World Day of Peace

For 56 years the Pontiffs have delivered a message on Peace to the heads of nations and to all women and men of good will, following a custom begun in 1968 by Pope Paul VI. In the one prepared by Pope Francis for Peace Day 2023 we find his sorrowful vision of the many “dragging crises” afflicting humanity and the necessary reversal of perspectives to which he recently called us (Angelus of Sunday 11 December).

To us at Good Shepherd these passages speak particularly well:

“The many moral, social, political and economic crises we are experiencing are all interconnected, and what we look at as individual problems are actually one cause or consequence of the other.

We cannot only pursue self-protection, but it is time for us all to commit ourselves to the healing of our society and our planet, creating the basis for a more just and peaceful world, seriously committed to the pursuit of a good that is truly common.

We need to develop, with appropriate policies, welcome and integration, especially towards migrants and those who live as discarded in our societies. Only by spending ourselves in these situations, with an altruistic desire inspired by God’s infinite and merciful love, will we be able to build a new world and contribute to building the Kingdom of God, which is a Kingdom of love, justice and peace”.