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Pope Benedict XVI- Messages - World Day of Peace |
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI
FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE
"THE HUMAN FAMILY, A COMMUNITY OF PEACE"
January 1, 2008
1. At the
beginning of a New Year, I wish to send my fervent good wishes
for peace, together with a heartfelt message of hope to men and
women throughout the world. I do so by offering for our common
reflection the theme which I have placed at the beginning of
this message. It is one which I consider particularly important:
the human family, a community of peace. The first form of
communion between persons is that born of the love of a man and
a woman who decide to enter a stable union in order to build
together a new family. But the peoples of the earth, too, are
called to build relationships of solidarity and cooperation
among themselves, as befits members of the one human family:
“All peoples”—as the Second Vatican Council declared—“are one
community and have one origin, because God caused the whole
human race to dwell on the face of the earth (cf. Acts 17:26);
they also have one final end, God”(1).
The family, society and peace
2. The natural family, as an intimate communion of life and
love, based on marriage between a man and a woman(2),
constitutes “the primary place of ‘humanization' for the person
and society”(3), and a “cradle of life and love”(4). The family
is therefore rightly defined as the first natural society, “a
divine institution that stands at the foundation of life of the
human person as the prototype of every social order”(5).
3. Indeed, in a healthy family life we experience some of the
fundamental elements of peace: justice and love between brothers
and sisters, the role of authority expressed by parents, loving
concern for the members who are weaker because of youth,
sickness or old age, mutual help in the necessities of life,
readiness to accept others and, if necessary, to forgive them.
For this reason, the family is the first and indispensable
teacher of peace. It is no wonder, therefore, that violence, if
perpetrated in the family, is seen as particularly intolerable.
Consequently, when it is said that the family is “the primary
living cell of society”(6), something essential is being stated.
The family is the foundation of society for this reason too:
because it enables its members in decisive ways to experience
peace. It follows that the human community cannot do without the
service provided by the family. Where can young people gradually
learn to savour the genuine “taste” of peace better than in the
original “nest” which nature prepares for them? The language of
the family is a language of peace; we must always draw from it,
lest we lose the “vocabulary” of peace. In the inflation of its
speech, society cannot cease to refer to that “grammar” which
all children learn from the looks and the actions of their
mothers and fathers, even before they learn from their words.
4. The family, since it has the duty of educating its members,
is the subject of specific rights. The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, which represents a landmark of juridic
civilization of truly universal value, states that “the family
is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is
entitled to protection by society and the State”(7). For its
part, the Holy See sought to acknowledge a special juridic
dignity proper to the family by publishing the Charter of the
Rights of the Family. In its Preamble we read: “the rights of
the person, even if they are expressed as rights of the
individual, have a fundamental social dimension which finds an
innate and vital expression in the family”(8). The rights set
forth in the Charter are an expression and explicitation of the
natural law written on the heart of the human being and made
known to him by reason. The denial or even the restriction of
the rights of the family, by obscuring the truth about man,
threatens the very foundations of peace.
5. Consequently, whoever, even unknowingly, circumvents the
institution of the family undermines peace in the entire
community, national and international, since he weakens what is
in effect the primary agency of peace. This point merits special
reflection: everything that serves to weaken the family based on
the marriage of a man and a woman, everything that directly or
indirectly stands in the way of its openness to the responsible
acceptance of a new life, everything that obstructs its right to
be primarily responsible for the education of its children,
constitutes an objective obstacle on the road to peace. The
family needs to have a home, employment and a just recognition
of the domestic activity of parents, the possibility of
schooling for children, and basic health care for all. When
society and public policy are not committed to assisting the
family in these areas, they deprive themselves of an essential
resource in the service of peace. The social communications
media, in particular, because of their educational potential,
have a special responsibility for promoting respect for the
family, making clear its expectations and rights, and presenting
all its beauty.
Humanity is one great family
6. The social community, if it is to live in peace, is also
called to draw inspiration from the values on which the family
community is based. This is as true for local communities as it
is for national communities; it is also true for the
international community itself, for the human family which
dwells in that common house which is the earth. Here, however,
we cannot forget that the family comes into being from the
responsible and definitive “yes” of a man and a women, and it
continues to live from the conscious “yes” of the children who
gradually join it. The family community, in order to prosper,
needs the generous consent of all its members. This realization
also needs to become a shared conviction on the part of all
those called to form the common human family. We need to say our
own “yes” to this vocation which God has inscribed in our very
nature. We do not live alongside one another purely by chance;
all of us are progressing along a common path as men and women,
and thus as brothers and sisters. Consequently, it is essential
that we should all be committed to living our lives in an
attitude of responsibility before God, acknowledging him as the
deepest source of our own existence and that of others. By going
back to this supreme principle we are able to perceive the
unconditional worth of each human being, and thus to lay the
premises for building a humanity at peace. Without this
transcendent foundation society is a mere aggregation of
neighbours, not a community of brothers and sisters called to
form one great family.
The family, the human community and the environment
7. The family needs a home, a fit environment in which to
develop its proper relationships. For the human family, this
home is the earth, the environment that God the Creator has
given us to inhabit with creativity and responsibility. We need
to care for the environment: it has been entrusted to men and
women to be protected and cultivated with responsible freedom,
with the good of all as a constant guiding criterion. Human
beings, obviously, are of supreme worth vis-à-vis creation as a
whole. Respecting the environment does not mean considering
material or animal nature more important than man. Rather, it
means not selfishly considering nature to be at the complete
disposal of our own interests, for future generations also have
the right to reap its benefits and to exhibit towards nature the
same responsible freedom that we claim for ourselves. Nor must
we overlook the poor, who are excluded in many cases from the
goods of creation destined for all. Humanity today is rightly
concerned about the ecological balance of tomorrow. It is
important for assessments in this regard to be carried out
prudently, in dialogue with experts and people of wisdom,
uninhibited by ideological pressure to draw hasty conclusions,
and above all with the aim of reaching agreement on a model of
sustainable development capable of ensuring the well-being of
all while respecting environmental balances. If the protection
of the environment involves costs, they should be justly
distributed, taking due account of the different levels of
development of various countries and the need for solidarity
with future generations. Prudence does not mean failing to
accept responsibilities and postponing decisions; it means being
committed to making joint decisions after pondering responsibly
the road to be taken, decisions aimed at strengthening that
covenant between human beings and the environment, which should
mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards
whom we are journeying.
8. In this regard, it is essential to “sense” that the earth is
“our common home” and, in our stewardship and service to all, to
choose the path of dialogue rather than the path of unilateral
decisions. Further international agencies may need to be
established in order to confront together the stewardship of
this “home” of ours; more important, however, is the need for
ever greater conviction about the need for responsible
cooperation. The problems looming on the horizon are complex and
time is short. In order to face this situation effectively,
there is a need to act in harmony. One area where there is a
particular need to intensify dialogue between nations is that of
the stewardship of the earth's energy resources. The
technologically advanced countries are facing two pressing needs
in this regard: on the one hand, to reassess the high levels of
consumption due to the present model of development, and on the
other hand to invest sufficient resources in the search for
alternative sources of energy and for greater energy efficiency.
The emerging counties are hungry for energy, but at times this
hunger is met in a way harmful to poor countries which, due to
their insufficient infrastructures, including their
technological infrastructures, are forced to undersell the
energy resources they do possess. At times, their very political
freedom is compromised by forms of protectorate or, in any case,
by forms of conditioning which appear clearly humiliating.
Family, human community and economy
9. An essential condition for peace within individual families
is that they should be built upon the solid foundation of shared
spiritual and ethical values. Yet it must be added that the
family experiences authentic peace when no one lacks what is
needed, and when the family patrimony—the fruit of the labour of
some, the savings of others, and the active cooperation of
all—is well-managed in a spirit of solidarity, without
extravagance and without waste. The peace of the family, then,
requires an openness to a transcendent patrimony of values, and
at the same time a concern for the prudent management of both
material goods and inter-personal relationships. The failure of
the latter results in the breakdown of reciprocal trust in the
face of the uncertainty threatening the future of the nuclear
family.
10. Something similar must be said for that other family which
is humanity as a whole. The human family, which today is
increasingly unified as a result of globalization, also needs,
in addition to a foundation of shared values, an economy capable
of responding effectively to the requirements of a common good
which is now planetary in scope. Here too, a comparison with the
natural family proves helpful. Honest and straightforward
relationships need to be promoted between individual persons and
between peoples, thus enabling everyone to cooperate on a just
and equal footing. Efforts must also be made to ensure a prudent
use of resources and an equitable distribution of wealth. In
particular, the aid given to poor countries must be guided by
sound economic principles, avoiding forms of waste associated
principally with the maintenance of expensive bureaucracies. Due
account must also be taken of the moral obligation to ensure
that the economy is not governed solely by the ruthless laws of
instant profit, which can prove inhumane.
The family, the human community and the moral law
11. A family lives in peace if all its members submit to a
common standard: this is what prevents selfish individualism and
brings individuals together, fostering their harmonious
coexistence and giving direction to their work. This principle,
obvious as it is, also holds true for wider communities: from
local and national communities to the international community
itself. For the sake of peace, a common law is needed, one which
would foster true freedom rather than blind caprice, and protect
the weak from oppression by the strong. The family of peoples
experiences many cases of arbitrary conduct, both within
individual States and in the relations of States among
themselves. In many situations the weak must bow not to the
demands of justice, but to the naked power of those stronger
than themselves. It bears repeating: power must always be
disciplined by law, and this applies also to relations between
sovereign States.
12. The Church has often spoken on the subject of the nature and
function of law: the juridic norm, which regulates relationships
between individuals, disciplines external conduct and
establishes penalties for offenders, has as its criterion the
moral norm grounded in nature itself. Human reason is capable of
discerning this moral norm, at least in its fundamental
requirements, and thus ascending to the creative reason of God
which is at the origin of all things. The moral norm must be the
rule for decisions of conscience and the guide for all human
behaviour. Do juridic norms exist for relationships between the
nations which make up the human family? And if they exist, are
they operative? The answer is: yes, such norms exist, but to
ensure that they are truly operative it is necessary to go back
to the natural moral norm as the basis of the juridic norm;
otherwise the latter constantly remains at the mercy of a
fragile and provisional consensus.
13. Knowledge of the natural moral norm is not inaccessible to
those who, in reflecting on themselves and their destiny, strive
to understand the inner logic of the deepest inclinations
present in their being. Albeit not without hesitation and doubt,
they are capable of discovering, at least in its essential
lines, this common moral law which, over and above cultural
differences, enables human beings to come to a common
understanding regarding the most important aspects of good and
evil, justice and injustice. It is essential to go back to this
fundamental law, committing our finest intellectual energies to
this quest, and not letting ourselves be discouraged by mistakes
and misunderstandings. Values grounded in the natural law are
indeed present, albeit in a fragmentary and not always
consistent way, in international accords, in universally
recognized forms of authority, in the principles of humanitarian
law incorporated in the legislation of individual States or the
statutes of international bodies. Mankind is not “lawless”. All
the same, there is an urgent need to persevere in dialogue about
these issues and to encourage the legislation of individual
States to converge towards a recognition of fundamental human
rights. The growth of a global juridic culture depends, for that
matter, on a constant commitment to strengthen the profound
human content of international norms, lest they be reduced to
mere procedures, easily subject to manipulation for selfish or
ideological reasons.
Overcoming conflicts and disarmament
14. Humanity today is unfortunately experiencing great division
and sharp conflicts which cast dark shadows on its future. Vast
areas of the world are caught up in situations of increasing
tension, while the danger of an increase in the number of
countries possessing nuclear weapons causes well-founded
apprehension in every responsible person. Many civil wars are
still being fought in Africa, even though a number of countries
there have made progress on the road to freedom and democracy.
The Middle East is still a theatre of conflict and violence,
which also affects neighbouring nations and regions and risks
drawing them into the spiral of violence. On a broader scale,
one must acknowledge with regret the growing number of States
engaged in the arms race: even some developing nations allot a
significant portion of their scant domestic product to the
purchase of weapons. The responsibility for this baneful
commerce is not limited: the countries of the industrially
developed world profit immensely from the sale of arms, while
the ruling oligarchies in many poor countries wish to reinforce
their stronghold by acquiring ever more sophisticated weaponry.
In difficult times such as these, it is truly necessary for all
persons of good will to come together to reach concrete
agreements aimed at an effective demilitarization, especially in
the area of nuclear arms. At a time when the process of nuclear
non-proliferation is at a stand-still, I feel bound to entreat
those in authority to resume with greater determination
negotiations for a progressive and mutually agreed dismantling
of existing nuclear weapons. In renewing this appeal, I know
that I am echoing the desire of all those concerned for the
future of humanity.
15. Sixty years ago the United Nations Organization solemnly
issued the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948-2008).
With that document the human family reacted against the horrors
of the Second World War by acknowledging its own unity, based on
the equal dignity of all men and women, and by putting respect
for the fundamental rights of individuals and peoples at the
centre of human coexistence. This was a decisive step forward
along the difficult and demanding path towards harmony and
peace. This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the Holy
See's adoption of the Charter of the Rights of the Family
(1983-2008) and the 40th anniversary of the celebration of the
first World Day of Peace (1968-2008). Born of a providential
intuition of Pope Paul VI and carried forward with great
conviction by my beloved and venerable predecessor Pope John
Paul II, the celebration of this Day of Peace has made it
possible for the Church, over the course of the years, to
present in these Messages an instructive body of teaching
regarding this fundamental human good. In the light of these
significant anniversaries, I invite every man and woman to have
a more lively sense of belonging to the one human family, and to
strive to make human coexistence increasingly reflect this
conviction, which is essential for the establishment of true and
lasting peace. I likewise invite believers to implore tirelessly
from God the great gift of peace. Christians, for their part,
know that they can trust in the intercession of Mary, who, as
the Mother of the Son of God made flesh for the salvation of all
humanity, is our common Mother.
To all my best wishes for a joyful New Year!
From the Vatican, 8 December 2007
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
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(1) Declaration Nostra Aetate, 1.
(2) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et
Spes, 48.
(3) John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici,
40: AAS 81 (1989), 469.
(4) Ibid.
(5) Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the
Social Doctrine of the Church, No. 211.
(6) Second Vatican Council, Decree Apostolicam Actuositatem, 11.
(7) Art. 16/3.
(8) Holy See, Charter of the Rights of the Family, 24 November
1983, Preamble, A.
© Copyright 2007 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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