VATICAN/UNITED NATIONS - “PEACE IS POSSIBLE, PEACE MUST BE WILLED, EARNED AND SHARED AS A COMMON GOOD OF HUMANITY.”: HOLY SEE OBSERVER ARCHBISHOP MIGLIORE SPEAKS ON CULTURE OF PEACE TO UN ASSEMBLY

Tuesday, 11 November 2003

Vatican City (Fides Service) – “War destroys the life of innocent people, teaches how to kill, throws into upheaval even the lives of those who do the killing and leaves behind a trail of resentment and hatred, thus making it all the more difficult to find a just solution to the very problems which provoked the war” . Quoting Pope John Paul II’s Centesimus annus encyclical Archbishop Celestino Migliore Holy See Permanent Observer to the United Nations said this in his address on 10 November to the United Nations 58th General Assembly focussing on a “Culture of Peace” . He recalled that the culture of peace entails an ethical approach to life. It shows the right and secure path that leads to the respect for life.
This year the United Nations celebrates the fifty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. This event calls everyone to the fundamental recognition of the full dignity of every human being. From such recognition springs the right to peace. But, when peace loses its value in society and its importance in public policy, human rights and international obligations become jeopardised and compromised.
“Peace is above all about those who are realistic enough to recognise that in spite of the downsides of human nature and society, peace is possible. No effort should be spared in achieving it. For this, peace must be willed, earned and shared as a common good of humanity” Archbishop Migliore affirmed. (AP) (11/11/2003 Fides Service; lines:21 words:228)


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