Message from President Mattarella to His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, on the World Day of Peace

The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, has sent His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, the following message:

(Courtesy translation)

«Your Holiness,

the theme chosen for the 59^th World Day of Peace - «Peace be with you all: towards a “unarmed and disarming” peace» - highlights a particularly relevant aspect of the current historic phase, marked by growing apprehensions, and therefore ever more in need of opening up to hope.

As Your Holiness has argued since your pontificate began, peace requires love, justice and solidarity. It mainly resides in the heart of each one of us, regardless of the practiced faith. It follows an “incessant path” that calls for humbleness, perseverance, pursuit of justice. It is therefore a strenuous journey – it has always been so in mankind’s history – but it is the only journey worth embarking on. And the courageous pastoral care of Your Holiness comfortingly supports and accompanies us as we walk this path.

Your voice helps reawaken consciences, as is necessary when wars – either threatened or waged – surface again as a spiteful reality or even just as a plausible risk for our daily lives.

Under such circumstances, the words of the humble and powerful prayer pronounced by Saint Paul VI some sixty years ago before the United Nations General Assembly, when he implored «Never again war», should echo and admonish us. Back then, the international community was facing the dangerous dynamics of a system dominated by two political and ideological blocs, opposed to one another, with the threat of the nuclear apocalypse looming over. Today, the dimension of the conflict involves a multitude of new players, it affects the lives of millions of men and women in many different ways, ranging from the most traditional ones to more sophisticated and nuanced ones. All this makes dialogue between, and within, peoples and civilisations more complex. Concurrently, such dialogue is becoming increasingly urgent and necessary, in order to heal economic and social inequalities that undermine the very dignity of the communities we are part of; to counter the ever more devastating effects of climate change; to govern the impact of emerging technologies, putting them to good use and directing them towards sustainable and just development goals. Stressing the enduring topicality of Pope Montini’s speech at the United Nations isn’t just a way to give credit to the far-sightedness of he who delivered it. It is also a way to bitterly acknowledge the insufficient steps taken towards a horizon of peace that may embrace the entire international community, which now appears to be at the mercy of threatening designs that drift in the opposite direction.

Our duty is instead that of resisting this dark inertia that heads towards the abyss of history, which the human race has already and tragically experienced. And we must act hastily, with renewed wisdom. In order to do so, as Your Holiness pointed out during your recent apostolic journey to Lebanon, the ruling class must “listen to the cry of peoples calling for peace”. Etymologically speaking, “to govern” means “to hold the helm”, namely, to be able to weather the storm and reach a safe harbour. If one were to follow unfavourable winds and give in to fears and to the most irrational impulses, a shipwreck would inevitably follow. But saving the ship depends on the whole crew. Hence, all men and women of good will are called upon to play their part, to ensure a peace that is lasting and fair, because it is the very heart of peace that harbours the supreme value of human life. A decent life, free from subjugation, for freedom is indeed the ambition and common good of all peoples. This is not the utopistic view of naïve optimists; rather, it should be deemed a prerequisite for the survival of humanity itself, especially in the modern age and given the gargantuan potential of technological progress, which does however also raise questions and dilemmas for our consciences.

Italy – whose Constitution states that it “shall repudiate war […] as a means of settling disputes” between States – offers its unwavering contribution to the settlement of the ongoing conflicts, to bringing relief in humanitarian crisis theatres, to safeguarding a rules-based international order. The law of reason and justice, not that of the strongest and most reckless, should govern international relations, the hallmark of an effective, open and inclusive multilateralism. This system – born from the tragedies of the past century, which embodies the real hope of overcoming, once and for all, lawlessness in the conduct of international relations – is now being harshly challenged by the contempt for the most basic rules of civil coexistence, for people’s rights and for humanitarian rights.

As Your Holiness pointed out, if we want peace we must have “institutions of peace”, as well as what has been defined “the disarming path of diplomacy”. Such crucial tools must go hand in hand with the education of youths and the spreading of the education to peace, since – as Augustine of Hippo recommended, and as Your Holiness reminded us in your Message – “if you wish to draw others to peace, first have it yourselves”. This is a commitment that concerns each and every one of us. It originates from the heart, above all by disarming language and rejecting aggressive and provocative communication while focusing on an individual and collective conduct that favours listening to others, including those who struggle to voice their reasons or lack the resources of those who spread propaganda and their opinions amongst multitudes of digital followers, sometimes along with little more than their vanity.

Thanking you for Your Message, which calls for a profound contemplation and will guide us in the year that has just begun, I offer Your Holiness my most sincere wishes for a fruitful continuation of your high Petrine Ministry».