“So many parts of the world remain trapped in cycles of violence and despair. Let us receive the greeting of Leo XIV on the evening of his election from the central Loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, simple and profound: « a disarming and unarmed peace, humble and persevering ». It captures the heart of the Holy See’s vision: a peace not forged by arms, nor guaranteed by threats or deterrents, but born of love, sustained by justice and rooted in the dignity of every human being. A truly Catholic peace, in the primary sense of the word »katholikós’, which means ‘universal’. Peace is much more than the absence of war; it is the presence of just relations, it is an enterprise of justice, founded on truth, charity, freedom and the inviolable dignity of the human person which is its cornerstone. Every human life is sacred. No peace is possible if a single life is considered sacrificable / expendable.
This enterprise of true peace follows the path of integral human development (of all dimensions of the human person and of all peoples of the earth), which gives priority to the common good (peace must be at the service of all, not only of the strongest, but especially of the poor, the displaced, the forgotten) and of solidarity (we are not isolated individuals, but a human family. Peace is born from interdependence). War is the failure of politics and humanity (Richard Gallagher, Secretary of the Holy See for Relations with States and International Organizations, at the Globsec 2025 Forum on World Peace Building in Prague, 12-14 June 2025; https://forum2025.globsec.org/).
I give you my grimoire
to heal your memory