The Italian newspaper “La Stampa” has published an excerpt of His Holiness Pope Francis’ new book in Italian, which hit bookshelves on Tuesday, 18 October, 2022.
Pope Francis published this book on the threshold of the 10th anniversary of his pontificate. In the book titled, "I ask you in the name of God. Ten prayers for a future of hope", the Holy Father launches an impassioned appeal to build together a horizon of peace, a better world where peace prevails and where peoples view one another as brethren in humanity while striving to attain the ultimate noble objectives of life, namely peace and common living.
This is not the first time that the Pontiff calls for the entrenchment of global peace, as he had strongly and repeatedly tackled this critical issue on several occasions in the wake of the eruption of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, yet it is the first time that he documents this issue in an extremely invaluable book that remains a reminder to the entire world that peace and refraining from the resort to the use of force in the settlement of disputes should be viewed as the cardinal objective of world leaders who seek the good for their peoples.
In the released excerpt, the Pope states that the war in Ukraine has revealed the horrors that result from war and recalls the speedy succession of the last century’s two world wars, saying "We are currently experiencing 'a third world war fought piecemeal' which threatens to expand into a full-scale global conflict.''
The Holy Father never justified the eruption of wars, because wars never solve problems but rather complicate situations, and this is crystal clear in the outcome of World War II which confused the situation worldwide particularly in Europe. The Pops states in the book that “nations must engage in dialogue, negotiations, listening, creative diplomacy, and far-sighted politics which can build a system not based on the power of arms or deterrence.”
Referring to arms trade, the Pope pleads with the leaders of nations "to end the arms trade and to have the courage and creativity to replace weapons dealers with enterprises that promote the common good, fraternity, and integral human development.''
He also lambasted the threat to resort to nuclear weapons stressing that "possession of such weapons "undermines the paths of dialogue and respect" and "puts at risk humanity’s survival on Earth".
Pope Francis wouldn't have written a book with such a firm determination to draw attention to this inferno awaiting the world in case nuclear weapons are used in wars had he not realized the exigent urge to do whatever possible to make a preemptive warning against the resort to such mass destructive weapons that obliterate humanity and wreak havoc on every part of the world.
Pope Francis has all the time been an outspoken opponent to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. During his historic visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 2019, the Pope declared that "the use of atomic energy for purposes of war is immoral, just as the possessing of nuclear weapons is immoral," and added that the world "must never grow weary of working to support the principal international legal instruments of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons."
This position expressed by the Pope reflects the teachings of the Catholic Church which is drawn from Lord Jesus' Christ's sublime words which call for loving one another, "Love one another as I loved you." (John 12:4)
The Pope's book needs to be translated into several languages and to be kept in the minds of world leaders and on the shelves of world libraries because it serves as the "golden crown" of all books that seeks to ensure a better future for humanity as a whole.
In this context, let the world leaders heed the call of the Pope for the attainment of global peace and adhere to solving their intricate problems by resorting to peace as mentioned in this book, because once they achieve peace they will be honored by being called the children of God according to the Biblical verse which states, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God, (Matthew 5:9)
