Pope: the world is being destroyed, stop the wars while there is still time

By Tiziana Campisi

“Stop war!  Stop wars!”. This is the cry of so many people raised by the participants at the International  Meeting for Peace organised by the Community of Sant'Egidio in Paris from 22 to 24 September. Pope Francis addresses “political leaders” in his message, saying "We are now destroying the world!  Let us stop while there is still time!" The message is addressed to all the participants at the meeting, with representatives of the churches, Christian communities, religious leaders of other faiths, and the authorities participating in the event that has its origins 38 years ago by promoted by John Paul II in Assisi.

Religions for peace

Pope Francis has expressed hopes that the meeting in Paris in the Spirit of Assisi may help believers to "nurture fraternity between peoples in our time." "All too often in the past, religions were used to fuel conflicts and wars.  The danger of this continues, even in our own day." Pope Francis emphasises, reiterating, as he expressed together with Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb in the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together that “Religions must never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility and extremism, nor must they incite violence or the shedding of blood" and that, if anything, “These tragic realities are the consequence of a deviation from religious teachings.  They result from a political manipulation of religions and from interpretations made by religious groups who, in the course of history, have taken advantage of religious sentiment in the hearts of men and women.” He emphasised that religions must not fuel "forms of nationalism, ethnocentrism and populism.  Wars only escalate.  Woe to those who try to drag God into taking sides in wars!"

Being artisans of peace

Religions must "foster visions of peace", as witnessed in recent days in the French capital, where men and women of different cultures and faiths "experienced the power and beauty of universal fraternity", reads the text of Pope Francis' message, which urges them to be “artisans of peace”, even “if others continue to make war, together we can work for peace.”

May the Spirit of Assisi grow

The Pope thanked "the Community of Sant’Egidio for the passion and creativity with which it continues to keep the spirit of Assisi alive", and observed that since that distant 1986, "when the first Meeting for Peace was held", various "events have impacted our world" - from the collapse of the Berlin Wall to the beginning of the third millennium, from the growth of fundamentalisms and conflicts to climate change, the advent of emerging and converging technologies and pandemics - while today "we are in the midst of “epochal changes” without having, at present, a clear idea of where they will lead us." A context to which the words of Pope John Paul II, who in the town of St. Francis, highlighted “the intrinsic link between an authentic religious attitude and the great good of peace", invoking "a new language of peace, for new gestures of peace", to break "the fatal chains of divisions inherited from history or spawned by modern ideologies." The Spirit of Assisi is a blessing for today's world "still torn by numerous wars and acts of violence", the Pope writes, saying this “'spirit' of Assisi must blow even stronger in the sails of dialogue and friendship between peoples."

Creating fraternal bonds

With his thoughts on all those in Paris this evening "gathered before the Cathedral that, after the tragic fire, is about to reopen its doors for prayer", Pope Francis also stressed "how much we need to pray for peace", because the "risk that the many conflicts in our world, rather than ceasing, will dangerously spread" has become more concrete. And he reiterates to believers the invitation expressed in Fratelli Tutti to “contribute significantly to building fraternity and defending justice in society." We need to keep meeting, to weave bonds of fraternity and to allow ourselves to be guided by the divine inspiration present in every faith, in order to join in 'imagining peace' among all peoples" continues the Pope, who, “in a world at risk of being fragmented by conflicts and wars, the efforts made by believers are invaluable for holding out visions of peace and fostering fraternity and peace among peoples everywhere.”

Peace requires wisdom and boldness

The "great responsibility for peace" requires "wisdom, boldness, generosity and determination", Pope Francis concludes, recalling that God's dream for the world is "fraternity between all peoples", which is why believers are entrusted with the responsibility to exhort and move humanity in this direction.