By Pax Christi International celebrates the publication of Pope Francis’ 2020 World Day of Peace message, “Peace as a journey of hope: Dialogue, reconciliation and ecological conversion.”
This is the 53rd annual message dedicated to peace; St. Pope Paul VI issued the first World Day of Peace message in 1967. The 2020 message emphasizes that our work for peace is ongoing and of utmost importance. In fact, Pope Francis writes that “we should not resign ourselves to seeking anything less than [peace].”
He acknowledges the Hibakusha, survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing of Japan, as witnesses to conscience and keepers of memory which are so necessary to humankind moving forward toward peace.
Pope Francis also writes the journey to peace includes ecological conversion, which “must be understood in an integral way, as a transformation of how we relate to our sisters and brothers, to other living beings, to creation in all its rich variety and to the Creator who is the origin and source of all life.”
Pax Christi is committed to embracing and promoting the 2020 World Day of Peace message. Read it in its entirety here.
…How, then, do we undertake a journey of peace and mutual respect? How do we break the unhealthy mentality of threats and fear? How do we break the current dynamic of distrust? … We need to pursue a genuine fraternity based on our common origin from God and exercised in dialogue and mutual trust. The desire for peace lies deep within the human heart, and we should not resign ourselves to seeking anything less than this. … [M]emory is the horizon of hope. Many times, in the darkness of wars and conflicts, the remembrance of even a small gesture of solidarity received can lead to courageous and even heroic decisions. It can unleash new energies and kindle new hope in individuals and communities.