Marking the Feast of All Souls on November 2, 2021, His Holiness Pope Francis celebrated Holy Mass at the French Military Cemetery in Rome during which he told the faithful to look at the graves of the fallen which speak of a message of peace, saying “Stop, brothers and sisters, stop. Stop weapons manufacturers”.
The Pope called for watching one's steps implying that one should be careful in avoiding perpetration of evil deeds, and stressed that life “is a journey, we are all on a journey.”
Actually life is a journey that one takes in life and one should carefully manipulate one's journey of life, which is short no matter how long it is, by fulfilling the will of Lord Jesus as well as disseminating love, peace, and helping the needy. Shakespeare said earlier that the world in stage where everyone plays a role on this stage and once this role is over, things come to an end.
Turning his attention to the graves in cemeteries that are the final resting place of the war dead, he said, “These people - good people - died in the war, they died because they were called upon to defend their country, to defend values, to defend ideals and many other times, to defend sad and lamentable political situations." So many people die on daily basis worldwide in defence of justice, and in this regard it is important to remember the clergymen who lost their lives over the past years as they were martyred while preaching the Holy Bible's teachings of love and peace.
Pope Francis called for the attainment of global peace saying that “these tombs don’t speak, they cry out, they cry out from themselves, and they cry, ‘peace!" These words corroborate the need to curtail wars and violence once and for all. Going over historical events in the world, one realizes that eruption of wars provides profits to weapon manufacturers at the expense of innocent lives who lose their lives in defence of integrity, common living, and the sublime values of brotherhood.
It is an important point in this regard to note that Holy See Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher underlined earlier the need to eliminate all mass-destruction weapons with a need for pledges to rid the world of the threat of nuclear war.
Countries spend exorbitant amounts of funds on armament in the quest of boosting their arsenals. Had all these funds been spent on productive projects, then the face of the world would change drastically leading to the emergence of productive projects that respect human needs for an honorable life and that facilitates healthcare, quality education, and a bright future while guaranteeing the right of every citizen to suitable opportunities that help alleviate the chronic problems plaguing modern societies.
With the world suffering from galloping disasters caused by endless wars which boomerang in the form of deep-rooted despair, it is imperative to heed the calls of Pope Francis by planting trees of peace which produce fruits of love, brotherhood, and common living
