“IN
TRUTH, PEACE”
Text
of Pope Benedict XVI's Message for World Day of Peace, January 1,
2006
(Summary by the Catholic
Action Commission of
1. …(F)or the
World Day of Peace at the beginning of the New Year, I offer cordial greetings and good wishes
to men and women everywhere, especially those who are suffering as a result of
violence and armed conflicts. My greeting is one filled with hope for a more
serene world, a world in which more and more individuals and communities are
committed to the paths of justice and peace.
2. Before all
else, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to my Predecessors, the great
Popes Paul VI and John Paul II, who were astute promoters of peace. …This, my
first Message for the World Day of Peace, is meant to follow in the path of
their noble teaching…. The very name Benedict, which I chose on the day of my
election to the Chair of Peter, is a sign of my personal commitment to
peace.
3. The theme chosen for this year's reflection
- “In truth, peace” -- expresses the conviction that wherever and whenever
men and women are enlightened by the splendor of truth, they naturally set out
on the path of peace. The Pastoral Constitution “Gaudium et Spes”… stated that
mankind will not succeed in “building a truly more human world for everyone,
everywhere on earth, unless all people are renewed in spirit and converted to
the truth of peace.”(2) But what do those words, “the truth of peace,”
really mean? To respond adequately to this question, we must realize that peace… needs to be understood as “the fruit
of an order which has been planted in human society by its divine Founder… which
must be brought about by humanity in its thirst for ever more perfect
justice.”(3)
4. Seen in this way, peace appears as a
heavenly gift and a divine grace which demands at every level the exercise of
the highest responsibility: that of conforming human history - in truth,
justice, freedom and love - to the divine order. Whenever there is a loss
of fidelity to the transcendent order, and a loss of respect for that
''grammar'' of dialogue which is the universal moral law written on human
hearts,(5) whenever the integral development of the person and the protection of
his fundamental rights are hindered or denied, whenever countless people are
forced to endure intolerable injustices and inequalities, how can we hope that
the good of peace will be realized?
5. Who and what, then, can prevent the coming
of peace? …We need but think of the events of the past century, when aberrant
ideological and political systems willfully twisted the truth and brought about
the exploitation and murder of an appalling number of men and women…. After experiences like these, how can we
fail to be seriously concerned about lies in our own time in many parts of the
world. Any authentic search for peace must begin with the realization that
the problem of truth and untruth is the concern of every man and woman; it is
decisive for the peaceful future of our planet.
6. Peace is an irrepressible yearning present
in the heart of each person, regardless of …cultural identity. Consequently,
everyone should feel committed to service of this great good…. All people are members of one and the same
family. An extreme exaltation of differences clashes with this fundamental
truth. …These simple truths are what make peace possible…. Peace thus comes to be seen in a new light:
not as the mere absence of war, but as a harmonious coexistence of individual
citizens within a society governed by justice, one in which the good is also
achieved, to the extent possible, for each of them. …The truth of peace calls upon everyone to
cultivate productive, sincere relationships; it encourages them to seek out and
follow the paths of forgiveness and reconciliation.
7. The truth of
peace must also let its beneficial light shine even amid the tragedy of war. …(T)he Pastoral Constitution “Gaudium et
Spes,” pointed out that “not everything automatically becomes permissible
between hostile parties once war has regrettably commenced.”(7) As a means of limiting the devastating
consequences of war as much as possible, especially for civilians,
…international humanitarian law ought to be considered as one of the finest and
most effective expressions of the intrinsic demands of the truth of peace.
Respect for that law must be considered binding on all
peoples.
8. …I express gratitude to the international
organizations and to all those who are daily engaged in ...international
humanitarian law. Nor can I fail to mention the many soldiers engaged in
…resolving conflicts and restoring necessary conditions for peace. (In) the
words of the Second Vatican Council: “All who enter the military in service to
their country should look upon themselves as guardians of the security and
freedom of their fellow-countrymen,… (to) contribute to the establishment of
peace.”(8)
9. Nowadays, the truth of peace continues to
be dramatically compromised and rejected by terrorism, whose criminal threats
and attacks leave the world in a state of fear and insecurity. …From the
beginning, John Paul II was aware of the explosive danger represented by
fanatical fundamentalism, and he condemned it unsparingly, while warning
against attempts to impose, rather than to propose for others freely to accept,
one's own convictions about the truth. As he wrote: “To try to impose on others by
violent means what we consider to be the truth is an offense against the dignity
of the human being, and ultimately an offense against God in whose image he is
made.”(10)
10. Looked at
closely, nihilism and the fundamentalism
of which we are speaking share an erroneous relationship to truth: the nihilist
denies the very existence of truth, while the fundamentalist claims to be able
to impose it by force. …(T)his shared tragic outcome results from a distortion
of the full truth about God: nihilism denies God's existence and his
provident presence in history, while fanatical fundamentalism disfigures his
loving, merciful countenance, replacing him with idols made in its own
image.
11. In view of the risks which humanity is
facing in our time, all Catholics have a duty to proclaim and embody ever more
fully the “Gospel of Peace,” and to show that acknowledgment of the full truth
of God is the first, indispensable condition for consolidating the truth of
peace. God …wants to see his children look upon one another as brothers and
sisters. …This must impel believers in
Christ to become convincing witnesses of God who is inseparably truth and love,
placing themselves at the service of peace in cooperation with other Christians,
followers of other religions, all people of good will.
12. Looking at the present world situation, we
can note with satisfaction certain signs of hope in the work of building peace.
I think, for example, of the decrease in the number of armed conflicts. Here
we are speaking of a few, very tentative steps forward along the path of peace,
…particularly for the suffering people of
13. (Yet) it must not be forgotten that,
tragically, violent fratricidal conflicts and devastating wars still continue to
sow tears and death in vast parts of the world. Those authorities who, rather than making
every effort to promote peace, incite their citizens to hostility towards other
nations, bear a heavy burden of responsibility. …What can be said, too, about those
governments which count on nuclear arms as a means of ensuring the security of
their countries? …In a nuclear war there would be no victors, only victims. The truth of peace requires that all -
whether those governments which openly or secretly possess nuclear arms, or
those planning to acquire them - …strive for a progressive and concerted
nuclear disarmament. The resources which would be saved could then be employed
in projects of development capable of benefiting all their people, especially
the poor.
14. …(O)ne can only note with dismay the
evidence of a continuing growth in military expenditure and the flourishing arms
trade, while the …process established by the international community for
promoting disarmament is bogged down in general indifference. How can there ever be a future of peace
when investments are still made in the production of arms and in research aimed
at developing new ones?
15. The first to benefit from a decisive choice
for disarmament will be poor countries, which rightly demand… the concrete
implementation of their right to development. …The United Nations must
become a more efficient instrument for promoting justice, solidarity and peace
in the world. …(T)he Church, in fidelity
to the mission she has received from her Founder, is committed to proclaiming
everywhere ''the Gospel of peace.'' …This truth alone can create a sensitivity
to justice and openness to love and solidarity, while encouraging everyone to
work for a truly free and harmonious human family.
16. (In)
conclusion, …when we hear the Gospel,
…we learn to build peace on the truth of a daily life inspired by the
commandment of love. Every community should undertake …education and witness
aimed at making everyone more aware of the need for a fuller appreciation of the
truth of peace. At the same time I ask for an increase of prayers, since
peace is above all a gift of God. At the
beginning of this New Year, let us ask (Mary) to help all God's People, wherever
they may be, to work for peace and to be guided by the light of the truth that
sets man free (cf. John 8:32).
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI – From the
(Full
text available at: < http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/peace/index_en.htm
>)