Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Pope Leo XIV insisted on Thursday that peace is not only possible but necessary, as he criticized the “irrationality” of nuclear deterrence and the weaponization of faith in modern political discourse.
Leo made the comments in his first peace message, an annual sermon the Vatican prepares before each New Year’s Day, when Catholic Church It is a symbol of World Peace Day.
In brief text released in an emotional press conference, Leo reflected on his first words as pope, spoken in the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on May 8: “Peace be with you.”
In the message, Leo urged believers not to surrender to the idea that fear and darkness are normal, but to see peace as possible and realistic.
He said, “We cease to be vilified when we see peace as a distant ideal, when it is rejected, or even when war is waged in its name.”
He noted how private economic and financial interests are driving countries toward technological military advancements driven by artificial intelligence, leading to the “irrationality” of military deterrence.
He called on believers of all religions to avoid the temptation to weaponize words and commit violence in the name of religion.
He wrote, “Unfortunately, it has become common to drag the language of faith into political battles, to bless nationalism, and to justify violence and armed conflict in the name of religion.”
In addition to the usual eight languages of Vatican texts, the message was also translated into Russian and Ukrainian. moscowWar of.
To lay bare the horrors of war and political violence, a Vatican press conference offered two heart-wrenching eyewitness accounts of some of Europe’s past horrors: the Bosnian War and the left-wing domestic terrorism that tormented Italy In the 1970s and 1980s.
Maria Agnes Morrow, whose father, former Italian Premier Aldo Moro, who was kidnapped and murdered by the Red Brigades in 1978, described his experience with restorative justice: Fifteen years ago, he met with members of the Red Brigades in a facilitated dialogue that allowed both parties to talk about their pain in a way that humanized them toward each other.
“Every word I say hurts them, but it recognizes their humanity,” she said. “Every word they say hurts me, but it recognizes my humanity: you are able to listen to us, able to believe our good intentions at a time distorted by the violence used.”
He said, “True listening is the mutual recognition of humanity.”
The Rev. Pero Miličević, a Croatian Catholic priest, tells of the day in 1993 when a Muslim unit of the Bosnian Army attacked his village, killing 39 people, including his father, aunt and several cousins. His widowed mother and seven of her nine children were imprisoned in a war camp for seven months.
Miličević, his voice sometimes trembling, said he and his family would never have survived the pain without their Catholic faith. Once he became a priest and began hearing confessions, he said he understood the need for peace, including the inner peace that comes with forgiveness.
He said, “Really the teaching of faith in God helped us overcome the horror of what we saw.”
,
Associated Press religion coverage is supported by the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is solely responsible for this content.