Peace

"The name of the one God must become increasingly what it is: a name of peace and a summons to peace" (Novo Millennio Ineunte, n. 55). In our meeting we must therefore endeavor to lay solid, shared foundations of peace. These foundations will disarm the violent, call them to reason and respect, and create a network of peaceful sentiments all over the world.
Armed with the weapons of prayer and dialogue, therefore, let us walk on the path to the future! May 9, 2003

The message of peace is more timely than ever in an age when peoples are becoming closer and closer as the space between them is constantly reduced, which gives us the impression that the earthly globe is increasingly being reduced to a "global village." However, despite all the risks and dangers that are doubtless concealed in the globalization process, we must not ignore a phenomenon that represents a sign of hope:  the growing awareness of mutual dependence among individual persons, ethnic groups and nations. The fact that men and women in various parts of the world perceive the injustices and violations of human rights—even if they are perpetrated in far off countries—as though they themselves had suffered them, shows a growing sensitization of hearts.
However, at the same time, there is cause for concern when national interests develop in such a way that the meeting of cultures is no longer seen as an enrichment but as a threat. The developments due to globalization must therefore also touch consciences. In this way the message of peace will acquire a new resonance.
The growing network of mutual relations among men and women in important and in small things literally demands solidarity. Indeed peace is only possible if reciprocal dependence already by its nature requires the defeat of every form of exclusion, the renunciation of every form of economic, military or national imperialism and the transformation of mutual diffidence into friendly collaboration. The special act of solidarity among individual persons and among peoples lies precisely in this. Address March 28, 2001

It is more important than ever to reflect on the role of the mass media in building a peaceful world based on truth, justice, love and freedom. Indeed, the means of social communication can make a valid contribution to peace, tearing down the barriers of indifference, encouraging reciprocal understanding and respect and, even further, fostering reconciliation and compassion. It is therefore by virtue of their vocation and profession that those who work in the mass media are also called to be peacemakers. June 1, 2003

I would like to repeat to everyone the appeal I have often made in the past: "There is no peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness." June 15, 2003

In my Message to young people for that occasion (World Youth Day), I asked them, in this time endangered by violence, hatred and war, to endeavor to witness that it is Jesus who can give true peace to human hearts, to families and to the peoples of the earth.

The four pillars on which peace must rest are truth, justice, love and freedom, as Bl. John XXIII taught in his Encyclical, Pacem in Terris, whose 40th anniversary we celebrated a few days ago (cf. n. 35 [1963]).

To build peace, it is necessary first of all to live in truth. May you, young people, have the courage to question yourselves seriously on the meaning of life; train yourselves to think and act clearly and rightly, with respect for and in dialogue with others. Make your priority that true relationship with God which demands personal conversion and openness to his mystery. The human person understands himself only in relation to God, who is the fullness of truth, beauty and goodness.

Justice should be combined with truth and with respect for the dignity of every person. We know, however, that without sincere and disinterested love, justice itself would not be able to guarantee peace to the world. Indeed, true peace blossoms when hatred, resentment and envy are uprooted from the heart, when one says "no" to selfishness and to all that drives the human being to withdraw into himself and defend his own interests.

If love, the distinctive sign of Christ's disciples, is expressed in gestures of free and disinterested service, in words of understanding and forgiveness, the peace-bringing wave of love expands until it embraces the entire human community. It is then also easier to understand the fourth pillar of peace, that is, freedom, the recognition of the rights of persons and of peoples and the free gift of self in responsible fulfillment of the duties incumbent on each person in his or her own state of life.

If you seek to follow this path, you will be able to make an effective contribution to building a "pacified" and "pacifying" world. …Follow this teaching, accept the peace that Christ gives to those who open their hearts to him and spread it in every walk of life. April 14, 2003

Peace, where it exists, is always extremely fragile. It is threatened in so many ways and with such unforeseeable consequences that we must endeavor to provide it with secure foundations. Without in any way denying the need for the many human resources which maintain and strengthen peace, we are here because we are sure that, above and beyond all such measures, we need prayer – intense, humble and trusting prayer – if the world is finally to become a place of true and permanent peace. 1986

Vatican Site: Pope John Paul II and Peace