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Pope Francis, in his traditional speech at the beginning of the
year before the Members of the Diplomatic Corp accredited to the Holy See,
delivered on January 8, addressed with clarity and courage the essential
question of peace.
I recommend reading the full text, but I have selected some
paragraphs below that I consider particularly important:
"Peace is not built by vaunting the power of the victor
over the vanquished. Future acts of aggression are not deterred by the law of
fear, but rather by the power of calm reason that encourages dialogue and
mutual understanding as means of resolving "..." Peace is
consolidated when nations can discuss matters on equal terms. This was envisaged
a hundred years ago –on this very date – by then President of the United
States, Thomas Woodrow Wilson, who proposed the establishment of a General League
of Nations with the aim of promoting for all States indistinctly, great and
small alike, mutual guarantees of independence and territorial integrity...”
The Pope emphasized the importance of "freedom, justice and
peace in the world, which are based on the recognition of the inherent
dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human
family," as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms.
He referred to the fact that "the constant pleas for peace rising
from land rent for violence seem to be less and less effective in the face of
war’s perverse logic. This scenario cannot be
allowed to diminish our desire and our commitment for peace, because we are
aware that without peace, integral human
development becomes unattainable ... convinced that peace is a necessary
condition for development that, at the same time, requires "dealing with
injustice and eliminating, in a non-violent way, the causes of discordance that lead to wars".
I consider important what the Pope emphasized: "The
promotion of a culture of peace for integral development requires persevering
efforts in favour of disarmament and the reduction of the recourse to the use of
armed force in the handling of international affairs."
He also referred to his
"Message for the World Day of Peace" this year in which he suggested
four "cornerstones" for action: welcome, protect, promote and
integrate. He pointed out that "integration is a “two-way process, entailing
reciprocal rights and duties” that should be taken into account in this Europe in
which hundreds of immigrants arrives daily seeking
a better future...
We are facing a moment of inflection. Ecological movements,
human rights, equality, democracy and disarmament are among the most powerful
social movements of our time and their convergence in the "great
alliance" of mobilization for a culture of peace is essential to
success. None of these movements can succeed fully on their own ... All of them
need a culture of peace to achieve their full objective ... Without peace,
there can be no democracy, no universal human rights, no protection for the
environment, no equality for women ... This "interdependence" of its
different parts is one of the most important and valuable contributions of the
culture of peace.
This speech of the Pope is a document of great value and opportunity to which,
however, the media have devoted very little space and interest. That is why I return
to mine some words of Iñaki Gabilondo: "Do you know the most impressive of this news? It is not
news." Most of the media are "the voice of their master" and
still do not give the necessary importance to what is really important. They
are accomplices.
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