Pope Francis met with 6,000 teachers and students of Italian schools, urging them to follow the example of Pope John XXIII and Martin Luther King Jr. and to commit themselves to promoting peace.
(Vatican News Network)On November 28, Pope Francis received students and teachers from various Italian schools in the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican. Promoted by the National Network of Schools for Peace in Italy, the theme of the meeting of teachers and students with the Pope this time is “Promoting peace and care”. Proceeding from this theme, the Pope underlined the importance of continuous peace-building and defined St. John XXIII and Martin Luther King as “prophetic figures of our time”.
Peacebuilding requires ceaseless struggle, not a commitment to peace only when war strikes us. “We often speak of peace when we hear a direct threat, such as a possible nuclear attack, or a war being fought on our doorstep,” the Pope said. Likewise, we speak of peace only when our relatives or friends emigrate. on immigrant rights. Indeed, we must take care of peace everywhere! Just as we must always take care of others, our brothers and sisters, we must take care of them”.
The pope then cited two examples of distinguished witnesses of peace. The first is Saint Pope John XXIII. “He has the reputation of ‘good pope’, but also the title of ‘pope of peace’, because in the difficult times of the early 1960s, amidst the high tensions of the construction of the Berlin wall, the Cuban crisis, the Cold War and the threat nuclear power, has published the well-known and prophetic encyclical “Peace in the world”.Pope Francis has invited everyone to read this document, which is still relevant today, and to undertake this path of defending and promoting peace.
“Another prophetic figure of our time” is Martin Luther King. “In the context of a strong atmosphere of racial discrimination in the United States, he has embraced all dreams, longing for a world of justice, freedom and equality.” He dreams of his four sons and daughters living in a country where they won’t be judged by the color of their skin. To this end, the Pope asked the students present, saying: “And you boys and girls: what dreams do you have for the world of today and tomorrow? I encourage you to follow the example of John XXIII and Martin Luther King and dream big. “
Furthermore, Pope Francis extended his warm greetings to the organizers of the event, noting that this event answers his call for the Global Compact for Education. “I congratulate you teachers and students on the rich program of activities and training in which you have participated”, said the Pope. “I am pleased to note that not only Catholic schools, universities and institutions have responded to this appeal, but they have also secular institutions and institutions of other religions also responded”.
Link URL: www.vaticannews.cn
