Pope Benedict XVI
"1. Each new year brings the expectation of a
better world. In light of this, I ask God, the Father of humanity, to
grant us concord and peace, so that the aspirations of all for a happy
and prosperous life may be achieved.
"Fifty years after the
beginning of the Second Vatican Council, which helped to strengthen the
Church’s mission in the world, it is heartening to realise that
Christians, as the People of God in fellowship with Him and sojourning
among mankind, are committed within history to sharing humanity’s joys
and hopes, grief and anguish, as they proclaim the salvation of Christ
and promote peace for all.
"In effect, our times, marked by
globalisation with its positive and negative aspects, as well as the
continuation of violent conflicts and threats of war, demand a new,
shared commitment in pursuit of the common good and the development of
all men, and of the whole man.
"It is alarming to see hotbeds of
tension and conflict caused by growing instances of inequality between
rich and poor, by the prevalence of a selfish and individualistic
mindset which also finds expression in an unregulated financial
capitalism. In addition to the varied forms of terrorism and
international crime, peace is also endangered by those forms of
fundamentalism and fanaticism which distort the true nature of religion,
which is called to foster fellowship and reconciliation among people.
"All
the same, the many different efforts at peacemaking which abound in our
world testify to mankind’s innate vocation to peace. In every person
the desire for peace is an essential aspiration which coincides in a
certain way with the desire for a full, happy and successful human life.
In other words, the desire for peace corresponds to a fundamental moral
principle, namely, the duty and right to an integral social and
communitarian development, which is part of God’s plan for mankind. Man
is made for the peace which is God’s gift.
"All of this led me to
draw inspiration for this Message from the words of Jesus Christ:
'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God'.
Gospel beatitude
"2. The beatitudes which Jesus
proclaimed are promises. In the biblical tradition, the beatitude is a
literary genre which always involves some good news, a 'gospel', which
culminates in a promise. Therefore, the beatitudes are not only moral
exhortations whose observance foresees in due time – ordinarily in the
next life – a reward or a situation of future happiness. Rather, the
blessedness of which the beatitudes speak consists in the fulfilment of a
promise made to all those who allow themselves to be guided by the
requirements of truth, justice and love. In the eyes of the world, those
who trust in God and His promises often appear naïve or far from
reality. Yet Jesus tells them that not only in the next life, but
already in this life, they will discover that they are children of God,
and that God has always been, and ever will be, completely on their
side. They will understand that they are not alone, because He is on the
side of those committed to truth, justice and love. Jesus, the
revelation of the Father’s love, does not hesitate to offer Himself in
self-sacrifice. Once we accept Jesus Christ, God and man, we have the
joyful experience of an immense gift: the sharing of God’s own life, the
life of grace, the pledge of a fully blessed existence. Jesus Christ,
in particular, grants us true peace, which is born of the trusting
encounter of man with God.
"Jesus’ beatitude tells us that peace
is both a messianic gift and the fruit of human effort. In effect, peace
presupposes a humanism open to transcendence. It is the fruit of the
reciprocal gift, of a mutual enrichment, thanks to the gift which has
its source in God and enables us to live with others and for others. The
ethics of peace is an ethics of fellowship and sharing. It is
indispensable, then, that the various cultures in our day overcome forms
of anthropology and ethics based on technical and practical
suppositions which are merely subjectivistic and pragmatic, in virtue of
which relationships of coexistence are inspired by criteria of power or
profit, means become ends and vice versa, and culture and education
are centred on instruments, technique and efficiency alone. The
precondition for peace is the dismantling of the dictatorship of
relativism and of the supposition of a completely autonomous morality
which precludes acknowledgement of the ineluctable natural moral law
inscribed by God upon the conscience of every man and woman. Peace is
the building up of coexistence in rational and moral terms, based on a
foundation whose measure is not created by man, but rather by God. As
Psalm 29 puts it: 'May the Lord give strength to His people; may the
Lord bless His people with peace'.
Peace: God’s gift and the fruit of human effort
"3.
Peace concerns the human person as a whole, and it involves complete
commitment. It is peace with God through a life lived according to His
will. It is interior peace with oneself, and exterior peace with our
neighbours and all creation. Above all, as Blessed John XXIII wrote in
his Encyclical Pacem in Terris, whose fiftieth anniversary will fall in a
few months, it entails the building up of a coexistence based on truth,
freedom, love and justice. The denial of what makes up the true nature
of human beings in its essential dimensions, its intrinsic capacity to
know the true and the good and, ultimately, to know God Himself,
jeopardises peacemaking. Without the truth about man inscribed by the
Creator in the human heart, freedom and love become debased, and justice
loses the ground of its exercise.
"To become authentic
peacemakers, it is fundamental to keep in mind our transcendent
dimension and to enter into constant dialogue with God, the Father of
mercy, whereby we implore the redemption achieved for us by His
only-begotten Son. In this way mankind can overcome that progressive
dimming and rejection of peace which is sin in all its forms:
selfishness and violence, greed and the will to power and dominion,
intolerance, hatred and unjust structures.
"The attainment of
peace depends above all on recognizing that we are, in God, one human
family. This family is structured, as the Encyclical Pacem in Terris
taught, by interpersonal relations and institutions supported and
animated by a communitarian 'we', which entails an internal and external
moral order in which, in accordance with truth and justice, reciprocal
rights and mutual duties are sincerely recognized. Peace is an order
enlivened and integrated by love, in such a way that we feel the needs
of others as our own, share our goods with others and work throughout
the world for greater communion in spiritual values. It is an order
achieved in freedom, that is, in a way consistent with the dignity of
persons who, by their very nature as rational beings, take
responsibility for their own actions.
"Peace is not a dream or
something utopian; it is possible. Our gaze needs to go deeper, beneath
superficial appearances and phenomena, to discern a positive reality
which exists in human hearts, since every man and woman has been created
in the image of God and is called to grow and contribute to the
building of a new world. God Himself, through the incarnation of His Son
and His work of redemption, has entered into history and has brought
about a new creation and a new covenant between God and man, thus
enabling us to have a 'new heart' and a 'new spirit'.
"For this
very reason the Church is convinced of the urgency of a new proclamation
of Jesus Christ, the first and fundamental factor of the integral
development of peoples and also of peace. Jesus is indeed our peace, our
justice and our reconciliation. The peacemaker, according to Jesus’
beatitude, is the one who seeks the good of the other, the fullness of
good in body and soul, today and tomorrow.
"From this teaching
one can infer that each person and every community, whether religious,
civil, educational or cultural, is called to work for peace. Peace is
principally the attainment of the common good in society at its
different levels, primary and intermediary, national, international and
global. Precisely for this reason it can be said that the paths which
lead to the attainment of the common good are also the paths that must
be followed in the pursuit of peace.
Peacemakers are those who love, defend and promote life in its fullness
"4.
The path to the attainment of the common good and to peace is above all
that of respect for human life in all its many aspects, beginning with
its conception, through its development and up to its natural end. True
peacemakers, then, are those who love, defend and promote human life in
all its dimensions, personal, communitarian and transcendent. Life in
its fullness is the height of peace. Anyone who loves peace cannot
tolerate attacks and crimes against life.
"Those who
insufficiently value human life and, in consequence, support among other
things the liberalization of abortion, perhaps do not realize that in
this way they are proposing the pursuit of a false peace. The flight
from responsibility, which degrades human persons, and even more so the
killing of a defenceless and innocent being, will never be able to
produce happiness or peace. Indeed how could one claim to bring about
peace, the integral development of peoples or even the protection of the
environment without defending the life of those who are weakest,
beginning with the unborn. Every offence against life, especially at its
beginning, inevitably causes irreparable damage to development, peace
and the environment. Neither is it just to introduce surreptitiously
into legislation false rights or freedoms which, on the basis of a
reductive and relativistic view of human beings and the clever use of
ambiguous expressions aimed at promoting a supposed right to abortion
and euthanasia, pose a threat to the fundamental right to life.
"There
is also a need to acknowledge and promote the natural structure of
marriage as the union of a man and a woman in the face of attempts to
make it juridically equivalent to radically different types of union;
such attempts actually harm and help to destabilize marriage, obscuring
its specific nature and its indispensable role in society.
"These
principles are not truths of faith, nor are they simply a corollary of
the right to religious freedom. They are inscribed in human nature
itself, accessible to reason and thus common to all humanity. The
Church’s efforts to promote them are not therefore confessional in
character, but addressed to all people, whatever their religious
affiliation. Efforts of this kind are all the more necessary the more
these principles are denied or misunderstood, since this constitutes an
offence against the truth of the human person, with serious harm to
justice and peace.
"Consequently, another important way of
helping to build peace is for legal systems and the administration of
justice to recognize the right to invoke the principle of conscientious
objection in the face of laws or government measures that offend against
human dignity, such as abortion and euthanasia.
"One of the
fundamental human rights, also with reference to international peace, is
the right of individuals and communities to religious freedom. At this
stage in history, it is becoming increasingly important to promote this
right not only from the negative point of view, as freedom from – for
example, obligations or limitations involving the freedom to choose
one’s religion – but also from the positive point of view, in its
various expressions, as freedom for – for example, bearing witness to
one’s religion, making its teachings known, engaging in activities in
the educational, benevolent and charitable fields which permit the
practice of religious precepts, and existing and acting as social bodies
structured in accordance with the proper doctrinal principles and
institutional ends of each. Sadly, even in countries of long-standing
Christian tradition, instances of religious intolerance are becoming
more numerous, especially in relation to Christianity and those who
simply wear identifying signs of their religion.
"Peacemakers
must also bear in mind that, in growing sectors of public opinion, the
ideologies of radical liberalism and technocracy are spreading the
conviction that economic growth should be pursued even to the detriment
of the state’s social responsibilities and civil society’s networks of
solidarity, together with social rights and duties. It should be
remembered that these rights and duties are fundamental for the full
realisation of other rights and duties, starting with those which are
civil and political.
"One of the social rights and duties most
under threat today is the right to work. The reason for this is that
labour and the rightful recognition of workers’ juridical status are
increasingly undervalued, since economic development is thought to
depend principally on completely free markets. Labour is thus regarded
as a variable dependent on economic and financial mechanisms. In this
regard, I would reaffirm that human dignity and economic, social and
political factors, demand that we continue 'to prioritise the goal of
access to steady employment for everyone'. If this ambitious goal is to
be realised, one prior condition is a fresh outlook on work, based on
ethical principles and spiritual values that reinforce the notion of
work as a fundamental good for the individual, for the family and for
society. Corresponding to this good are a duty and a right that demand
courageous new policies of universal employment.
Building the good of peace through a new model of development and economics
"5.
In many quarters it is now recognized that a new model of development
is needed, as well as a new approach to the economy. Both integral,
sustainable development in solidarity and the common good require a
correct scale of goods and values which can be structured with God as
the ultimate point of reference. It is not enough to have many different
means and choices at one’s disposal, however good these may be. Both
the wide variety of goods fostering development and the presence of a
wide range of choices must be employed against the horizon of a good
life, an upright conduct that acknowledges the primacy of the spiritual
and the call to work for the common good. Otherwise they lose their real
value, and end up becoming new idols.
"In order to emerge from
the present financial and economic crisis – which has engendered ever
greater inequalities – we need people, groups and institutions which
will promote life by fostering human creativity, in order to draw from
the crisis itself an opportunity for discernment and for a new economic
model. The predominant model of recent decades called for seeking
maximum profit and consumption, on the basis of an individualistic and
selfish mindset, aimed at considering individuals solely in terms of
their ability to meet the demands of competitiveness. Yet, from another
standpoint, true and lasting success is attained through the gift of
ourselves, our intellectual abilities and our entrepreneurial skills,
since a 'liveable' or truly human economic development requires the
principle of gratuitousness as an expression of fraternity and the logic
of gift. Concretely, in economic activity, peacemakers are those who
establish bonds of fairness and reciprocity with their colleagues,
workers, clients and consumers. They engage in economic activity for the
sake of the common good and they experience this commitment as
something transcending their self-interest, for the benefit of present
and future generations. Thus they work not only for themselves, but also
to ensure for others a future and a dignified employment.
"In
the economic sector, states in particular need to articulate policies of
industrial and agricultural development concerned with social progress
and the growth everywhere of constitutional and democratic states. The
creation of ethical structures for currency, financial and commercial
markets is also fundamental and indispensable; these must be stabilised
and better coordinated and controlled so as not to prove harmful to the
very poor. With greater resolve than has hitherto been the case, the
concern of peacemakers must also focus upon the food crisis, which is
graver than the financial crisis. The issue of food security is once
more central to the international political agenda, as a result of
inter- related crises, including sudden shifts in the price of basic
foodstuffs, irresponsible behaviour by some economic actors and
insufficient control on the part of governments and the international
community. To face this crisis, peacemakers are called to work together
in a spirit of solidarity, from the local to the international level,
with the aim of enabling farmers, especially in small rural holdings, to
carry out their activity in a dignified and sustainable way from the
social, environmental and economic points of view.
Education for a culture of peace: the role of the family and institutions
"6.
I wish to reaffirm forcefully that the various peacemakers are called
to cultivate a passion for the common good of the family and for social
justice, and a commitment to effective social education.
"No one
should ignore or underestimate the decisive role of the family, which is
the basic cell of society from the demographic, ethical, pedagogical,
economic and political standpoints. The family has a natural vocation to
promote life: it accompanies individuals as they mature and it
encourages mutual growth and enrichment through caring and sharing. The
Christian family in particular serves as a seedbed for personal
maturation according to the standards of divine love. The family is one
of the indispensable social subjects for the achievement of a culture
of peace. The rights of parents and their primary role in the education
of their children in the area of morality and religion must be
safeguarded. It is in the family that peacemakers, tomorrow’s promoters
of a culture of life and love, are born and nurtured.
"Religious
communities are involved in a special way in this immense task of
education for peace. The Church believes that she shares in this great
responsibility as part of the new evangelisation, which is centred on
conversion to the truth and love of Christ and, consequently, the
spiritual and moral rebirth of individuals and societies. Encountering
Jesus Christ shapes peacemakers, committing them to fellowship and to
overcoming injustice.
"Cultural institutions, schools and
universities have a special mission of peace. They are called to make a
notable contribution not only to the formation of new generations of
leaders, but also to the renewal of public institutions, both national
and international. They can also contribute to a scientific reflection
which will ground economic and financial activities on a solid
anthropological and ethical basis. Today’s world, especially the world
of politics, needs to be sustained by fresh thinking and a new cultural
synthesis so as to overcome purely technical approaches and to harmonise
the various political currents with a view to the common good. The
latter, seen as an ensemble of positive interpersonal and institutional
relationships at the service of the integral growth of individuals and
groups, is at the basis of all true education for peace.
A pedagogy for peacemakers
"7.
In the end, we see clearly the need to propose and promote a pedagogy
of peace. This calls for a rich interior life, clear and valid moral
points of reference, and appropriate attitudes and lifestyles. Acts of
peacemaking converge for the achievement of the common good; they create
interest in peace and cultivate peace. Thoughts, words and gestures of
peace create a mentality and a culture of peace, and a respectful,
honest and cordial atmosphere. There is a need, then, to teach people to
love one another, to cultivate peace and to live with good will rather
than mere tolerance. A fundamental encouragement to this is 'to say no
to revenge, to recognize injustices, to accept apologies without looking
for them, and finally, to forgive', in such a way that mistakes and
offences can be acknowledged in truth, so as to move forward together
towards reconciliation. This requires the growth of a pedagogy of
pardon. Evil is in fact overcome by good, and justice is to be sought in
imitating God the Father Who loves all His children. This is a slow
process, for it presupposes a spiritual evolution, an education in lofty
values, a new vision of human history. There is a need to renounce that
false peace promised by the idols of this world along with the dangers
which accompany it, that false peace which dulls consciences, which
leads to self-absorption, to a withered existence lived in indifference.
The pedagogy of peace, on the other hand, implies activity, compassion,
solidarity, courage and perseverance.
"Jesus embodied all these
attitudes in His own life, even to the complete gift of Himself, even to
'losing His life'. He promises His disciples that sooner or later they
will make the extraordinary discovery to which I originally alluded,
namely that God is in the world, the God of Jesus, fully on the side of
man. Here I would recall the prayer asking God to make us instruments of
His peace, to be able to bring His love wherever there is hatred, His
mercy wherever there is hurt, and true faith wherever there is doubt.
For our part, let us join Blessed John XXIII in asking God to enlighten
all leaders so that, besides caring for the proper material welfare of
their peoples, they may secure for them the precious gift of peace,
break down the walls which divide them, strengthen the bonds of mutual
love, grow in understanding, and pardon those who have done them wrong;
in this way, by His power and inspiration all the peoples of the earth
will experience fraternity, and the peace for which they long will ever
flourish and reign among them.
"With this prayer I express my
hope that all will be true peacemakers, so that the city of man may grow
in fraternal harmony, prosperity and peace."
