The next January 1 of 2019, in the field of lWorld Day of Peace, he papa Francisco will address the topic: “Good politics is at the service of peace,” with a message that highlights the fact that “political responsibility belongs to each citizen and, in particular, to those who have been charged with protecting and governing.”
January 26, 2022
Content Message from Pope Francis for the 52nd World Day of Peace
January 26, 2022
"Good politics is at the service of peace"
1. “Peace to this house”
Jesus, when sending his disciples on a mission, told them: "When you enter a house, first say: 'Peace to this house.' And if there are people of peace there, your peace will rest on them; If not, he will return to you” (Luke 10:5-6).
Giving peace is at the center of the mission of Christ's disciples. And this offer is addressed to all men and women who hope for peace in the midst of the tragedies and violence of human history. [1] The “house” mentioned by Jesus is each family, each community, each country, each continent, with its own characteristics and history; It is above all each person, without distinction or discrimination. It is also our “common home”: the planet on which God has placed us to live and which we are called to care for with interest.
Therefore, this is also my wish at the beginning of the new year: “Peace to this house.”
2. The challenge of good policy
Peace is like the hope that the poet Charles Péguy talks about; [2] It is like a fragile flower that tries to bloom among the stones of violence. We know well that the search for power at any price leads to abuse and injustice. Politics is a fundamental vehicle for building citizenship and human activity, but when those who dedicate themselves to it do not live it as a service to the human community, it can become an instrument of oppression, marginalization and even destruction.
Jesus says: "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all" (Mk 9:35). As Pope Saint Paul VI emphasized: "To take politics seriously at its various levels - local, regional, national and global - is to affirm the duty of each person, of every person, to know the content and value of the option that is presented to them and according to which they seek to collectively achieve the good of the city, of the nation, of humanity." [3] Indeed, political function and responsibility constitute a permanent challenge for all those who receive the mandate to serve their country, to protect all who live in it and to work to create the conditions for a dignified and just future. Politics, if carried out with fundamental respect for the life, liberty and dignity of people, can truly become an eminent form of charity.
3. Charity and human virtues for a policy at the service of human rights and peace
Pope Benedict XVI recalled that “every Christian is called to this charity, according to his vocation and his possibilities of influencing the polis. […] The commitment to the common good, when inspired by charity, has a higher value than merely secular and political commitment. […] The action of man on earth, when inspired and sustained by charity, contributes to the construction of that universal city of God towards which the history of the human family advances. It is a program that all politicians, of any cultural or religious background, who wish to work together for the good of the human family, can agree with, practicing those human virtues that are the basis of good political action: justice, equity, mutual respect, sincerity, honesty, fidelity.
In this regard, it is worth remembering the “beatitudes of the politician”, proposed by the Vietnamese Cardinal François-Xavier Nguyễn Vãn Thuận, who died in 2002, and who was a faithful witness of the Gospel:
Blessed is the politician who has a high regard and a deep awareness of his role.
Blessed is the politician whose person reflects credibility.
Blessed is the politician who works for the common good and not for his own interest.
Blessed is the politician who remains faithfully coherent.
Blessed is the politician who achieves unity.
Blessed is the politician who is committed to bringing about radical change.
Blessed is the politician who knows how to listen.
Blessed is the politician who is not afraid.
In this context, I wish to reaffirm the importance of Catholic health institutions: they are a precious treasure that must be guarded and sustained; his presence has characterized the history of the Church for his closeness to the poorest sick and the most forgotten situations
Each renewal of elective functions, each electoral appointment, each stage of public life is an opportunity to return to the source and the reference points that inspire justice and law. We are convinced that good politics is at the service of peace; respects and promotes fundamental human rights, which are also reciprocal duties, so that a bond of trust and gratitude is created between present and future generations.
4. The vices of politics
In politics, unfortunately, along with the virtues there is no shortage of vices, due both to personal ineptitude and distortions in the environment and institutions. It is evident to everyone that the vices of political life detract from the credibility of the systems in which it operates, as well as the authority, decisions and actions of the people who dedicate themselves to it. These vices, which undermine the ideal of an authentic democracy, are the shame of public life and endanger social peace: corruption - in its multiple forms of misappropriation of public goods or exploitation of people -, the denial of rights, non-compliance with community norms, illegal enrichment, the justification of power through force or with the arbitrary pretext of "reason of State", the tendency to perpetuate oneself in power, xenophobia and racism, the rejection of care of the Earth, the unlimited exploitation of natural resources for immediate profit, the contempt for those who have been forced to go into exile.
5. Good politics promotes youth participation and trust in each other
When the exercise of political power aims only to protect the interests of certain privileged individuals, the future is in danger and young people may feel tempted by distrust, because they are condemned to remain on the margins of society, without the possibility of participating in a project for the future. On the other hand, when politics is translated, concretely, into a stimulus for young talents and the vocations they want to pursue, peace spreads in consciences and on faces. A dynamic trust is reached, which means “I trust you and believe with you” in the possibility of working together for the common good. Politics favors peace if it is carried out, therefore, recognizing the charisma and capabilities of each person. «Is there anything more beautiful than an outstretched hand? This has been willed by God to give and receive. God did not want it so that it could kill (cf. Gen 4:1ff) or cause suffering, but so that it could care for and help to live. Along with the heart and the mind, the hand can also become an instrument of dialogue. [6]
Each one can contribute their own stone for the construction of the common house. Authentic political life, founded on law and loyal dialogue between the protagonists, is renewed with the conviction that each woman, each man and each generation contain within themselves a promise that can release new relational, intellectual, cultural and spiritual energies. Trust of this type is never easy to achieve because human relationships are complex. In particular, we live in these times in a climate of distrust that has its roots in fear of the other or the stranger, in the anxiety of losing personal benefits and, unfortunately, it also manifests itself at the political level, through attitudes of closure or nationalisms that call into question the fraternity that our globalized world so needs. Today more than ever, our societies need “artisans of peace” who can be authentic messengers and witnesses of God the Father who wants the good and happiness of the human family.
6. No to war or the strategy of fear
One hundred years after the end of the First World War, and with the memory of the young people killed during those combats and the devastated civilian populations, we know better than ever the terrible teaching of fratricidal wars, that is, that peace can never be reduced to the simple balance of force and fear. Keeping the other under threat means reducing them to the status of an object and denying them dignity. This is the reason why we reaffirm that the increase in intimidation, as well as the uncontrolled proliferation of weapons, are contrary to morality and the search for true harmony. The terror exerted on the most vulnerable people contributes to the exile of entire populations in search of a land of peace. Political discourses that tend to blame migrants for all evils and deprive the poor of hope are not acceptable. Instead, it should be emphasized that peace is based on respect for each person, regardless of their history, on respect for the law and the common good, for the creation that has been entrusted to us and for the moral wealth transmitted by past generations.
Likewise, our thoughts are directed in a particular way to children living in conflict zones, and to all those who strive to ensure that their lives and rights are protected. In the world, one in six children suffers from the violence of war and its consequences, and is even recruited to become a soldier or hostage by armed groups. The testimony of those who are committed to defending the dignity and respect of children is extremely precious for the future of humanity.
7. A great peace project
These days we celebrate the seventy years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted after the second world conflict. We remember in this regard the observation of Pope Saint John XXIII: «When the awareness of one's own rights arises in a man, it is necessary that that of one's own obligations also emerge; so that he who possesses certain rights also has, as an expression of his dignity, the obligation to demand them, while others have the duty to recognize and respect them. [7]
Peace, in fact, is the result of a great political project that is based on reciprocal responsibility and the interdependence of human beings, but it is also a challenge that demands to be embraced day after day. Peace is a conversion of the heart and soul, and it is easy to recognize three inseparable dimensions of this inner and community peace:
– Peace with ourselves, rejecting intransigence, anger, impatience and – as Saint Francis de Sales advised – having “a little gentleness with oneself”, to offer “a little sweetness to others”;
– Peace with the other: the family member, the friend, the stranger, the poor, the suffering…; daring to encounter and listening to the message it carries with it;
– Peace with creation, rediscovering the greatness of God's gift and the part of responsibility that corresponds to each of us, as inhabitants of the world, citizens and architects of the future.
The policy of peace - which knows well and takes care of human frailties - can always resort to the spirit of the Magnificat that Mary, Mother of Christ the Savior and Queen of Peace, sings in the name of all men: "His mercy reaches his faithful from generation to generation. He does mighty things with his arm: he scatters the proud in heart, casts down the mighty from their thrones, and exalts the humble; […] remembering mercy as promised to our fathers in favor of Abraham and his descendants forever” (Lk 1:50-55).
Vatican, December 8, 2018
FRANCISCO
January 26, 2022
[1] Cf. Lk 2:14: "Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace to men of good will."
[2] Cf. The Porch of the Mystery of the Second Virtue, Paris 1986.
[3] Carta ap. Octogesima aveneniens (May 14, 1971), 46.
[4] Charter en. Charity in truth (June 29, 2009), 7.
[5] Cf. Speech at the exhibition-congress “Civitas” in Padua: “30giorni” (2002), 5.
[6] Benedict XVI, Address to the Authorities of Benin (Cotonou, November 19, 2011).
[7] Charter en. Peace on Earth (April 11, 1963), 44.
January 26, 2022