patient witness. This is what we are called to do, r1dli�
and this is how God fulfills his promises. w1e!

Promises. The wisdom ofJesus, embodied in the Beat� notf�
itudes, calls for witness and offers the reward contained in worl
the divine promises. For each Beatitude is immediately fol� r1tie
lowed by a promise: those who practice them will possess li!ter
the kingdom of heaven, they will be comforted, they will t01P
be satisfied, they will see God ... (see Mt 5:3-12). God's i!hea
promises guarantee unrivaled joy and never disappoint. rou,l
But how are they fulfilled? Through our weaknesses. God ju�ti�
makes blessed those who travel the path of their inner rour
poverty to the very end. 1

This is the way; there is no other. Let us look to the wner
Patriarch Abraham. God promised him a great offspring, dn�e
but he and Sarah are now elderly and childless. Yet it is rre(i
precisely in their patient and faithful old age that God ruJe�
works wonders and gives them a son. Let us also look to
Moses: God promises that he will free the people from
slavery, and to do so he asks Moses to speak to Pharaoh.
Even though Moses says he is not good with words, it is
through his words that God will fulfill his promise. Let



Peace and Fraternity 73

us look to Our Lady, who under the Law could not have
a child, yet was called to become a mother. And let

us

look to Peter: he denies the Lord, yet he is the very one

whomJesus calls to strengthen his brethren. Dear brothers
and sisters, at times we may feel helpless and useless. We
should never give in to this, because God wants to work
wonders precisely through our weaknesses.

God loves to do that, and tonight, eight times, he has

spoken to us the word tab'a [blessed], in order to make us
realize that, with him, we truly are "blessed:' Of course,
we experience trials, and we frequently fall, but let us
not forget that, with Jesus, we are blessed. Whatever the
world takes from us is nothing compared to the tender and

patient love with which the Lord fulfills his promises.
Dear

sister, dear brother, perhaps when you look at your hands

they seem empty, perhaps you feel disheartened and unsat­
isfied by life. If so, do not be afraid: the Beatitudes are for

you. For you who are afflicted, who hunger and thirst for

justice, who are persecuted. The Lord promises YOll that

your name is written on his heart, written
in heaven!

Today I thank God with you and for you, because here,
where wisdom arose in ancient times, so many witnesses have

arisen in our own time, often overlooked by the news, yet
precious in God's eyes. Witnesses who, by living the Beati­
tudes, are helping God to fulfill his promises of peace.

Homily
Baghdad

March 6, 2021



74 Against War Peace

Our gathering here today shows that terrorism and death
never have the last word. The last word belongs to God
and to his Son, the conqueror of sin and death. Even amid
the ravages of terrorism and war, we can see, with the eyes
of faith, the triumph of life over death. You have before
you the example of your fathers and mothers in faith, who
worshiped and praised God in this place. They persevered
with unwavering hope along their earthly journey, trusting
in God who never disappoints and who constantly sus­
tains us by his grace. The great spiritual legacy they left
behind continues to live in you. Embrace this legacy! It
is your strength! Now is the time to rebuild and to start
afresh, relying on the grace of God, who guides the desti­
nies of all individuals and peoples. You are not alone! The
entire Church is close to you, with prayers and concrete

charity. And in this region, so many people opened their
doors to you in time of need.

Dear friends, this is the time to restore not just build­
ings but also the bonds of community that unite commu­
nities and families, the young and the old together. TI1e
prophet Joel says, (Tour sons and your daughters shall
prophecy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your
young men shall see visions" (3:1). When the old and
the young come together, what happens? 111e old dream
dreams, they dream of a future for the young. And the
young can take those dreams and prophecy, make them
reality. When old and young come together, we preserve
and pass on the gifts that God gives. We look upon our

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Peace and Fraternity
75

children, knowing that they will inherit not only a land,
a culture, and a tradition, but also the living fruits of faith
that are God's blessings upon this land. So I encourage
you: Do not forget who you are and where you come

from!

Do not forget the bonds that hold you together! Do not

forget to preserve your roots!
Surely, there will be moments when faith can waver,

when it seems that God does not see or act. This was true

for you in the darkest days of the war, and it is true too
in these days of global health crisis and great insecurity.
At times like these, remember that Jesus is by your side.
Do not stop dreaming! Do not give up! Do not lose hope!
From heaven the saints are watching over us. Let us pray
to them and never tire of begging their intercession. There
are also the saints next door, "who, living in our midst,
reflect God's presence" (Gaudate et Exsultate, 7). This land
has many of them, because it is a land of many holy men
and women. Let them accompany you to a better future, a

future of hope....
At all times, let us offer thanks to God for his gracious

gifts and ask him to grant his peace, forgiveness, and
fra­

ternity to this land and its people. Let us pray tirelessly
for the conversion of hearts and for the triumph of a cul­
ture of life, reconciliation, and fraternal love between all

men and women, with respect for differences and diverse

religious traditions, in the effort to build a future of unity
and cooperation between all people of goodwill-a fra­
ternallove that recognizes lithe fundamental values of our

common humanity, values in the name of which we can



76 Against War Peace

and must cooperate, build and dialogue, pardon and grow"
(Fratelli tutti, 283).

As I arrived on the helicopter, I saw the statue of Mary
on this Church of the Immaculate Conception. To her I
entrusted the rebirth of this city. Our Lady does not only
protect us from on high but comes down to us with a
Mother's love. Her image here has met with mistreatment
and disrespect, yet the face of the Mother of God contin­
ues to look upon us with love. For that is what mothers do:

they console, they comfort, and they give life. I would like
to say a heartfelt thank-you to all the mothers and women
of this country, women of courage who continue to give
life, in spite of wrongs and hurts. May women be respected
and protected! May they be shown respect and provided
with opportunities!

w(ne

�n to

Address to the community of Qaraqosh
March 7, 2021

rdl��

ll� o�
lora

Church and Society Open to All

In the Gospel On 2:13-25), we see how Jesus drove out
from the Temple in Jerusalem the moneychangers and all
the buyers and sellers. Why did Jesus do something this
forceful and provocative? He did it because the Father sent
him to cleanse the temple-not only the Temple of stone,
but above all the temple of our heart. Jesus could not tol­
erate his Father's house becoming a marketplace (see Jn
2:16); neither does he want our hearts to be places of tur­
moil, disorder, and confusion. Our heart must be cleansed,



Peace and Fraternity 77

put in order, and purified. Of what? Of the falsehoods
that

stain it, from hypocritical duplicity. All of us have these.

They are diseases that harm the heart, soil our lives, and
make them insincere. We need to be cleansed of the decep ...

tive securities that would barter our faith in God with

passing things, with temporary advantages. We need the
baneful temptations of power and money to be swept from

our hearts and from the Church. To cleanse our hearts,

we need to dirty our hands, to feel accountable, and not
to simply look on as our brothers and sisters are suffering.
How do we purify our hearts? By our own efforts, we can

...

not; we need Jesus. He has the power to conquer our evils,
to heal our diseases, to rebuild the temple of our heart.

To show this, and as a sign of his authority, Jesus goes
on to say, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will
raise it up" On 2:19). Jesus Christ, he alone, can cleanse
us of the works of evil. Jesus, who died and rose! Jesus, the

Lord! Dear brothers and sisters, God does not let us die

in our sins. Even when we turn our backs on him, he never

leaves us to our own devices. He seeks us out, runs after

us, to call us to repentance and to cleanse us of our
sins.

lAs I live, says the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death
of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and

live" (Ezek 33:11). The Lord wants us to be saved and to
become living temples of his love, in fraternity, in service,
III mercy.

Jesus not only cleanses us of our sins, but he also gives
us a share in his own power and wisdom. He liberates

us

from the narrow and divisive notions of family, faith, and



78 Against War Peace

community that divide, oppose, and exclude, so that we lna�
can build a Church and a society open to everyone and liKet
concerned for our brothers and sisters in greatest need. At f�err
the same time, he strengthens us to resist the temptation to futUfi
seek revenge, which only plunges llS into a spiral of endless
retaliation. In the power of the Holy Spirit, he sends us
forth, not as proselytizers, but as missionary disciples, men
and women called to testify to the life-changing power of
the Gospel. TI1e risen Lord makes us instruments of God's
mercy and peace, patient and courageous artisans of a new
social order. In this way, by the power of Christ and the
Holy Spirit, the prophetic words of the Apostle Paul to
the Corinthians are fulfilled: "God's foolishness is wiser
than human wisdom, and God's wisdom is stronger than
human strength" (1 Cor 1:25). Christian communities made
up of simple and lowly people become a sign of the coming
of his kingdom, a kingdom of love, justice, and peace.

"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it
up" On 2:19). Jesus was speaking about the temple of his
body, and about the Church as well. The Lord promises us
that, by the power of the resurrection, he can raise us, and
our communities, from the ruins left by injustice, division,
and hatred. That is the promise we celebrate in this Eucha­
rist. With the eyes of faith, we recognize the presence of
the crucified and risen Lord in our midst. And we learn
to embrace his liberating wisdom, to rest in his wounds,
and to find healing and strength to serve the coming of
his kingdom in our world. By his wounds, we have been
healed (see 1 Pet 2:24). In those wounds, dear brothers



Peace and Fraternity 79

and sisters, we find the balm of his merciful love. For he,

like the Good Samaritan of humanity, wants to anoint

every hurt, to heal every painful memory, and to inspire a
future of peace and fraternity in this land.

Homily
Erbil

March 7, 2021



ABe

witn

A Better World

When the Seed Dies, It Bears Much Fruit

Today is the day I keep in my heart, that February 15th
of 2015. I hold in my heart that baptism of blood, those
twenty-one men baptized as Christians with water and
the Spirit, and that day also baptized with blood. They are
our Saints, Saints of all Christians, Saints of all Christian
denominations and traditions. They are those who made
their lives white in the blood of the Lamb, they are those ...
of the people of God, the faithful people of God.

They had gone to work abroad to support their fami­
lies: ordinary men, fathers of families, men with the dream
[ desire] to have children; men with the dignity of workers,
who not only seek to bring home bread, but to bring it home
with the dignity of work. And these men bore witness to
Jesus Christ. Their throats slit by the brutality of ISIS, they
died uttering, "Lord Jesus!" confessing the name ofJesus.

It is true that this was a tragedy, that these people lost
their lives on the beach; but it is also true that the beach
was blessed by their blood. And it is even truer that from
their simplicity, from their simple but consistent faith, they
received the greatest gift a Christian can receive: bearing
80

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A Better World 81

witness to Jesus Christ to the point of giving their life.
I thank God our Father because he gave us these cou­

rageous brothers. I thank the Holy Spirit because he gave
them the strength and consistency to confess Jesus Christ
to the point of shedding their blood. I thank the bishops,
the priests of the Coptic sister Church that raised them
and taught them to grow in the faith. And I thank the
mothers of these people, of these twenty-one men, who
"nursed" them in the faith: they are the mothers of God's

holy people who transmit the faith "in dialect;' a dialect
that goes beyond languages, the dialect of belonging.

I join all of you, brother bishops, in this commemo­
ration. To you, great, beloved Tawadros,

brother bishop
and friend. To you, Justin Welby, who also wished to come
to this meeting. And to all the other bishops and priests,
but above all I join the holy faithful People of God who in
their simplicity, with their consistency and inconsistencies,
with their graces and sins, carry forth the

confession of

Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ is Lord.
I thank you, twenty-one Saints, Christian

Saints of

all confessions, for your witness. And I thank you,
Lord

Jesus Christ, for being so close to your people, for not

forgetting them.
Let us pray together today in memory of these twenty-one

Coptic martyrs! may they intercede for us all before
the

Father. Amen.

Video message in memory

of the Coptic martyrs killed in Libya
February 15, 2021



82 Against War

We do not have weapons. We believe, however, in the
meek and humble strength of prayer. On this day, the
thirst for peace has become a prayer to God, that wars,
terrorism, and violence may end. The peace that we invoke
from Assisi is not simply a protest against war, nor is it
Ita result of negotiations, political compromises or eco­
nomic bargaining. It is the result of prayer" (John Paul II,
Address) October 27,1986). We seek in God, who is the
source of communion, the clear waters of peace for which

humanity thirsts! these waters do not flow from the des­
erts of pride and personal interests, from the dry earth of
profit at any cost and the arms trade.

Our religious traditions are diverse. But our differ�
ences are not the cause of conflict and dispute, or a cold
distance between us. We have not prayed against one
another today, as has unfortunately sometimes occurred in
history. Without syncretism or relativism, we have rather
prayed side by side and for each other. In this very place
Saint John Paul II said, "More perhaps than ever before in
history, the intrinsic link between an authentic religious
attitude and the great good of peace has become evident to
aU:' Continuing the journey that began thirty years ago in
Assisi, where the memory of that man of God and of peace
who was Saint Francis remains alive, "once again, gathered
here together, we declare that whoever uses religion to
foment violence contradicts religion's deepest and truest
inspiration" (John Paul II, Address to Representatives of
the World Religions) Assisi, January 24, 2002). We further

Peace Is a Gift



A Better World 83

declare that violence in all its forms does not represent lithe

true nature of religion. It is the antithesis of religion and
contributes to its destruction" (Benedict XVI, Address,
Assisi, October 27, 2011). We never tire of repeating that
the name of God cannot be used to justify violence. Peace
alone is holy. Peace alone is holy, not war!

Today we have pleaded for the holy gift of peace. We
have prayed that consciences will be mobilized to defend
the sacredness of human life, to promote peace between

peoples, and to care for creation, our common home.

Prayer and concrete acts of cooperation help us to break
free from the logic of conflict and to reject the rebellious
attitudes of those who know only how to protest and be

angry. Prayer and the desire to work together commit us to
a true peace that is not illusory: not the calm of one who
avoids difficulties and turns away, if his personal interests
are not at risk; it is not the cynicism of one who washes his
hands of any problem that is not his; it is not the virtual

approach of one who judges everything and everyone using
a computer keyboard, without opening his eyes to the
needs of his brothers and sisters, and dirtying his hands
for those in need. Our path leads us to immersing our ...
selves in situations and giving first place to those who suf

...

fer; to taking on conflicts and healing them from within; to

following ways of goodness with consistency, rejecting the
shortcuts offered by evil; to patiently engaging processes of

peace, in goodwill and with God's help.
Peace, a thread of hope that unites earth to heaven, a

word so simple and difficult at the same time. Peace means

Forgiveness, the fruit of conversion and prayer, that is
born



84 Against War

from within and that, in God's name, makes it possible
to heal old wounds. Peace means Welcome, openness to

dialogue, the overcoming of closed-rnindedness, which is
not a strategy for safety, but rather a bridge over an empty
space. Peace means Cooperation, a concrete and active
exchange with another, who is a gift and not a problem, a
brother or sister with whom to build a better world. Peace
denotes Education, a call to learn every day the challenging
art of communion, to acquire a culture of encounter, puri­
fying the conscience of every temptation to violence and
stubbornness which are contrary to the name of God and
human dignity.

Address to representatives of churches,
Christian communities) and religions

Assisi

September 20,2016

There Is No Alternative to Peace

Encounter and unity are always to be sought, without fear
of diversity. So it is with peace: it too must be cultivated
in the parched soil of conflict and discord, because today,
in spite of everything, there is no real alternative to peace�
making. Truces maintained by walls and displays of power
will not lead to peace, but only the concrete desire to listen
and to engage in dialogue. We commit ourselves to walk­
ing, praying, and working together, in the hope that the
art of encounter will prevail over strategies of conflict-in



A Better World 85

the hope that the display of threatening signs ofpower will

yield to the power of signs: men and women of goodwill of
different beliefs, unafraid of dialogue, open to the ideas of
others and concerned for their good. Only in this way, by
ensuring that no one lacks bread and work, dignity and

hope, will the cries of war turn into songs of peace.
Address at the Conclusion of the Dialogue

Bari, Italy
July 7,2018

Peace Comes from the Cross

Everyone who follows Christ receives true peace, the peace
that Christ alone can give, a peace that the world cannot give.
Many people, when they think of Saint Francis, think of

peace; very few people, however, go deeper. What is the

peace that Francis received, experienced, and lived,
and

which he passes on to us? It is the peace of Christ,
which

is born of the greatest love of all, the love of the cross. It is

the peace that the risen Jesus gave to his disciples when he
stood in their midst (see In 20:19-20).

Franciscan peace is not something saccharine. Hardly!
That is not the real Saint Francis! Nor is it a kind of pan-­

theistic harmony with forces of the cosmos.... That is not
Franciscan either! It is not Franciscan, but a notion that

some people have invented! The peace of Saint Francis
is the peace of Christ, and it is found by those who "take

up" their "yoke," namely, Christ's commandment: love
one



86 Against War

another as I have loved you (see Jn 13:34; 15:12). This
yoke cannot be borne with arrogance, presumption, or
pride, but only with meekness and humbleness of heart.

We turn to you, Francis, and we ask you: teach us to
be "instruments of peace;' of that peace that has its source
in God, the peace that Jesus has brought.

Homily
Assisi

October 4) 2013

True Peace Costs

Before leaving, the Lord greets his followers and gives the
gift of peace (see Jn 14:27-31), the Lord's peace:

II

Peace I
leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world
gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be trou­
bled or afraid" (v. 27). It is not universal peace-that peace
without wars that we all want there to be forever-but the

peace of the heart, the peace of the soul, the peace that
each one of us has inside. And the Lord gives it, but, he
emphasizesv''not as the world gives" (v. 27). How does the
world give peace, and how does the Lord give it? Are they
different forms of peace? Yes.

The world gives you "inner peace" -we are talking
about this, peace in your life, living with your "heart at
peace"-it gives you inner peace as if it were your own pos�
session, like something that is yours and isolates you from
others, that you keep for yourself, a personal acquisition:
I am at peace. And without realizing it you close yourself

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A Better 'World 87

up in that peace. It is a peace that is only for you, for each

person; it is a solitary peace, it is a peace that makes you
serene, even happy. And in this tranquility, in this happi

..

ness, it can lull you to sleep; it anesthetizes you and makes

you stay within yourself in a certain tranquility. It is a
bit

selfish: peace for me, closed up in myself. This is how the

Hu�' world gives it to you (see v, 27). It
is a costly peace, because

.k you
must continually change the "instruments of peace":

O:·�I J'�:�
when you are enthusiastic about something, one thing
gives you peace; then it ends and you have to find

another.

It is costly because it is temporary and sterile.
Instead, the peace that Jesus gives is another thing. It

is a peace that puts you in motion: it does
not isolate you.

It puts you in motion, it makes you go
toward others, it

creates community, it creates communication. The world's

peace is costly, whereas Jesus's is freely given, it is free; it is
a gift from the Lord, the peace of the Lord. It is fruitful, it

always leads you forward.
An example from the Gospel that makes me think of

what the world's peace is like is that man whose barns
were

full and whose harvest that year seemed to be very big, and

thought, HI must build other warehouses, other barns to

put this in, and then I will be fine....
111is is my tranquil ..

ity, this way I can live serenely:' "You fool;' says God,
"rhis

night your life will be demanded of you" (see Lk 12:
13-

21). It is a temporary peace that does not open the door to
the hereafter. Instead the Lord's peace opens to the place
where he went, it is open to Heaven, it is open to

Paradise.

It is a fruitful peace that is open and brings others with

you as well to Paradise.



88 ABelAgainst War

I think that it would help us to think a bit: What kind
of peace do I have? Where do I find peace? In things, in
well-being, in travel-but nowadays one cannot travel­
in possessions, in many things, or do I find peace as a
gift from the Lord? Must I pay for peace, or do I receive
it freely from the Lord? What kind of peace do I have?
When I am missing something, do I get angry? This is not
the Lord's peace. This is one of the tests. Am I calm in my
peace, do I get "lulled to sleep"? It is not the Lord's. Am I in
peace and do I want to communicate it to others, do I want
to accomplish something? That is the Lord's peace! Even
in bad or difficult moments, does that peace remain in me?
It is the Lord's. And the Lord's peace is fruitful for me too,
because it is full of hope-that is, it looks toward Heaven.

Yesterday-excuse me if I say these things, but they
are things about life that are good for me-yesterday I
received a letter from a priest, a good priest. And he said to
me that I speak little about Heaven. I should speak about
it more. And he is right, he is right. And because of this,
I wanted to emphasize it today. That the peace Jesus gives
us is a peace for today and for the future. It is beginning to
live Heaven, with the fruitfulness of Heaven. It is not anes­
thesia. The other peace is: you anesthetize yourself with
things of the world, and when the dose of this anesthetic
wears off, you take another one, and another.... This peace
[of Jesus] is a definitive peace, fruitful and "contagious," It
is not narcissistic, because it always looks to the Lord. The
other form of peace is about looking at yourself; it is a bit
narcissistic.



A Better World

May the Lord give us this peace, full of hope, that
makes us fruitful, that makes us communicative with oth­

ers, that creates community, and that always looks to the
definitive peace of Paradise.

Homily
Chapel of the Casa Santa Marta

May 12) 2020

Nonviolence: A Style ofPolitics for Peace

This is the fiftieth Message for the World Day of Peace....
On this occasion, I would like to reflect on nonviolence as

a style of politics for peace. I ask God to help all of us to
cultivate nonviolence in our most personal thoughts and
values. May charity and nonviolence govern how we treat
each other as individuals, within society and in interna­

tionallife. When victims of violence are able to resist the

temptation to retaliate, they become the most credible

promoters of nonviolent peacemaking. In the most local
and ordinary situations and in the international order,

may nonviolence become
the hallmark of our decisions,

our relationships, and our actions, and indeed of political
life in all its forms.

While the last century knew the devastation
of two

deadly world wars, the threat of nuclear war, and a great
number of other conflicts, today, sadly, we find ourselves

engaged in a horrifying world warfought piecemeal.
It is not

easy to know if our world is presently more
or less vio­

lent than in the past, or to know whether
modern means

89



90 Against War ABe

of communications and greater mobility have made us neal(
more aware of violence, or, on the other hand, increasingly reCOI
inured to it. IOu;

In any case, we know that this piecemeal violence, of nave
different kinds and levels, causes great suffering: wars in 1
different countries and continents; terrorism, organized 1I1�1
crime, and unforeseen acts of violence; the abuses suf- (mJ1fered by migrants and victims of human trafficking; and oeca
the devastation of the environment. Where does this lead? 11111(11
Can violence achieve any goal of lasting value? Or does it �itua
merely lead to retaliation and a cycle of deadly conflicts nwr�
that benefit only a few "warlords"? \An

Violence is not the cure for our broken world. . . . Cnri

Jesus himself lived in violent times. Yet he taught that are
the true battlefield, where violence and peace meet, is the
human heart: for "it is from within, from the human heart,
that evil intentions come" (Mk 7:21). But Christ's mes­
sage in this regard offers a radically positive approach. He
unfailingly preached God's unconditional love, which wel-
comes and forgives. He taught his disciples to love their non
enemies (see Mt 5 :44) and to turn the other cheek (see �ut
Mt 5:39). When he stopped her accusers from stoning ana
the woman caught in adultery (see Jn 8:1-11), and when,
on the night before he died, he told Peter to put away his na�1
sword (see Mt 26:52), Jesus marked out the path of non- Mili
violence. He walked that path to the very end, to the cross, �on
whereby he became our peace and put an end to hostility m�
(see Eph 2:14-16). Whoever accepts the Good News of lOr
Jesus is able to acknowledge the violence within and be nlreI



A Better World 91

healed by God's mercy, becoming in turn an instrument of
reconciliation. In the words of Saint Francis of Assisi, "As

you announce peace with your mouth, make sure
that you

have greater peace in your hearts:'

To be true followers of Jesus today also includes

embracing his teaching about nonviolence. As my prede­
cessor Benedict XVI observed, that teaching His 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"

(Angelus, February 18, 2007). He went on to stress, "For
Christians, nonviolence is not merely tactical behavior but
a person's way of being, the attitude of one who is so con­
vinced of God's love and power that he or she is not afraid to
tackle evil with the weapons of love and truth alone. Love

of ones enemy constitutes the nucleus of the
'Christian rev­

olution:" The Gospel command to love your enemies (see
Lk 6:27) His rightly considered the magna carta of Christian
nonviolence. It does not consist in succumbing to evil ... ,
but in responding to evil with good (see Rom 12:17-21),
and thereby breaking the chain of injustice:'

The decisive and consistent practice of nonviolence

has produced impressive results. The achievements of
Mahatma Gandhi and Abdul Ghaffar Khan in the libera­

tion of India, and of Dr. Martin Luther KingJr. in combat­

ing racial discrimination will never be forgotten.
Women

in particular are often leaders of nonviolence, as, for
exam­

ple, were Leymah Gbowee and the thousands of
Liberian



92 Against War ABel

women who organized pray-ins and nonviolent protests
that resulted in high-level peace talks to end the second
civil war in Liberia.

Nor can we forget the eventful decade that ended with
the fall of Communist regimes in Europe. The Chris­
tian communities made their own contribution by their
insistent prayer and courageous action. Particularly influ­
ential were the ministry and teaching of Saint John Paul
II. Reflecting on the events of 1989 in his 1991 encyclical
Centesimus Annus, my predecessor highlighted the fact
that momentous change in the lives of people, nations, and
states had come about "by means of peaceful protest, using
only the weapons of truth and justice:' This peaceful politi­
cal transition was made possible in part "by the nonviolent
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:' Pope John
Paul went on to say, "May people learn to fight for justice
without violence, renouncing class struggle in their inter­
nal disputes and war in international ones" (CA 23).

Peacebuilding through active nonviolence is the nat­
ural and necessary complement to the Church's continu­
ing efforts to limit the use of force by the application of
moral norms; she does so by her participation in the work
of international institutions and through the competent
contribution made by so many Christians to the drafting
of legislation at all levels. Jesus himself offers arnanual" for
this strategy of peacemaking in the Sermon on the Mount.
The eight Beatitudes (see Mt 5:3-10) provide a portrait of

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A Better World 93

the person we could describe as blessed, good, and authen­
tic. Blessed are the meek, Jesus tells us, the merciful and
the peacemakers, those who are pure in heart, and those
who hunger and thirst for justice.

This is also a program and a challenge for political
and religious leaders, the heads of international institu­
tions, and business and media executives: to apply the
Beatitudes in the exercise of their respective responsibili­
ties. It is a challenge to build up society, communities, and
businesses by acting as peacemakers. It is to show mercy
by refusing to discard people, harm the environment, or
seek to win at any cost. To do so requires "the willing�
ness to face conflict head on, to resolve it and to make it

a link in the chain of a new process" (Evangelii Gaudium

227). To act in this way means to choose solidarity as a

way of making history and building friendship in society.
Active nonviolence is a way of showing that unity is truly
more powerful and more fruitful than conflict. Everything
in the world is interconnected. Certainly differences can
cause frictions. But let us face them constructively and

nonviolently, so that "tensions and oppositions can achieve
a diversified and life�giving unity," preserving "what is
valid and useful on both sides" (227).

Mary is the Queen of Peace. At the birth of her Son,
the angels gave glory to God and wished peace on earth to
men and women of goodwill (see Luke 2:14). Let us pray
for her guidance.

All of us want peace. Many people build it day by day
through small gestures and acts; many of them are suffering,



94 Against War

yet patiently persevere in their efforts to be peacemakers.
May we dedicate ourselves prayerfully and actively to ban­
ishing violence from our hearts, words, and deeds, and to
becoming nonviolent people and to building nonviolent
communities that care for our common home. Nothing is
impossible if we turn to God in prayer. Everyone can be an
artisan of peace.

Message for the Fiftieth World Day of Peace
January i, 2017

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An Artisanal Path

Peace Is a Path

Setting out on a journey of peace is a challenge made all
the more complex because the interests at stake in rela­

tionships between people, communities, and nations are
numerous and conflicting. We must first appeal to people's
moral conscience and to personal and political will. Peace

emerges from the depths of the human heart, and politi­
cal will must always be renewed so that new ways can be
found to reconcile and unite individuals and communities.

The world does not need empty words but convinced

witnesses, peacemakers who are open to a dialogue that

rejects exclusion or manipulation. In fact, we cannot truly
achieve peace without a convinced dialogue between
men and women who seek the truth beyond ideologies
and differing opinions. Peace "must be built up continu­

ally" (Gaudium et Spes, 78); it is a journey made together
in constant pursuit of the common good, truthfulness,
and respect for law. Listening to one another can

lead to

mutual understanding and esteem, and even to seeing in

an enemy the face of a brother or
sister.

95



96 Against War AnA

The peace process thus requires enduring commitment. (�eel
It is a patient effort to seek truth and justice, to honor the fora
memory of victims, and to open the way, step by step, to �oOd
a shared hope stronger than the desire for vengeance. In a (nr!:
state based on law, democracy can be an important para- 1duel
digm of this process, provided it is grounded in justice and a 1
commitment to protect the rights of every person, especially t1ml
the weak and marginalized, in a constant search for truth. humIThis is a social undertaking, an ongoing work in which each otne
individual makes his or her contribution responsibly, at aau�
every level of the local, national, and global community. mea

As Saint Paul VI pointed out, these "two aspirations, �ut
to equality and to participation, seek to promote a demo- �re
cratic society.... This calls for an education to social life, len�
involving not only the knowledge of each person's rights,
but also its necessary correlative: the recognition of his or folIo
her duties with regard to others. The sense and practice oftel
of duty are themselves conditioned by the capacity for A�
self-mastery and by the acceptance of responsibility and rOll
of the limits placed upon the freedom of individuals or the Tn!!
groups" (Octogesima Adveniens, 24). tne

Divisions within a society, the increase of social (ara
inequalities, and the refusal to employ the means of ensur- \Vb
ing integral human development endanger the pursuit of i�tl
the common good. Yet patient efforts based on the power
of the word and of truth can help foster a greater capacity tned
for compassion and creative solidarity. ate�

In our Christian experience, we constantly remember true
Christ, who gave his life to reconcile us to one another am



An Artisanal Path 97

(see Rom 5:6-11). The Church shares fully in the search
for a just social order; she continues to serve the common

good and to nourish the hope for peace by transmitting
Christian values and moral teaching, and by her social and
educational works.

The Bible, especially in the words of the Prophets,
reminds individuals and peoples of God's covenant with

humanity, which entails renouncing our desire to dominate
others and learning to see one another as persons, sons and

daughters of God, brothers and sisters. We should never

encapsulate others in what they may have said or done,
but value them for the promise that they embody. Only
by choosing the path of respect can we break the spiral of

vengeance and set out on the journey of hope.
We are guided by the Gospel passage that tells of the

following conversation between Peter and Jesus:
II

Lord, how

often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?
As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, III do

not say to

you seven times, but seventy
times seven" (Mt 18:21-22).

This path of reconciliation is a summons to discover in
the depths of our heart the power of forgiveness and the

capacity to acknowledge one another as brothers and
sisters.

When we learn to live in forgiveness, we grow in our capac�
ity to become men and women of peace.

What is true of peace in a social context is also
true in

the areas of politics and the economy, since peace perme�
ates every dimension of life in

common. There can be no

true peace unless we show ourselves capable of developing
a more just economic system. As Pope Benedict

XVI said



98 Against War An)

ten years ago in his Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate,
UIn order to defeat underdevelopment, action is required
not only on improving exchange ... based transactions and
implanting public welfare structures, but above all on grad­
ually increasing openness, in a world context, to forms of
economic activity marked by quotas of gratuitousness and
communion" (no. 39).

The journey of reconciliation calls for patience and
trust. Peace will not be obtained unless it is hoped for.

In the first place, this means believing in the possibility
of peace, believing that others need peace just as much as
we do. Here we can find inspiration in the love that God
has for each of us: a love that is liberating, limitless, gratu­
itous, and tireless.

Fear is frequently a source of conflict. So it is import­
ant to overcome our human fears and acknowledge that
we are needy children in the eyes of the One who loves us
and awaits us, like the father of the prodigal son (see Lk
15:11-24). The culture of fraternal encounter shatters the
culture of conflict. It makes of every encounter a possibil­
ity and a gift of God's generous love. It leads us beyond the
limits of our narrow horizons and constantly encourages
us to a live in a spirit of universal fraternity, as children of
the one heavenly Father.

Message for the LIII World Day of Peace
January L 2020

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An Artisanal Path

Peace Is Daily

Peace is not a document that gets signed and then filed

away. Peace is built day by day! And peace is crafted; it
is the work of our hands; it is built up by the way we live
our lives. But someone may say, "Tell me, Father, how can

I build peace? How can I be a peacemaker?" First: Never
hate anyone. If someone wrongs you, seek to forgive.
No hatred! Much forgiveness! Let us all say this together:
"No hatred! Much forgiveness!" [All repeat in Sango.] And
if hatred does not dwell in your heart, if you forgive, then

you will be a winner. Because you will
win the hardest bat­

tle in life; you will win in love. And from love comes peace.

Homily during the prayer vigil
Bangui (Central African Republic)

November 29) 2015

Dialogue Opens the Way

Social peace demands hard work, craftsmanship. It would
be easier to keep freedoms and differences in check with
cleverness and a few resources. But such a peace would be

superficial and fragile, not the fruit of a culture of encoun­
ter that brings enduring stability. Integrating differences
is a much more difficult and slow process, yet it is the

guarantee of a genuine and lasting peace. That peace is
not achieved by recourse only to those who are pure and
untainted, since "even people who can be considered ques­
tionable on account of their errors have something to offer

99



100 Against War

which must not be overlooked" (Evangelii Gaudium, 236).
Nor does it come from ignoring social demands or quell­
ing disturbances, since it is not "a consensus on paper or a
transient peace for a contented minority" (208). What is
important is to create processes of encounter, processes that
build a people that can accept differences. Let us arm our
children with the weapons of dialogue! Let us teach them
to fight the good fight of the culture of encounter!

Fratelli tutti} 217

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11arn

IOD

It can be done with simplicity. Perhaps the rancor remains;
perhaps the resentment remains in us, but we are making
the effort to follow the path of this God who is so good,
merciful, holy, and perfect that he makes his sun rise on
the bad and the good: he is for everyone, he is good for
everyone. We must be good to everyone. And pray for
those who are not good, for everyone.

Do we pray for those who kill children in war? It is diffi�

cult, it's a long way off, but we have to learn to do it, for them
to be converted. Do we pray for those people who are closest
to us and hate us or hurt us? "Eh, Father, it's hard! I would
want to wring their necks!" -Pray. Pray that the Lord
changes their lives. Prayer is an antidote against hatred,
against wars, these wars that begin at home, that begin in
the neighborhood, that begin in families.... Just think of
the wars in families over inheritance: how many families are

destroyed. They hate each other because of inheritance. Pray

mu�t

war!

mnoe

Prayfor Those Who Do Not Love Us

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An Artisanal Path 101

for peace. And if I know that someone does not love me

well, does not love me, I must pray especially for him. Prayer
is powerful, prayer defeats evil, prayer brings peace.

Homily
Castelverde di Lunghezza (Rome)

February 19, 2017

Learning the Art ofDialogue

To build a new world, a better world, every kind of cruelty
must be eradicated. And war is cruelty. But this type of
war is even crueler because it rages against those who are
innocent.

Then, to listen to the other person, the capacity to

listen, not to argue immediately, to ask-and this means

dialogue, and dialogue is a bridge. Dialogue is a bridge. Do
not be afraid to dialogue. Now this is not about the San
Lorenzo- Lanus match, which is being played today-we
shall see who wins. It is about agreeing to proposals so as
to move forward together. Everyone wins in dialogue; no
one loses. In an argument, one wins and the other

loses or

both lose. Dialogue is gentleness, the capacity to listen; it
is to put oneself in the other's place, it is to form a bridge,
and within the dialogue, if I have a different opinion, not
to argue, but rather to seek to persuade with gentleness.

Words at the World Congress
of the Pontifical Foundation "Scbolas occurrentes"

New Synod Hall
May 29,2016



102 Against War

Architecture of Reconciliation (an 0
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Negotiation often becomes necessary for shaping concrete
paths to peace. Yet the processes of change that lead to
lasting peace are crafted above all by peoples; each individ­
ual can act as an effective leaven by the way he or she lives
each day. Great changes are not produced behind desks
or in offices. This means that everyone has a fundamental
role to play in a single great creative project: to write a new
page of history, a page full of hope, peace, and reconcilia­
tion. There is an "architecture" of peace, to which difler­
ent institutions of society contribute, each according to its
own area of expertise, but there is also an "art" of peace that
involves us all. From the various peace processes that have
taken place in different parts of the world, we have learned
that these ways of making peace, of placing reason above
revenge, of the delicate harmony between politics and law,
cannot ignore the involvement of ordinary people. Peace is
not achieved by normative frameworks and institutional
arrangements between well-meaning political or economic
groups .... It is always helpful to incorporate into our
peace processes the experience of those sectors that have
often been overlooked, so that communities themselves
can influence the development of a collective memory.

Fratelli tutti, 231

Overcoming Evil with Good

To be sure, it is no easy task to overcome the bitter leg�
acy of injustices, hostility, and mistrust left by conflict. It



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An Artisanal Path 103

can only be done by overcoming evil with good (see Rom
12:21) and by cultivating those virtues that foster recon­
ciliation, solidarity, and peace. In this way, persons who
nourish goodness in their heart find that such goodness
leads to a peaceful conscience and to profound joy, even
in the midst of difficulties and misunderstandings. Even
when affronted, goodness is never weak, but rather shows
its strength by refusing to take revenge. Each of us should
realize that even the harsh judgment I hold in my heart

against my brother or my sister, the open wound that was
never cured, the offense that was never forgiven, the rancor
that is only going to hurt me, are all instances of a struggle
that I carry within me, a little flame deep in my heart that
needs to be extinguished before it turns into a great blaze.

Fratelli tutti, 243

Peace Is the Priority

The commandment of peace is inscribed in the depths
of the religious traditions. Believers have understood
that religious differences do not justify indifference or

enmity. Rather, on the basis of our religious faith we
are enabled to become peacemakers, rather than stand­

ing passively before the evil of war and hatred. Religions
stand at the service of peace and fraternity. For this rea­

son, our present gathering also represents an incentive to

religious leaders and to all believers to pray fervently
for

peace, never resigned to war, but working with the gentle
strength of faith to end conflicts.



104 Against War

We need peace! More peace! We cannot remain indif­
ferent. Today the world has a profound thirst for peace.
In many countries, people are suffering due to wars that,
though often forgotten, are always the cause of suffering
and poverty. The world, political life, and public opinion
all run the risk of growing inured to the evil of war, as if it
were simply a part of human history.

"Let us not remain mired in theoretical discussions,
but touch the wounded flesh of the victims .... Let us
think of the refugees and displaced, those who suffered the
effects of atomic radiation and chemical attacks, the moth­
ers who lost their children, and the boys and girls maimed
or deprived of their childhood" (Fratelli tutti) 261). Today
the sufferings of war are aggravated by the suffering caused
by the coronavirus and the impossibility, in many coun­
tries, of access to necessary care.

In the meantime, conflicts continue, bringing in their
wake suffering and death. To put an end to war is a solemn
duty before God incumbent on all those holding political
responsibilities. Peace is the priority of all politics. God
will ask an accounting of those who failed to seek peace, or
who fomented tensions and conflicts. He will call them to
account for all the days, months, and years of war that have
passed and been endured by the world's peoples!

The words of the Lord Jesus are incisive and full of wis­
dom: "Put your sword back into its place; for all who take
the sword will perish by the sword" (Mt 26:52). Those who
wield the sword, possibly in the belief that it will resolve
difficult situations quickly, will know in their own lives,

war

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An Artisanal Path 105

the lives of their loved ones, and the lives of their coun­

tries the death brought by the sword. "Enoughl" says Jesus
(Lk 22:38), when his disciples produce two swords before
the Passion. "Enough!" That is his unambiguous response
to any form of violence. That single word of Jesus echoes

through the centuries and reaches us forcefully in our own
time: enough of swords, weapons, violence, and war!

Saint Paul VI echoed that in his appeal to the United
Nations in 1965: HNo more war!" This is our plea, and that
of all men and women of goodwilL It is the dream of all
who strive to work for peace in the realization that "every
war leaves our world worse than it was before" (Fratelli
tutti) 261).

How do we find a way out of intransigent and fester­

ing conflicts? How do we untangle the knots of so many
armed struggles? How do we prevent conflicts? How do
we inspire thoughts of peace in warlords and those who

rely on the strength of arms? No people, no social group
can single�handedly achieve peace, prosperity, security, and

happiness. None. The lesson learned from the recent pan­
demic, if we wish to be honest, is "the awareness that we

are a global community, all in the same boat, where one

person's problems are the problems of alL Once more we
realized that no one is saved alone; we can only be saved

together" (Fratelli tutti) 32).
Fraternity, born of the realization that we are a single

human family, must penetrate the life of peoples, commu­
nities, government leaders, and international

assemblies.

This will help everyone to understand that we can only be



106 Against War AnA

saved together through encounter and negotiation, setting
aside our conflicts and pursuing reconciliation, moderating
the language of politics and propaganda, and developing
true paths of peace (see Fratelli tutti) 231).

We have gathered this evening, as persons of different
religious traditions, in order to send a message of peace.
To show clearly that the religions do not want war and,
indeed, disown those who would enshrine violence, that

they ask everyone to pray for reconciliation and to strive
to enable fraternity to pave new paths of hope. For indeed,
with God's help, it will be possible to build a world of
peace, and thus, brothers and sisters, to be saved together.

Address to the International Prayer Meetingfor Peace
Piazza del Campidoglio

October 20) 2020

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Faced with the consequences of our hostility toward
others, our lack of respect for our common home, or our
abusive exploitation of natural resources-seen only as a
source of immediate profit, regardless of local communities,
the common good, and nature itself-we are in need of an
ecological conversion. The recent Synod on the Pan-Ama­
zon region moves us to make a pressing renewed call for a
peaceful relationship between communities and the land,
between present and past, between experience and hope.

This journey of reconciliation also calls for listening
to and contemplation of the world that God has given

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Ecological Conversion



An Artisanal Path 107

us as a gift to make our common home. Indeed, naru­
ral resources, the many forms of life, and the earth itself
have been entrusted to us lito till and keep" (Gen 1:15),
also for future generations, through the responsible and
active participation of everyone. We need to change the

way we think and see things, and to become more open
to encountering others and accepting the gift of creation,
which reflects the beauty and wisdom of its Creator.

All this gives us deeper motivation and a new way
to dwell in our common home, to accept our difter­

ences, to respect and celebrate the life that we have

received and share, and to seek living conditions and
models of society that favor the continued flourishing
of life and the development of the common good of the
entire human family.

The ecological conversion for which we are appealing
will lead us to a new way of looking at life, as we consider
the generosity of the Creator who has given us the earth
and called us to share it in joy and moderation. This con­
version must be understood in an integral way, as a trans­
formation of how we relate to our sisters and brothers, to

other living beings, to creation in all its rich variety, and
to the Creator who is the origin and source of all life. For

Christians, it requires that lithe effects of their encounter

with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship
with the world around them" (Laudato si; 217).

Message for the LIII World Day of Peace
January 1, 2020



108 An}Against War

Brothers and Sisters

In the name of God who has created all human beings equal
in rights, duties, and dignity, and who has called them to live
together as brothers and sisters, to fill the earth and make
known the values of goodness, love, and peace;

In the name of innocent human life that God has for;
bidden to kill, affirming that whoever kills a person is like
one who kills the whole of humanity, and that whoever saves
a person is like one who saves the whole of humanity;

In the name of the poor, the destitute, the marginal;
ized, and those most in need whom God has commanded
us to help as a duty required of all persons, especially the
wealthy and of means;

In the name of orphans, widows, refugees, and those
exiled from their homes and their countries; in the name
of all victims of wars, persecution, and injustice; in the
name of the weak, those who live in fear, prisoners of
war, and those tortured in any part of the world, without
distinction;

In the name of peoples who have lost their security,
peace, and the possibility of living together, becoming vic;
tims of destruction, calamity, and war;

In the name of human fraternity that embraces all
human beings, unites them, and renders them equal;

In the name of this fraternity torn apart by policies of
extremism and division, by systems of unrestrained profit
or by hateful ideological tendencies that manipulate the
actions and the future of men and women;

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An Artisanal Path 109

In the name of freedom, that God has given to all
human beings, creating them free and distinguishing them
by this gift;

In the name of justice and mercy, the foundations of

prosperity and the cornerstone of faith;
In the name of all persons of goodwill present in every

part of the world;
In the name of God and of everything stated thus far;

AI-Azhar aI-Sharif and the Muslims of the East and West,

together with the Catholic Church and the Catholics of the
East and West, declare the adoption of a culture of dialogue
as the path; mutual cooperation as the code of conduct;
reciprocal understanding as the method and standard.

We, who believe in God and all of this ... we call upon
ourselves, upon the leaders of the world as well as the archi­

tects of international policy and world economy, to work

strenuously to spread the culture of tolerance and of living
together in peace; to intervene at the earliest opportunity
to stop the shedding of innocent blood and bring an end
to wars, conflicts, environmental decay, and the moral and
cultural decline that the world is presently experiencing....

Moreover, we resolutely declare that religions must
never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility, and extremism,
nor must they incite violence or the shedding of blood.
These tragic realities are the consequence of a deviation
from religious teachings. They result from a political
manipulation of religions and from interpretations made

by religious groups who, in the course of history, have
taken advantage of the power of religious sentiment in the



110 Against War An

hearts of men and women in order to make them act in
a way that has nothing to do with the truth of religion.
This is done for the purpose of achieving objectives that
are political, economic, worldly, and shortsighted. We thus
call upon all concerned to stop using religions to incite
hatred, violence, extremism, and blind fanaticism, and to
refrain from using the name of God to justify acts of mur­
der, exile, terrorism, and oppression. We ask this on the
basis of our common belief in God, who did not create
men and women to be killed or to fight one another, nor to
be tortured or humiliated in their lives and circumstances.

God, the Almighty, has no need to be defended by anyone
and does not want his name to be used to terrorize people.

From the Document on Human Brotherhood
Abu Dhabi

February 4) 2019
Signed by Pope Francis as well as

the Grand Imam of al-Azhar) Ahmed el- Tayeb

Fraternity Is the Grace of God the Father

As he says farewell to his disciples (seeJn 14:15-21),Jesus
gives them tranquility. He gives peace, with a promise: HI
will not leave you orphans" (v. 18). He defends them from
that pain, from that painful feeling of being orphans. In
today's world, there is a great sense of being orphaned: many
people have many things, but they lack the Father. And
in the history of humanity, this has repeated itself: when
the Father is missing, something is lacking and there is Th

the



An Artisanal Path 111

always the desire to meet, to rediscover the Father, even
in the ancient myths. We can think of the myth of Oedi­
pus, or Telemachus, and many others: always in search of
the Father who is missing. Today we can say that we live
in a society where the Father is missing, a sense of being
orphaned that specifically affects belonging and fraternity.

And so Jesus promises, "I will ask the Father and he
will give you another Paraclete" (v. 16). Jesus says, "I am

going away, but someone else will come who will teach you
how to access the Father. He will remind you how to access

the Father:' The Holy Spirit does not come to "make us his
clients"; he comes to point out how to access the Father,
to remind us how to access the Father. That is what Jesus

opened, what Jesus showed us. A spirituality of the Son
alone or the Holy Spirit alone does not exist: the center
is the Father. The Son is sent by the Father and returns to
the Father. The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father to remind
us and to teach us how to access the Father.

Only with this awareness of being children, that we are
not orphans, can we live in peace among ourselves. Wars,
either small ones or large ones, always have a dimension
of being orphans: the Father who makes peace is missing.
And so when Peter and the first community respond to
the people regarding why they are Christians (see 1

Pt

3:15-18), it says, "Do it with gentleness and reverence,

keeping your conscience clear" (v. 16), that is, the gentle­
ness that the Holy Spirit gives. The Holy Spirit teaches
us this gentleness, this tenderness of the Father's

children.

1he Holy Spirit does not teach us to insult. And
one of

the consequences of this feeling like orphans is insulting,



112 Against War

wars, because if there is no Father, there are no brothers,
fraternity is lost. They are-this tenderness, reverence,
gentleness-they are attitudes of belonging, of belonging
to a family that is certain of having a Father.

III will pray to the Father and he will send you another
Paraclete" On 14:16) who will remind you how to access
the Father. He will remind you that we have a Father who
is the center of everything, the origin of everything, the
one who unites everyone, the salvation of everyone because
he sent his Son to save everyone. And now he sends the

Holy Spirit to remind us how to access him, the Father,
and of this paternity, of this fraternal attitude of gent1e�
ness, tenderness, and peace.

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to remind us always, always
about this access to the Father, that he might remind us that
we have a Father. And to this civilization, with this great
feeling of being orphaned, may he grant the grace of redis­
covering the Father, the Father who gives meaning to all of
life, and that he might unite humanity into one family.

Homily
Chapel of Santa Marta House

May 17) 2020

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Fraternity is the fruit of the Easter of Christ who, with his
death and Resurrection, conquered sin, which separated
man from God, man from himself, man from his broth­
ers. But we know that sin always separates, always creates

Easter Makes the Encounter with the Other Sprout Up



An /srtisanal Path 113

hostility. Jesus broke down the wall that divides people and
restored peace, beginning to weave the fabric of a new fra­
ternity. It is so important in our time to rediscover broth­
erhood as it was experienced by the early Christian corn­
munities, to rediscover how to make room for Jesus who
never divides and always unites. There cannot be true corn­
munion and commitment to the common good and social
justice without fraternity and sharing. Without fraternal
sharing, no ecclesial or civil community can be formed:
there is only an ensemble of individuals moved or grouped
together, according to common interests. But brotherhood
is a grace that Jesus creates.

The Easter of Christ has caused another thing to
erupt into the world: the novelty of dialogue and relationship,
a novelty that has become a responsibility for Christians.
Jesus in fact said,

(I

By this all men will know that you are

my disciples, if you have love for one another" On 13:35).
This is why we cannot close ourselves off in our private
world, within our group, but instead we are called to sale­

guard the common good and to take care of our broth­
ers and sisters, in particular those who are weakest and
most marginalized. Only fraternity can guarantee a lasting
peace, can overcome poverty, can extinguish tension and
war, can eradicate corruption and crime. May the Angel
who tells us, "He has risen;' help us to live the fraternity
and the novelty of dialogue and relationships and of con­
cern for the common good.

Words before the Regina Coeli
April 2, 2018



114 Against War

Follow Another Logic

Calvary was the site of a great "duel" between God, who
came to save us, and man, who wants to save only himself;
between faith in God and worship of self; between man
who accuses and God who excuses. In the end, God's vic­

tory was revealed; his mercy came down upon the earth.
From the cross, forgiveness poured forth and fraternal
love was reborn: "the Cross makes us brothers and sisters"

(Benedict XVI, Address at the Way of the Cross at the Col­
osseum, March 21, 2008). Jesus's arms, outstretched on the
cross, mark the turning point, for God points a finger at no
one, but instead embraces alL For love alone extinguishes
hatred, love alone can ultimately triumph over injustice.
Love alone makes room for others. Love alone is the path
toward full communion among us.

Let us look upon the crucified God and ask him to

grant us the grace to be more united and more fraternal.
When we are tempted to follow the way of this world, may
we be reminded ofJesus's words: "Whoever would save his
life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and
the Gospel's will save it" (Mk 8:35). What is counted loss
in the eyes of the world is, for us, salvation. May we learn
from the Lord, who saved us by emptying himself (see
Phil 2:7) and becoming other: from being God, he became
man; from spirit, he became flesh; from a king, he became
a slave. He asks us to do the same, to humble ourselves, to
"become other" in order to reach out to others. The closer
we become to the Lord Jesus, the more we will be open
and "universal," since we will feel responsible for others.



An Artisanal Path 115

And others will become the means of our own salvation:

all others, every human person, whatever his or her history
and beliefs-beginning with the poor, who are those most
like Christ. The great Archbishop of Constantinople, Saint
John Chrysostom, once wrote, "If there were no poor, the

greater part of our salvation would be overthrown" (On
the Second Letter to the Corinthians XVIL2). May the Lord

help us to journey together on the path of fraternity, and
thus to become credible witnesses of the living God.

Homily at the International Prayer Meetingfor Peace
Church of Saint Maria in Aracoeli

October 20) 2020



Prayers

A Prayer to the Creator

Lord, Father of our human family,
you created all human beings equal in dignity:
pourforth into our hearts a fraternal spirit
and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter,
dialogue) justice, and peace.
Move us to create healthier societies
and a more dignified world,
a world without hunger, poverty, violence) and war.
May our hearts be open
to all the peoples and nations of the earth.
May we recognize the goodness and beauty
that you have sown in each of us)
and thus forge bonds of unity) common projects,
and shared dreams. Amen.

Fratelli tutti, 287

116



Prayers

An Ecumenical Christian Prayer

o God) Trinity of love)
from the profound communion ofyour divine life)
pour out upon us a torrent offraternal love.
Grant us the love reflected in the actions ofJesus)
in his family of Nazareth)
and in the early Christian community.
Grant that we Christians may live the GospeL
discovering Christ in each human being)
recognizing him crucified
in the sufferings of the abandoned
and forgotten of our world)
and risen in each brother or sister

who makes a new start.

Come) Holy Spirit) show us your beauty)
reflected in all the peoples of the earth)
so that we may discover anew

that all are important and all are necessary)
different faces of the one humanity
that God so loves. Amen.

Fratelli tutti) 287

Prayerfor Fraternity

Almighty and eternal God)
good and merciju! Father;
Creator of heaven and earth) of all that is visible

and invisible;

117



118 Against War

God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God ofJacob,
King and Lord of the past, of the present, and of

the future;
sole judge of every man and woman,
who reward your faithful with eternal glory!
We, the descendants of Abraham according to our

faith in you, the one God,
Jews, Christians, and Muslims,
humbly stand before you
and with trust we pray to you
for this country, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
that men and women, followers of dijferent religions,

nations, and cultures

may live here in peace and harmony.
We pray to you, a Father,
that it may be so in every country of the world!
Strengthen in each of us faith and hope,
mutual respect and sincere love

for all of our brothers and sisters.
Grant that we may dedicate ourselves

courageously to building a just society,
to being men and women ofgoodwill,
filled with mutual understanding and forgiveness,
patient artisans of dialogue and peace.
May each of our thoughts, words, and actions
be in harmony with your holy will.

From ecumenical and

interreligious meeting
Sarajevo

June 6, 2015



Prayers 119

Prayer of the Children of Abraham

Almighty God, our Creator, you love our human fam­
ily and every work of your hands:

As children of Abraham, Jews, Christians, and Mus­
lims, together with other believers and all persons of good­
will, we thank you for having given us Abraham, a distin­
guished son of this noble and beloved country, to be our
common father in faith.

We thank you for his example as a man of faith, who

obeyed you completely, left behind his family, his tribe, and
his native land, and set out for a land that he knew not.

We thank you too, for the example of courage, resil­
ience, strength of spirit, generosity, and hospitality set for
us by our common father in faith.

We thank you in a special way for his heroic faith,
shown by his readiness even to sacrifice his son in obedi­
ence to your command. We know that this was an extreme

test, yet one from which he emerged victorious, since he
trusted unreservedly in you, who are merciful and always
offer the possibility of beginning anew.

We thank you because, in blessing our father Abra­
ham, you made him a blessing for all peoples.

We ask you, the God of our father Abraham
and our

God, to grant us a strong faith, a faith that abounds
in

good works, a faith that opens our hearts to you and to
all our brothers and sisters; and a boundless hope capa­
ble of discerning in every situation your fidelity to your
promises.



120 Against War PI'

Make each of us a witness of your loving care for
all, particularly refugees and the displaced, widows and
orphans, the poor and the infirm.

Open our hearts to mutual forgiveness and in this way
make us instruments of reconciliation, builders of a more
just and fraternal society.

Welcome into your abode of peace and light all those
who have died, particularly the victims of violence and war.

Assist the authorities in the effort to seek and find
the victims of kidnapping and in a special way to protect
women and children.

Help us to care for the earth, our common home,
which in your goodness and generosity you have given to
all of us.

From interreligious meeting
Ur Plain

March 6} 2021

Prayerfor the Victims of War

Most High God, Lord of all ages, you created the
world in love and never cease to shower your blessings
upon your creatures. From beyond the sea of suffering and
death, from beyond all temptations to violence, injustice,
and unjust gain, you accompany your sons and daughters
with a Father's tender love.

Yet we men and women, spurning your gifts and
absorbed by all-too-worldly concerns, have often forgotten
your counsels of peace and harmony. We were concerned



Prayers

only with ourselves and our narrow interests. Indifferent
to you and to others, we barred the door to peace. What
the prophet Jonah heard said of Nineveh was repeated:
the wickedness of men rose up to heaven (see Jonah 1:2).
We did not lift pure hands to heaven (see 1 Tim 2:8), but
from the earth there arose once more the cry of innocent

blood (see Gen 4:10). In the book of Jonah, the inhabi­
tants of Nineveh heeded the words of your prophet and
found salvation in repentance. Lord, we now entrust to

you the many victims of man's hatred for man.
We too

implore your forgiveness and beg the grace of repentance:
Kyrie eleison! Kyrie eleison! Kyrie eleison!

[Brief moment of silence]

Lord our God, in this city, we see two signs of the

perennial human desire for closeness to you: the AI�Nouri

Mosque, with its AI� Hadba minaret, and the Church of
Our Lady of the Hour, whose clock for more than a cen­

tury has reminded passersby that life is short and that time
is precious. Teach us to realize that you have entrusted to
us your plan of love, peace, and reconciliation, and charged
us to carry it out in our time, in the brief span

of our

earthly lives. Make us recognize that only in this way, by
putting it into practice immediately, can this city and this

country be rebuilt, and hearts torn by grief be healed. Help
us not to pass our time in promoting our selfish concerns,
whether as individuals or as groups, but in serving your
loving plan. And whenever we go astray, grant that we

may heed the voice of true men
and women of God and

121



122 Against War

repent in due time, lest we be once more overwhelmed by
destruction and death.

To you we entrust all those whose span of earthly life
was cut short by the violent hand of their brothers and sis,
ters; we also pray to YOll for those who caused such harm
to their brothers and sisters. May they repent, touched by
the power of your mercy.

Eternal rest grant unto them, 0 Lord, and let perpet,
uallight shine upon them.

May they rest in peace. Amen.

�I

Mosul, Iraq
March 7, 2021



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Afterword
A Century-Long Magisterium of Peace

Andrea Tornielli

One cannot understand Francis's "Magisterium of Peace"
without placing it in the sequence of papal proclamations
of the last century. The lapses in memory and the sheer

quantity of information available to us on a daily basis
run the risk of making us regard as new or revolutionary
attitudes and words imbued with realism and rooted in a

solid tradition. In fact, that tradition led the successors of

Peter to launch numerous appeals for ceasefires and, step
by step, to mark an increasingly clear and resolute rejection
of war.

TIle beginning of this longjourney can be traced back
to 1848, when the pope still had the Papal States and its
own army. At the outbreak of the

First War of Indepen­
dence, in 1848, Pius IX, having initially decided to inter­
vene alongside the Kingdom of Sardinia against Austria,

proceed to retrace his steps. In an address on April 29,
he

pronounced that he could not make war on a Christian

123



124 Afterword Ajle

people, because as pope he was "father of all the faithful:'
With the end of temporal power, the papacy, far from

losing its strength, acquired an even greater power, and
the pontiff has increasingly become a spiritual and moral
authority above all others. Unfortunately, this has not
meant that his voice has been heard.

On August 2, 1914, just a few days after the Austro­
Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia following the
assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Pope
Pius X, who would die only a few days later, sent the
exhortation Dum Europa Jere omnis to all Catholics of the
world, imploring an end to the conflict. Pope Sarto wrote,
"While almost the whole of Europe is being dragged into
the whirlpools of a terrible war, whose dangers, massacres,
and consequences no one can think of without feeling
overwhelmed by pain and fear, we too cannot but be con­
cerned and feel our souls torn by the bitterest pain for the
health and lives of so many citizens and peoples that are
most dear to our hearts:' The Uguerrone;' as Pius X called
it, flared up, marking the destinies of Europe throughout
the twentieth century.

His successor, Benedict Xv, in his letter to the lead­
ers of the belligerent peoples in August 1917, described
the Great War as "useless slaughter" and reiterated, "The
fundamental point must be that the material force of arms
be replaced by the moral force of law. Therefore, a just
agreement of all in the simultaneous and reciprocal reduc­
tion of armaments according to norms and guarantees to
be established, in the measure necessary and sufficient to

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Afterword 125

maintain public order in the single States; and, as a sub ...
stitute for arms, the institution of arbitration with its high
pacifying function, according to the norms to be agreed
upon and the sanction to be agreed upon against the State
that refuses either to submit international questions to the
arbitrator or to accept his decision:'

We know how it ended and how at the conclusion of

peace the humiliation of Germany favored the birth of
Nazism.

It is interesting to note the red thread that also unites
individuals in the Magisterium of Peace. Eugenio Pacelli,
the future Pius XII, who in 1917 also contributed to the

drafting of Benedict's letter, went on to be consecrated

bishop and sent as Apostolic Nuncio to Munich. On

August 24, 1939, on the eve of the outbreak of World
War

II, having now become pope, Pacelli made an unheeded

appeal to stop the conflict unleashed by Hitler and uttered
the following words: "Nothing is lost with peace. All can
be lost with war:' The draft of that speech had been pre ...

pared by none other than Monsignor Giovanni Battista
Montini, at that time Substitute for the Secretariat of

State, and later Pope Paul VI.
Pius XII's Magisterium of Peace, during the dark years

of the war and in the immediate postwar period, was ded ...

icated to the reconstruction and promotion of a system of

international relations based on dialogue and not on the
use of violence.

His successor, John XXIII, elected in October 1958,
found himself living through the Soviet missile crisis in



126 Afterword Ajle

Cuba in 1962, with the risk of a nuclear conflict. On Octo­
ber 25 of that year, Pope Roncalli addressed the whole
world and its powerful leaders, saying, "Let all those who
have responsibilities of power, with their hands on their
consciences, listen to the cry of anguish ... from the inno­
cent children to the elderly, from individuals to commu­
nities, which rises to heaven: Peace! Peace! I implore all
rulers not to remain insensitive to this cry of humanity!
Let them do everything in their power to save Peace....
Let them promote, encourage, and accept negotiations at
every level and at every time!"

And on April 11, 1963, less than two months before
his death, John XXIII published the encyclical Pacem
in Terris, the first by a pontiff dedicated to world peace.
He wrote that "human beings live under the nightmare
of a hurricane that could break out at any moment with

unimaginable force. Since the weapons are there, and if it is
difficult to persuade ourselves that there are people capable
of taking responsibility for the destruction and pain that a
war would cause, it is not excluded that an unpredictable
and uncontrollable event could set off the spark that could
set the war apparatus in motion:'

Pope John also stated, "Justice, wisdom, and humanity
demand that the arms race be stopped, that the arms already
in existence be simultaneously and reciprocally reduced, that
nuclear weapons be banned, and that disarmament, inte­

grated with effective controls, finally be carried out:' And
quoting verbatim the words of his predecessor Pius XII, he
writes, "The calamity of a world war with its economic and

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Afterword 127

social ruins and aberrations and disturbances must not be

allowed to overrun humanity for a third time:'
John XXIII also reiterated the importance of the

United Nations: HWe hope, therefore, that the United
Nations Organization-in its structures and resources­
will be increasingly adapted to the vastness and nobility
of its tasks; and that the day will come when individual
human beings will find in it effective protection with

regard to the rights which flow immediately from their

dignity as persons, and that are therefore universal, invio­
lable, inalienable rights:'

His successor Paul VI, before the General Assembly of
the United Nations, on October 4, 1965, pronounced his
famous cry against war, quotingJohn Kennedy: "You are

waiting for this word from us, which cannot be deprived
of gravity and solemnity: not one against the other, not

any more, not ever! The United
Nations Organization was

founded primarily for this purpose; against war and for

peace! Listen to the clear words of the great deceased John
Kennedy, who four years ago proclaimed.T'Iurnanity

must

put an end to war, or war will put
an end to humanity: Not

many words are needed to proclaim this supreme goal
of

this institution. It is enough to remember that the blood
of millions of men and countless unprecedented sufferings
have been shed, useless slaughters and formidable ruins
sanction the pact that unites you with

an oath that must

change the future history of the world: No
more war, no

more war! Peace, peace must guide the destiny of peoples
and of all humanity!"



128 Afterword Aftt

In addition to emphasizing continuity, a slow but the
unstoppable progression should also be noted. This has venl
led the bishops of Rome to intervene more and more, to aVO!
appeal to international law and to consider as indispens- rrof
able the role of the United Nations. John Paul II, elected �uel
in October 1978, in fact manifests a rejection of war that wp�
is even more radical and deep-rooted than his predeces- Unl�
sors. And it is interesting to note that Pope Wojtyla's even ana,
more decisive and radical rejection of war does not derive ture,
only from considerations of principle, but rather from the 0
his own experience as a survivor of the catastrophe of tra�1
the Second World War. He explained this himself, many ur�e
times, even improvising on the last occasion, at the Ange- lIve
Ius of March 16, 2003, when he told "young" rulers of the ala
fate of the world, namely Saddam Hussein, George Bush, ala
and Tony Blair, HI belong to the generation that rernern- rom
bers the war well, that has lived through and, thank God, �10
survived the Second World War. That is why I also have moo
the moral duty to remind the younger ones who do not toj
have this experience. I have a duty to remember and to toel
say: never again war:' Woj

In fact, none of his predecessors in the twentieth cen- ana
tury knew the horrors of war so directly and so closely as
the then-twenty-year-old Karol Wojtyla in Nazi-occupied ant
Poland, one of the countries that paid the highest price, rre
only to come under the influence of the Soviet Union. IW1

From the Falklands conflict to the forgotten wars in bee
Africa, from Lebanon to the Holy Land, from the Gulf r1an
War to the crisis in the former Yugoslavia, to Kosovo and rar



Afterword 129

the most recent war in Iraq: John Paul II always inter­
vened personally, utilizing Vatican diplomacy to try to
avoid conflicts and then, once they had broken out, to

propose mediation initiatives and to limit
the con se­

quences for the civilian population. The pope strongly
supported multilateralism and the irreplaceable role of the
United Nations. At the same time, he made ecumenism

and dialogue with other religions one of the salient tea­
tures of his pontificate, emphasizing the importance of
the commitment of religions to peace, decades before the

tragic events of September 11, 200 1, demonstrated
the

urgency of this appeal. The role of the pontiff was deci­
sive in making sure that a large part of the Islamic world
did not experience the subsequent war as a "crusade" and

did not identify the West with Christianity. After the ter­
rorist attacks against the United States, he gathered reli­

gious leaders again in Assisi, doing everything possible
to

mobilize religious opposition to the abuse of God's name
to justify terrorism, violence, and wars. As the first pope
to enter a mosque, in Damascus, in May 200 1, Karol

Wojtyla stressed that "there is no peace without justice
and there is no justice without forgiveness:'

This line did not change under Benedict XVI, who,
on the hundredth anniversary of the note of peace of his

predecessor, with whom he shares the same name, said,

"War, with its trail of grief and destruction, has always
been rightly considered a calamity that contrasts

with the

plan of God, who created everything for
existence and, in

particular, wants to make the human race
a family:' And



130 Afterword

he continued the "purification of memory" begun during
the Jubilee Year 2000 by Pope Wojtyla, recognizing, in
Assisi, in October 2011, "As a Christian I want to say at
this point: yes, it is true, in the course of history, force
has also been used in the name of the Christian faith. We

acknowledge it with great shame. But it is utterly clear that
this was an abuse of the Christian faith, one that evidently
contradicts its true nature. The God in whom we Christians
believe is the Creator and Father of all, and from him all peo­
ple are brothers and sisters and form one single family. For
us the Cross of Christ is the sign of the God who put suf­
fering-with' (compassion) and 'loving-with' in place of force:'

The unequivocal choice to say "no to war;' which had
already cost his predecessors in some crucial occasions var­
ious attempts at retrenchment, even within the Church,
has continued with even greater decision by Francis.
As emerges from the pages of this book, which gathers
together the words he has spoken on this theme through­
out the first nine years of his pontificate, Pope Bergoglio
has warned from the beginning against the risk of a Third
World War-a war that he sees as already underway,
albeit "in pieces:' But these "pieces" are becoming larger and
larger, more and more united, and with the outbreak of the
conflict caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more
and more threatening to the very existence of humanity.
For this reason, Francis never tires of discouraging the
use of weapons, appealing to everyone. For this reason he
asks that hundreds of billions not be spent on increasingly
sophisticated weapons, when there are no resources for

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families, to ensure care, for work, for shelter, and to fight
poverty and hunger.

Francis's no to war, a radical and convinced no, like the

one pronounced by his predecessors, has nothing to do
with a partisan position nor is it motivated by political­
diplomatic calculations. In the war in Ukraine there are
the aggressors and there are the attacked.

There are those

who attacked and invaded, killing unarmed civilians,
hypocritically disguising the conflict under the guise of
a "special military operation"; and there are those who
defend themselves by fighting for their land. Francis has
said this several times in very clear words, condemning the
invasion and martyrdom of Ukraine. This does not mean,
however, that he "blesses" the acceleration of the arms

race, because the pope is not the "chaplain of the West"
and because he reiterates that today being on the right
side of history means being against war and seeking peace
without leaving any stone unturned. Of course, the Cate­
chism of the Catholic Church contemplates the right to

self..

defense. It does, however, impose conditions, specifying
that recourse to arms must not cause evils and disorders

more serious than the evil to be eliminated, and remem
..

bering that in the evaluation of this consideration,
a great

weight must be given to the "power of modern
means of

destruction:' Who can deny that humanity is today on the
brink of the abyss precisely because of the escalation of

con ..

flict and the power of the "modern
means of destruction" r

HWar," Pope Francis said at the Angelus on Sunday,
March 27, 2022, 'cannot be something inevitable: we must

131



132 Afterword

not get used to war! Instead, we must convert today's out­
rage into tomorrow's commitment. Because, if we come
out of this affair as we did before, we will all be guilty in
some way. Faced with the danger of self-destruction, let
humanity understand that the time has come to abolish
war, to erase it from human history before it erases man
from history:'



 



 



 



 



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