Pope Francis stressed in his message for the 56th World Day of Peace: The new crown epidemic teaches us that no one can be saved alone. Another scourge today is war, which is a more difficult virus to defeat because it comes from the heart of the corrupt. This World Peace Day will be celebrated on New Year’s Day 2023.
(Vatican News Network)On December 16, the Holy See released a message for the 56th World Day of Peace. Pope Francis stressed in his message that after experiencing the dark night of the new corona epidemic, the disaster of war has come. A vaccine against the new coronavirus has been developed, but there seems to be no antidote to the brutality of the conflict. In view of the World Day of Peace, which will be celebrated on New Year’s Day 2023, the Pope has invited government officials, heads of international institutions and religious leaders to work together to “heal” the world and develop “appropriate policies” for welcoming and integration of immigrants.
The announcement was signed on December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Reflecting on the moment of the outbreak of the new corona epidemic in 2020, the Pope wrote: «Darkness covers our hearts, shakes our daily lives, disrupts our plans and habits, and breaks the apparent tranquility of those who is pampered, confuses and torments, many of our brothers and sisters have lost their lives”.
In addition to the symptoms of the disease, the new corona outbreak has also resulted in “a general feeling of unease”, fueled by epidemic prevention measures and isolation policies. Furthermore, the pandemic has “exposed cracks in the social and economic order, highlighted contradictions and inequalities, exacerbated loneliness and threatened job security”, especially as many “informal workers” are left alone when they lose their jobs. Under the pandemic, even in “relatively peaceful parts” of the world, “too many fragilities” have emerged, as well as “social conflicts, frustrations and violence”.
However, humanity can learn a lot from this great shock of imbalance in the world. First of all, the Pope reiterated, we realize that when we emerge from the crisis we need to be different: either better or worse. In other words: “We all need each other; even if we are vulnerable, we have a greater treasure, namely: the brotherhood of humanity; and that no one can be saved alone.”
For Pope Francis there are also some “positive discoveries” under the epidemic. He explained in the statement: People have begun to reflect on some of the phenomena of overconsumption, and have become more aware that the spirit of togetherness can help to let go of self-centered attitudes, thus opening up to the pain and needs of others, and many people spare no effort to enable us all to escape the dire situation of a state of emergency. All of this underlines the importance of “joint” action: the most effective response to the epidemic, in fact, is for civil society, public and private institutions and international organizations to put their interests aside and work together to tackle the challenge. Only the peace born of selfless love can help us overcome crises on a personal, social and global level.
“At the moment when we boldly hoped that the worst night of the new corona epidemic was over, another terrible disaster hit humanity hard.” The pope called war a scourge in a way comparable to the coronavirus. War kills innocent victims indiscriminately, causing riots everywhere, not only for those directly affected, but for all people, even thousands of miles away, due to its side effects. Just think of the price of grain and fuel to understand this point.
This is not the post-epidemic era we expected. The Pope said: “A vaccine against the new coronavirus has been developed, but for war it seems that no suitable antidote has been found. Compared to those viruses that attack human organs, the virus of war is obviously more difficult to defeat, because the latter is not from the outside but from within man, corrupted by sin” (see Mk 7:17- 23).
Faced with this situation, what should we do? The first step, the Pope underlined, is to allow God to change our hearts, “to change the yardstick with which we take the interpretation of the world and the present for granted”. In particular, “we cannot continue to think only of our personal or national interests, but we must take into account the well-being of the community, support the concept of community and be open to universal fraternity”. It’s time we all worked together to “heal our society, our planet.”
The current “many moral, social, political and economic crises are intertwined, where one problem before us is the cause or consequence of another”. Therefore, the Pope expects many to respond to the challenges of today’s world “with a sense of responsibility and enthusiasm”: by re-examining the issue of protecting public health; promoting peaceful action to discourage conflict and war; consistent care of our common home; effective measures to tackle climate change, fight the virus of inequality and ensure food and decent jobs for all.
The pope concluded by emphasizing that “the scandal of hunger hurts us”. We therefore want to “adopt adequate policies” for the reception and integration of immigrants and those who have remained behind. Only by engaging in these circumstances can we “build a new world”.
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