World peace requires ‘ecological conversion,’ Pope says in annual message
December 12, 2019
Peace is “a great and precious value, the object of our hope and the aspiration of the entire human family,” Pope Francis writes in his message for the World Day of Peace.
In his message the Pontiff says that in order to establish peace, nations must learn to resolve conflicts through dialogue, and must undergo an “ecological conversion” to protect the environment and foster recognition of our shared humanity.
World conflicts, the Pope argues, are “the consequences of our hostility towards others, our lack of respect for our common home or our abusive exploitation of natural resources—seen only as a source of immediate profit, regardless of local communities, the common good and nature itself.”
The Pope writes that conflict “often begins with the inability to accept the diversity of others, which then fosters attitudes of aggrandizement and domination born of selfishness and pride, hatred and the desire to caricature, exclude and even destroy the other.” He says that recognizing each other as neighbors is the path to peace.
The World Day of Peace is observed each year on January 1. The Pope’s message for 2020, entitled “Peace as a Journey of Hope: Dialogue, Reconciliation, and Ecological Conversion,” was released on December 12.
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Further information:
- Pope’s World Peace Day message: 'Every war is a form of fratricide' (Vatican News)
- Message of the Holy Father Francis for the celebration of the 53rd World Day of Peace (full text)
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Posted by: dover beachcomber -
Dec. 16, 2019 4:47 PM ET USA
Perhaps the Holy Father could show us a better example of what “ecological conversion” looks like than he did at the recent lunch in observance of the annual Day of the Poor, where the table was crowded with large plastic water bottles—including one for himself.
