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

By Tiziana Campisi

“Stop the war! Stop the wars!” This is the cry of many people launched by the participants in the International Meeting for Peace organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio in Paris from September 22 to 24. Pope Francis addresses “political leaders” in his message“We are destroying the world! Let us stop while there is still time!” declared Pope Francis, addressing all the participants in the meeting, representatives of the Churches, Christian communities, religious leaders of other confessions and authorities who are taking part in this event that has its origins 38 years ago, promoted by John Paul II in Assisi.

Religions for Peace

Pope Francis expressed the hope that the Paris meeting in the spirit of Assisi could help believers to “cultivate fraternity among the peoples of our time.” “Too often, in the past, religions have been used to fuel conflicts and wars. The danger of this persists, even in our own day,” Pope Francis stressed, reiterating what he expressed with Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb in the statement of the Episcopal Conference of Paris. Document on human fraternity for world peace and living together “Religions must never incite to war, hatred, hostility and extremism, nor to violence or bloodshed,” he added. “These tragic realities are rather the consequence of a deviation of religious teachings. They result from political manipulation of religions and interpretations made by religious groups that, throughout history, have taken advantage of religious sentiment in the hearts of men and women.” He stressed that religions must not fuel “forms of nationalism, ethnocentrism and populism. Wars are only intensifying. 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 “have experienced the strength and beauty of universal brotherhood,” reads the text of Pope Francis’ message, which urges them to be “peacemakers,” even “if others continue to wage 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 alive the spirit of Assisi”, and observed that since that distant 1986, “when the first Meeting for Peace was held”, various “events have marked our world” – from the fall of the Berlin Wall at 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 apply, who in the city of Saint Francis underlined “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 generated by modern ideologies”. The spirit of Assisi is a blessing for today’s world “still torn apart by many wars and acts of violence”, writes the Pope, affirming that this “‘spirit’ of Assisi must blow even more strongly in the sails of dialogue and friendship between peoples”.

Creating brotherly bonds

With a thought for all those who are this evening in Paris “gathered in front of the cathedral which, after the tragic fire, is preparing to reopen its doors to prayer”, Pope Francis also stressed “how necessary it is to pray for peace”, because the “risk that the many conflicts in our world, instead of ceasing, will spread dangerously” has become more concrete. And he reiterates to believers the invitation expressed in All brothers “We must continue to meet, to weave bonds of fraternity and to let ourselves be guided by the divine inspiration present in every faith, to unite and “imagine peace” among all peoples,” continues the Pope, who “in a world that risks being fragmented by conflicts and wars, the efforts of believers are invaluable in carrying visions of peace and fostering fraternity and peace among peoples everywhere.”

Peace requires wisdom and boldness

The “great responsibility for peace” requires “wisdom, audacity, generosity and determination,” concludes Pope Francis, recalling that God’s dream for the world is “fraternity among all peoples,” which is why believers are entrusted with the responsibility of exhorting and moving humanity forward in this direction.