MESSAGE FOR THE 33RD WORLD DAY OF PEACE

VATICAN CITY, DEC 13, 1999 (VIS) - "Peace on Earth to those whom God Loves!" is the title of Pope John Paul II's message for the 33rd World Day of Peace. The document, dated December 8 and published today, is written in Italian, Spanish, French, English, Polish and Portuguese, is 22 pages long and is divided into ten sections. Given below are some excerpts:

"Looking to a year so filled with meaning, I once more offer everyone my good wishes for peace. ... The problems which make the path to peace difficult and often discouraging are many and complex, but peace is a need deeply rooted in the heart of every man and woman. The will to seek peace must not therefore be allowed to weaken. This seeking must be based on the awareness that humanity, however much marred by sin, hatred and violence, is called by God to be a single family. This divine plan needs to be recognized and carried out through the search for harmonious relationships between individuals and peoples, in a culture where openness to the Transcendent, the promotion of the human person and respect for the world of nature are shared by all. This is the message of Christmas, this is the message of the Jubilee, this is my hope at the beginning of a new Millennium.

"WAR IS A DEFEAT FOR HUMANITY. In the century we are leaving behind, humanity has been sorely tried by an endless and horrifying sequence of wars, conflicts, genocides and 'ethnic cleansings' which have caused unspeakable suffering: millions and millions of victims, families and countries destroyed, an ocean of refugees, misery, hunger, disease, underdevelopment and the loss of immense resources. At the root of so much suffering there lies a logic of supremacy fuelled by the desire to dominate and exploit others, by ideologies of power or totalitarian utopias, by crazed nationalisms or ancient tribal hatreds. ... The twentieth century bequeaths to us above all else a warning: wars are often the cause of further wars. ... Wars generally do not resolve the problems for which they are fought and therefore, in addition to causing horrendous damage, they prove ultimately futile. War is a defeat for humanity."

"Against the backdrop of war in the twentieth century, humanity's honor has been preserved by those who have spoken and worked on behalf of peace."

"CALLED TO BE ONE FAMILY. ... Will the new century be one of peace and a renewed sense of brotherhood between individuals and peoples? ... There will be peace only to the extent that humanity as a whole rediscovers its fundamental calling to be one family, a family in which the dignity and rights of individuals ' whatever their status, race or religion ' are accepted as prior and superior to any kind of difference or distinction."

"CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY. This principle has an immensely important consequence: an offense against human rights is an offense against the conscience of humanity as such, an offense against humanity itself. ... Crimes against humanity cannot be considered an internal affair of a nation. Here an important step forward was taken with the establishment of an International Criminal Court to try such crimes. ... All too many and horrifying are the macabre scenarios in which innocent children, women, and unarmed older people have become intentional targets in the bloody conflicts of our time; too many, in fact, for us not to feel that the moment has come to change direction, decisively and with a great sense of responsibility.

"THE RIGHT TO HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE. ... In the face of such tragic and complex situations and contrary to all alleged 'reasons' of war, there is a need to affirm the preeminent value of humanitarian law and the consequent duty to guarantee the right to humanitarian aid to suffering civilians and refugees. ... Negotiation between parties, with appropriate attempts at mediation and pacification by international and regional bodies, is of the greatest importance. Negotiation is necessary in order to prevent such conflicts and to end them once they have broken out."

"'HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION'. Clearly, when a civilian population risks being overcome by the attacks of an unjust aggressor and political efforts and non-violent defense prove to be of no avail, it is legitimate and even obligatory to take concrete measures to disarm the aggressor. ... What is needed without delay is a renewal of international law and international institutions, a renewal whose starting-point and basic organizing principle should be the primacy of the good of humanity and of the human person over every other consideration."

"PEACE IN SOLIDARITY. No one should be deceived into thinking that the simple absence of war, as desirable as it is, is equivalent to lasting peace. ... Failure awaits every plan which would separate two indivisible and interdependent rights: the right to peace and the right to an integral development born of solidarity."

"THE URGENT NEED TO RETHINK THE ECONOMY. ... Perhaps the time has come for a new and deeper reflection on the nature of the economy and its purposes. What seems to be urgently needed is a reconsideration of the concept of 'prosperity' itself, to prevent it from being enclosed in a narrow utilitarian perspective which leaves very little space for values such as solidarity and altruism. ... An economy which takes no account of the ethical dimension and does not seek to serve the good of the person ' of every person and the whole person ' cannot really call itself an 'economy', understood in the sense of a rational and constructive use of material wealth.

"WHICH MODELS OF DEVELOPMENT? The fact that humanity ... is still tragically split in two by poverty - at the beginning of the twenty-first century, more than a billion four hundred million people are living in a situation of dire poverty ' means that there is urgent need to reconsider the models which inspire development policies. ... These processes call for rethinking international cooperation in terms of a new culture of solidarity. ... In particular it is necessary to find definitive solutions to the long-standing problem of the international debt of poor countries, while at the same time making available the financial resources necessary for the fight against hunger, malnutrition, disease, illiteracy and the destruction of the environment.

"Today more than in the past there is an urgent need to foster a consciousness of universal moral values in order to face the problems of the present. ... A way must be found to discuss the problems posed by the future of humanity in a comprehensible and common language. The basis of such a dialogue is the universal moral law written upon the human heart."

"WORKING GENEROUSLY FOR PEACE. ... Peace is a building constantly under construction. The building up of peace involves:
' Parents who are examples and witnesses of peace in their families, and who educate their children for peace.
' Teachers who are able to pass on genuine values. ...
' Working men and women, who are committed to extending their age-old struggle for the dignity of work. ...
' Political leaders who put at the heart of their own political activity and of that of their countries a firm and unwavering determination to promote peace and justice. ...
' Those in international organizations who ... work in the front line. ...
' Members of Non-Governmental Organizations. ...
' Believers who, convinced that authentic faith is never a source of war or violence, spread convictions of peace and love through ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.

"I am thinking particularly of you, dear young people ... In your schools and universities, in the work-place, in leisure and sports, in all that you do, let yourselves be guided by this constant thought: peace within you and peace around you, peace always, peace with everyone, peace for everyone. To the young people who, unfortunately, have known the tragic experience of war and who harbour sentiments of hatred and resentment I address this plea: make every effort to rediscover the path of reconciliation and forgiveness."

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