"I offer good wishes to men and women everywhere, especially those who are suffering as a result of violence and armed conflicts. My greeting is one filled with hope for a more serene world, a world in which more individuals and communities are committed to the paths of justice and peace.
"I wish to reiterate the steadfast resolve of the Holy See to continue serving the cause of peace. The very name Benedict, which I chose on the day of my election to the Chair of Peter, is a sign of my personal commitment to peace. In taking this name, I wanted to evoke Pope Benedict XV, who condemned the First World War as a ‘useless slaughter’.
"We must realize that peace cannot be reduced to the simple absence of armed conflict, but needs to be understood as ‘the fruit of an order which has been planted in human society by its divine Founder.’
"Peace corresponds ‘to an irrepressible yearning and hope dwelling within us.’
"Saint Augustine described peace as TRANQUILLITAS ORDINIS, the tranquility of order.
"Peace is an irrepressible yearning present in the heart of each person, regardless of his or her particular cultural identity.
"Peace must be seen not as the mere absence of war, but as a harmonious co-existence of individual citizens within a society governed by justice.
"Peace calls upon everyone to cultivate productive and sincere relationships; it encourages them to seek out and to follow the paths of forgiveness and reconciliation, to be transparent in their dealings with others, and to be faithful to their word.
"The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, in the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, pointed out that ‘not everything automatically becomes permissible between hostile parties once war has regrettably commenced.’
"I wish to express gratitude to the international organizations and to all those who are daily engaged in the application of international humanitarian law.
"I encourage both the military Ordinaries and military chaplains to be, in every situation and context, faithful heralds of peace.
"Nowadays, peace continues to be dramatically compromised and rejected by terrorism, whose criminal threats and attacks leave the world in a state of fear and insecurity.
"Pope John Paul II said: ‘Those who kill by acts of terrorism actually despair of humanity, of life, of the future. In their view, everything is to be hated and destroyed.’
"God is Love which saves, a loving Father who wants to see his children look upon one another as brothers and sisters, working responsibly to place their various talents at the service of the common good of the human family.
"History has amply demonstrated that declaring war on God, in order to eradicate him from human hearts, only leads a fearful and impoverished humanity toward decisions which are ultimately futile.
"Looking at the present world situation, we can note with satisfaction certain signs of hope in the work of building peace.
"All this must not, however, lead to a naive optimism. It must not be forgotten that, tragically, violent fratricidal conflicts and devastating wars still continue to sow tears and death in vast parts of the world.
"What can be said about those governments which count on nuclear arms as a means of ensuring the security of their countries? In a nuclear war there would be no victors, only victims.
"Peace requires that all – whether those governments which openly or secretly possess nuclear arms, or those planning to acquire them – agree to change their course by clear and firm decisions, and strive for a progressive and concerted nuclear disarmament.
"The resources which would be saved could then be employed in projects of development capable of benefiting all their people, especially the poor.
"One can only note with dismay the evidence of a continuing growth in military expenditure and the flourishing arms trade, while the political and juridic process, established by the international community for promoting disarmament, is bogged down in general indifference.
"How can there ever be a future of peace when investments are still made in the production of arms and in research aimed at developing new ones?
"It can only be hoped that the international community will find the wisdom and courage to take up once more, jointly and with renewed conviction, the process of disarmament.
"The first to benefit from a decisive choice for disarmament will be the poor countries, which rightly demand, after having heard so many promises, the concrete implementation of their right to development.
"I ask for an increase of prayers, since peace is above all a gift of God, a gift to be implored incessantly.
"Let us ask the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Prince of Peace, to help all God’s People, wherever they may be, to work for peace." From the Vatican,
BENEDICTUS PP XVI
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