Inequalities, unregulated capitalism, terrorism all threaten peace, Pope warns

January 02, 2013

As he celebrated Mass on January 1—the feast of Mary, Mother of God, and the World Day of Peace—Pope Benedict XVI said that for Christians, the foundation of all peace is “the certainty of contemplating in Jesus Christ the splendor of the face of God the Father.”

In his homily the Pope said that the quest for peace is urgent in a world “sadly marked by hotbeds of tension and conflict caused by growing instances of inequality between rich and poor, by the prevalence of a selfish and individualistic mindset which also finds expression in an unregulated financial capitalism, as well as by various forms of terrorism and crime.”

To find peace, the Holy Father suggested, the faithful should “contemplate the interior peace of Mary, the Mother of Jesus.” Just as she focused her attention on the Christ child, Christians today should find peace in “having, on life’s journey, the same security that a child feels in the arms of a loving and all-powerful Father.”

“Nothing can take this peace from believers, not even the difficulties and sufferings of life,” the Pope said.

The Pope concelebrated the Mass in St. Peter’s basilica with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Secretary of State; Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; and other prelates.

Later, at noon, the Pope appeared on the balcony of the basilica to offer his New Year’s greetings to the crowd below. He said that the news of the Incarnation—at first known only to Mary and Joseph—gradually spread through the world, and “little by little, like the sun passing from dawn to noon, the light of Christ as grown and extended everywhere.”

 

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Further information:

• Benedict XVI: The Same Security That a Child Feels in the Arms of a Loving and All-Powerful Father (VIS)
• Pope on New Year's Day: find inner peace in God (Vatican Radio)
• The Light of God, a Blessing for Humanity (VIS)
• Pope Angelus: may new year be journey to peace (Vatican Radio)