In World Peace Day Message,
Pope Says Violence Is Unacceptable Evil

VATICAN CITY — Continuing tension and bloodshed in Iraq, the Holy Land and Africa are proof that war and retaliation cannot bring peace, Pope John Paul II said in his message for World Peace Day 2005.

"To attain the good of peace there must be a clear and conscious acknowledgment that violence is an unacceptable evil and that it never solves problems," the pope wrote in his message for the Jan. 1 observance.

The message, sent to heads of state around the world, was released Dec. 16 at a Vatican press conference led by Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

The theme of the 2005 message was: "Do Not Be Overcome by Evil, but Overcome Evil With Good."

The cardinal said that, like the Old Testament prophets, the pope is heard by people, but often they really do not listen.

"It is the obligation of the pope, every bishop and every priest to educate consciences, to try to convince people to do good rather than evil," Cardinal Martino said. "If someone then goes out and sins, whose fault is it? Evil exists because people are free to choose."

But whatever the concrete outcome of the annual message, "this pope and the next pope will continue to cry out to the four corners of the world. It is up to humanity to listen," the cardinal said.

In his message, Pope John Paul wrote, "Peace is the outcome of a long and demanding battle which is only won when evil is defeated by good."

Violent conflicts around the world and the tremendous suffering and injustice that accompany them are proof that "the only true constructive choice is, as St. Paul proposes, to flee what is evil and hold fast to what is good," he said.

"The evils of a social and political nature which afflict the world, particularly those provoked by outbreaks of violence, are to be vigorously condemned," he said.

Pope John Paul specifically mentioned Africa, "where conflicts which have already claimed millions of victims are still continuing," and the Holy Land, "where the fabric of mutual understanding, torn by a conflict which is fed daily by acts of violence and reprisal, cannot yet be mended in justice and truth."

Cardinal Martino said Pope John Paul II, like all people concerned for the Holy Land, is looking with hope toward the Jan. 9 elections to choose a successor to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died Nov. 11.

"Our hope is that the leader elected will be able to start the negotiations again" with Israel and find peace for both peoples, the cardinal said.

In his message, Pope John Paul also condemned the continuing spread of terrorist violence, which "appears to be driving the whole world toward a future of fear and anguish."

"Finally," he wrote, "how can we not think with profound regret of the drama unfolding in Iraq, which has given rise to tragic situations of uncertainty and insecurity for all?"

Cardinal Martino said the pope listed Africa first, using "solemn language that reveals the moral knowledge that (the continent's problems) involve crucial historic questions for the future of humanity."

"Africa is the biggest problem facing humanity," the cardinal said. "The problems of Africa are not the fault just of Africans. How many peoples and nations must look at their consciences and recognize their responsibility" as a result of colonization or economic and political exploitation?

"If the problem of Africa could be resolved, the repercussions would benefit the whole world," the cardinal said.

Every person in the world has a role to play in fostering peace and justice, the pope said. Dialogue, tolerance, care for the poor, charity and solidarity must be found within families, communities, nations and the international community, he said.

"Evil is not some impersonal, deterministic force at work in the world," he said. "Evil always has a name and a face: the name and face of those men and women who freely choose it."

Pope John Paul wrote of "the disturbing spread of various social and political manifestations of evil: from social disorders to anarchy and war, from injustice to acts of violence and killing."

The first step toward reversing the trend, he said, is to preserve and promote the basic moral values common to all peoples and cultures.

Next, the pope said, each person must recognize that being a citizen of the world carries with it the responsibility to work for the common good, a responsibility that is even more pronounced for politicians and leaders of nations.

An essential part of promoting peace is ensuring that every person is given a share in the goods of the earth, making it possible for them to feed and house their families and have hope for the future, the pope said.

"By the mere fact of being conceived, a child is entitled to rights and deserving of care and attention; and someone has the duty to provide these," the pope said.

"The condemnation of racism, the protection of minors, the provision of aid to displaced persons and refugees, and the mobilization of international solidarity toward all the needy are nothing other than consistent applications of the principle of world citizenship," the pope wrote.

Cardinal Martino said the pope's recognition of a "world citizenship" marked the first time that the concept appeared in an authoritative document related to Catholic social teaching.

Pope John Paul, he said, has recognized that in the age of globalization, as the church continues to preach that everyone has a right to share in the goods of the earth and a responsibility to protect them, it also must recognize that everyone has a right to share in civic goods such as development, a consolidation of human rights and programs to eradicate disease.

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