In his remarks, the Pope quoted from his 2020 encyclical on fraternity and called on Catholic lawmakers to be witnesses of hope.
At a meeting with Catholic politicians and MPs in the Vatican on Saturday, Pope Francis described the heart of the war as an “abyss of evil.”
“The images of death and destruction that unfold before our eyes every day touch our conscience,” the Pope said on August 24 about the many violent conflicts taking place around the globe.
“We must hear the cry of the poor, of the ‘widows and orphans’ of whom the Bible speaks,” he continued, “in order to recognize the depths of evil at the heart of war and to choose peace by all possible means.”
Francis addressed the issue of war during an audience with members of the International Catholic Legislators Network (ICLN) in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace.
He said it was imperative to renounce war as an appropriate means of resolving international conflicts and establishing peace, and called on Catholic lawmakers and all men and women of good will to “build a world – to cultivate a garden – marked by fraternity, justice and peace.”
The ICLN met with the Pope during its 15th annual meeting from August 22 to 25 in the Italian cities of Rome and Frascati (on the southeastern outskirts of Rome). The theme of the meeting is: “The World at War: Permanent Crises and Conflicts – What Does This Mean for Us?”
The network’s mission is to help Christians in public office “demonstrate virtuous and effective leadership, committed to the dignity of every person.”
The patron of the group, whose members advocate the social teachings of the Catholic Church in political life, is Saint Thomas More. The honorary patron of the network is the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn.
In his remarks, the Pope quoted from his 2020 encyclical on fraternity: The brotherswhich states: “War is a failure of politics and humanity, a shameful surrender, a painful defeat before the forces of evil.”
He also complained that there was less and less distinction between military and civilian targets and that modern weapons had enormous destructive power.
The ongoing crisis of “a third world war being fought piecemeal,” Francis continued, “seriously jeopardizes the patient efforts of the international community, especially through multilateral diplomacy, to promote cooperation in addressing the grave injustices and the most pressing social, economic and environmental challenges facing our human family.”
He stressed that patience and perseverance are needed “to pursue the path of peace, whether appropriate or not, through negotiation, mediation and arbitration.”
The Pope also pointed out that as Christians we recognize that the roots of conflict in a society are to be found “in a deeper conflict in the human heart.”
“Conflicts are sometimes unavoidable, but they can only be fruitfully resolved in a spirit of dialogue and sensitivity towards others and their motives, as well as in a shared commitment to justice in the pursuit of the common good,” the Pope said.
He called on Catholic lawmakers to be witnesses of hope to a “war-weary world” – especially the next generation.
“May your commitment to the common good, sustained by trust in the promises of Christ, serve as an example to our young people,” he encouraged them. “How important it is for them to see examples of hope and idealism that counteract the messages of pessimism and cynicism to which they are so often exposed.”
