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1 JANUARY 2007
THE HUMAN PERSON, THE HEART OF PEACE
1. At the beginning of the new year, I wish to extend prayerful
good wishes for peace to Governments, leaders of nations and all
men and women of good will. In a special way, I invoke peace upon
all those experiencing pain and suffering, those living under the
threat of violence and armed aggression, and those who await their
human and social emancipation, having had their dignity trampled
upon. I invoke peace upon children, who by their innocence enrich
humanity with goodness and hope, and by their sufferings compel
us all to work for justice and peace. Out of concern for children,
especially those whose future is compromised by exploitation and
the malice of unscrupulous adults, I wish on this World Day of Peace
to encourage everyone to reflect on the theme: The Human Person,
the Heart of Peace. I am convinced that respect for the person promotes
peace and that, in building peace, the foundations are laid for
an authentic integral humanism. In this way a serene future is prepared
for coming generations.
The human person and peace: gift and task
2. Sacred Scripture affirms that “God created man in his own
image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created
them” (Gen 1:27). As one created in the image of God, each
individual human being has the dignity of a person; he or she is
not just something, but someone, capable of self-knowledge, self-possession,
free self-giving and entering into communion with others. At the
same time, each person is called, by grace, to a covenant with the
Creator, called to offer him a response of faith and love that no
other creature can give in his place(1). From this supernatural
perspective, one can understand the task entrusted to human beings
to mature in the ability to love and to contribute to the progress
of the world, renewing it in justice and in peace. In a striking
synthesis, Saint Augustine teaches that “God created us without
our aid; but he did not choose to save us without our aid(2).”
Consequently all human beings have the duty to cultivate an awareness
of this twofold aspect of gift and task.
3. Likewise, peace is both gift and task. If it is true that peace
between individuals and peoples—the ability to live together
and to build relationships of justice and solidarity—calls
for unfailing commitment on our part, it is also true, and indeed
more so, that peace is a gift from God. Peace is an aspect of God's
activity, made manifest both in the creation of an orderly and harmonious
universe and also in the redemption of humanity that needs to be
rescued from the disorder of sin. Creation and Redemption thus provide
a key that helps us begin to understand the meaning of our life
on earth. My venerable predecessor Pope John Paul II, addressing
the General Assembly of the United Nations on 5 October 1995, stated
that “we do not live in an irrational or meaningless world...
there is a moral logic which is built into human life and which
makes possible dialogue between individuals and peoples(3) .”
The transcendent “grammar”, that is to say the body
of rules for individual action and the reciprocal relationships
of persons in accordance with justice and solidarity, is inscribed
on human consciences, in which the wise plan of God is reflected.
As I recently had occasion to reaffirm: “we believe that at
the beginning of everything is the Eternal Word, Reason and not
Unreason(4).” Peace is thus also a task demanding of everyone
a personal response consistent with God's plan. The criterion inspiring
this response can only be respect for the “grammar”
written on human hearts by the divine Creator.
From this standpoint, the norms of the natural law should not be
viewed as externally imposed decrees, as restraints upon human freedom.
Rather, they should be welcomed as a call to carry out faithfully
the universal divine plan inscribed in the nature of human beings.
Guided by these norms, all peoples —within their respective
cultures—can draw near to the greatest mystery, which is the
mystery of God. Today too, recognition and respect for natural law
represents the foundation for a dialogue between the followers of
the different religions and between believers and non-believers.
As a great point of convergence, this is also a fundamental presupposition
for authentic peace.
The right to life and to religious freedom
4. The duty to respect the dignity of each human being, in whose
nature the image of the Creator is reflected, means in consequence
that the person can not be disposed of at will. Those with greater
political, technical, or economic power may not use that power to
violate the rights of others who are less fortunate. Peace is based
on respect for the rights of all. Conscious of this, the Church
champions the fundamental rights of each person. In particular she
promotes and defends respect for the life and the religious freedom
of everyone. Respect for the right to life at every stage firmly
establishes a principle of decisive importance: life is a gift which
is not completely at the disposal of the subject. Similarly, the
affirmation of the right to religious freedom places the human being
in a relationship with a transcendent principle which withdraws
him from human caprice. The right to life and to the free expression
of personal faith in God is not subject to the power of man. Peace
requires the establishment of a clear boundary between what is at
man's disposal and what is not: in this way unacceptable intrusions
into the patrimony of specifically human values will be avoided.
5. As far as the right to life is concerned, we must denounce its
widespread violation in our society: alongside the victims of armed
conflicts, terrorism and the different forms of violence, there
are the silent deaths caused by hunger, abortion, experimentation
on human embryos and euthanasia. How can we fail to see in all this
an attack on peace? Abortion and embryonic experimentation constitute
a direct denial of that attitude of acceptance of others which is
indispensable for establishing lasting relationships of peace. As
far as the free expression of personal faith is concerned, another
disturbing symptom of lack of peace in the world is represented
by the difficulties that both Christians and the followers of other
religions frequently encounter in publicly and freely professing
their religious convictions. Speaking of Christians in particular,
I must point out with pain that not only are they at times prevented
from doing so; in some States they are actually persecuted, and
even recently tragic cases of ferocious violence have been recorded.
There are regimes that impose a single religion upon everyone, while
secular regimes often lead not so much to violent persecution as
to systematic cultural denigration of religious beliefs. In both
instances, a fundamental human right is not being respected, with
serious repercussions for peaceful coexistence. This can only promote
a mentality and culture that is not conducive to peace.
The natural equality of all persons
6. At the origin of many tensions that threaten peace are surely
the many unjust inequalities still tragically present in our world.
Particularly insidious among these are, on the one hand, inequality
in access to essential goods like food, water, shelter, health;
on the other hand, there are persistent inequalities between men
and women in the exercise of basic human rights.
A fundamental element of building peace is the recognition of the
essential equality of human persons springing from their common
transcendental dignity. Equality on this level is a good belonging
to all, inscribed in that natural “grammar” which is
deducible from the divine plan of creation; it is a good that cannot
be ignored or scorned without causing serious repercussions which
put peace at risk. The extremely grave deprivation afflicting many
peoples, especially in Africa, lies at the root of violent reactions
and thus inflicts a terrible wound on peace.
7. Similarly, inadequate consideration for the condition of women
helps to create instability in the fabric of society. I think of
the exploitation of women who are treated as objects, and of the
many ways that a lack of respect is shown for their dignity; I also
think —in a different context—of the mindset persisting
in some cultures, where women are still firmly subordinated to the
arbitrary decisions of men, with grave consequences for their personal
dignity and for the exercise of their fundamental freedoms. There
can be no illusion of a secure peace until these forms of discrimination
are also overcome, since they injure the personal dignity impressed
by the Creator upon every human being(5).
The “ecology of peace”
8. In his Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, Pope John Paul II
wrote: “Not only has God given the earth to man, who must
use it with respect for the original good purpose for which it was
given to him, but man too is God's gift to man. He must therefore
respect the natural and moral structure with which he has been endowed(6).”
By responding to this charge, entrusted to them by the Creator,
men and women can join in bringing about a world of peace. Alongside
the ecology of nature, there exists what can be called a “human”
ecology, which in turn demands a “social” ecology. All
this means that humanity, if it truly desires peace, must be increasingly
conscious of the links between natural ecology, or respect for nature,
and human ecology. Experience shows that disregard for the environment
always harms human coexistence, and vice versa. It becomes more
and more evident that there is an inseparable link between peace
with creation and peace among men. Both of these presuppose peace
with God. The poem-prayer of Saint Francis, known as “the
Canticle of Brother Sun”, is a wonderful and ever timely example
of this multifaceted ecology of peace.
9. The close connection between these two ecologies can be understood
from the increasingly serious problem of energy supplies. In recent
years, new nations have entered enthusiastically into industrial
production, thereby increasing their energy needs. This has led
to an unprecedented race for available resources. Meanwhile, some
parts of the planet remain backward and development is effectively
blocked, partly because of the rise in energy prices. What will
happen to those peoples? What kind of development or non-development
will be imposed on them by the scarcity of energy supplies? What
injustices and conflicts will be provoked by the race for energy
sources? And what will be the reaction of those who are excluded
from this race? These are questions that show how respect for nature
is closely linked to the need to establish, between individuals
and between nations, relationships that are attentive to the dignity
of the person and capable of satisfying his or her authentic needs.
The destruction of the environment, its improper or selfish use,
and the violent hoarding of the earth's resources cause grievances,
conflicts and wars, precisely because they are the consequences
of an inhumane concept of development. Indeed, if development were
limited to the technical-economic aspect, obscuring the moral-religious
dimension, it would not be an integral human development, but a
one-sided distortion which would end up by unleashing man's destructive
capacities.
Reductive visions of man
10. Thus there is an urgent need, even within the framework of current
international difficulties and tensions, for a commitment to a human
ecology that can favour the growth of the “tree of peace”.
For this to happen, we must be guided by a vision of the person
untainted by ideological and cultural prejudices or by political
and economic interests which can instil hatred and violence. It
is understandable that visions of man will vary from culture to
culture. Yet what cannot be admitted is the cultivation of anthropological
conceptions that contain the seeds of hostility and violence. Equally
unacceptable are conceptions of God that would encourage intolerance
and recourse to violence against others. This is a point which must
be clearly reaffirmed: war in God's name is never acceptable! When
a certain notion of God is at the origin of criminal acts, it is
a sign that that notion has already become an ideology.
11. Today, however, peace is not only threatened by the conflict
between reductive visions of man, in other words, between ideologies.
It is also threatened by indifference as to what constitutes man's
true nature. Many of our contemporaries actually deny the existence
of a specific human nature and thus open the door to the most extravagant
interpretations of what essentially constitutes a human being. Here
too clarity is necessary: a “weak” vision of the person,
which would leave room for every conception, even the most bizarre,
only apparently favours peace. In reality, it hinders authentic
dialogue and opens the way to authoritarian impositions, ultimately
leaving the person defenceless and, as a result, easy prey to oppression
and violence.
Human rights and international organizations
12. A true and stable peace presupposes respect for human rights.
Yet if these rights are grounded on a weak conception of the person,
how can they fail to be themselves weakened? Here we can see how
profoundly insufficient is a relativistic conception of the person
when it comes to justifying and defending his rights. The difficulty
in this case is clear: rights are proposed as absolute, yet the
foundation on which they are supposed to rest is merely relative.
Can we wonder that, faced with the “inconvenient” demands
posed by one right or another, someone will come along to question
it or determine that it should be set aside? Only if they are grounded
in the objective requirements of the nature bestowed on man by the
Creator, can the rights attributed to him be affirmed without fear
of contradiction. It goes without saying, moreover, that human rights
imply corresponding duties. In this regard, Mahatma Gandhi said
wisely: “The Ganges of rights flows from the Himalaya of duties.”
Clarity over these basic presuppositions is needed if human rights,
nowadays constantly under attack, are to be adequately defended.
Without such clarity, the expression “human rights”
will end up being predicated of quite different subjects: in some
cases, the human person marked by permanent dignity and rights that
are valid always, everywhere and for everyone, in other cases a
person with changing dignity and constantly negotiable rights, with
regard to content, time and place.
13. The protection of human rights is constantly referred to by
international bodies and, in particular, the United Nations Organization,
which set itself the fundamental task of promoting the human rights
indicated in the 1948 Universal Declaration. That Declaration is
regarded as a sort of moral commitment assumed by all mankind. There
is a profound truth to this, especially if the rights described
in the Declaration are held to be based not simply on the decisions
of the assembly that approved them, but on man's very nature and
his inalienable dignity as a person created by God. Consequently
it is important for international agencies not to lose sight of
the natural foundation of human rights. This would enable them to
avoid the risk, unfortunately ever-present, of sliding towards a
merely positivistic interpretation of those rights. Were that to
happen, the international bodies would end up lacking the necessary
authority to carry out their role as defenders of the fundamental
rights of the person and of peoples, the chief justification for
their very existence and activity.
International humanitarian law and the internal law of
States
14. The recognition that there exist inalienable human rights connected
to our common human nature has led to the establishment of a body
of international humanitarian law which States are committed to
respect, even in the case of war. Unfortunately, to say nothing
of past cases, this has not been consistently implemented in certain
recent situations of war. Such, for example, was the case in the
conflict that occurred a few months ago in southern Lebanon, where
the duty “to protect and help innocent victims” and
to avoid involving the civilian population was largely ignored.
The heart-rending situation in Lebanon and the new shape of conflicts,
especially since the terrorist threat unleashed completely new forms
of violence, demand that the international community reaffirm international
humanitarian law, and apply it to all present-day situations of
armed conflict, including those not currently provided for by international
law. Moreover, the scourge of terrorism demands a profound reflection
on the ethical limits restricting the use of modern methods of guaranteeing
internal security. Increasingly, wars are not declared, especially
when they are initiated by terrorist groups determined to attain
their ends by any means available. In the face of the disturbing
events of recent years, States cannot fail to recognize the need
to establish clearer rules to counter effectively the dramatic decline
that we are witnessing. War always represents a failure for the
international community and a grave loss for humanity. When, despite
every effort, war does break out, at least the essential principles
of humanity and the basic values of all civil coexistence must be
safeguarded; norms of conduct must be established that limit the
damage as far as possible and help to alleviate the suffering of
civilians and of all the victims of conflicts(7).
15. Another disturbing issue is the desire recently shown by some
States to acquire nuclear weapons. This has heightened even more
the widespread climate of uncertainty and fear of a possible atomic
catastrophe. We are brought back in time to the profound anxieties
of the “cold war” period. When it came to an end, there
was hope that the atomic peril had been definitively overcome and
that mankind could finally breathe a lasting sigh of relief. How
timely, in this regard, is the warning of the Second Vatican Council
that “every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction
of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime
against God and humanity, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation(8).”
Unfortunately, threatening clouds continue to gather on humanity's
horizon. The way to ensure a future of peace for everyone is found
not only in international accords for the non-proliferation of nuclear
weapons, but also in the determined commitment to seek their reduction
and definitive dismantling. May every attempt be made to arrive
through negotiation at the attainment of these objectives! The fate
of the whole human family is at stake!
The Church as safeguard of the transcendence of the human
person
16. Finally, I wish to make an urgent appeal to the People of God:
let every Christian be committed to tireless peace-making and strenuous
defence of the dignity of the human person and his inalienable rights.
With gratitude to the Lord for having called him to belong to his
Church, which is “the sign and safeguard of the transcendental
dimension of the human person”(9) in the world, the Christian
will tirelessly implore from God the fundamental good of peace,
which is of such primary importance in the life of each person.
Moreover, he will be proud to serve the cause of peace with generous
devotion, offering help to his brothers and sisters, especially
those who, in addition to suffering poverty and need, are also deprived
of this precious good. Jesus has revealed to us that “God
is love” (1 Jn 4:8) and that the highest vocation of every
person is love. In Christ we can find the ultimate reason for becoming
staunch champions of human dignity and courageous builders of peace.
17. Let every believer, then, unfailingly contribute to the advancement
of a true integral humanism in accordance with the teachings of
the Encyclical Letters Populorum Progressio and Sollicitudo Rei
Socialis, whose respective fortieth and twentieth anniversaries
we prepare to celebrate this year. To the Queen of Peace, the Mother
of Jesus Christ “our peace” (Eph 2:14), I entrust my
urgent prayer for all humanity at the beginning of the year 2007,
to which we look with hearts full of hope, notwithstanding the dangers
and difficulties that surround us. May Mary show us, in her Son,
the Way of peace, and enlighten our vision, so that we can recognize
Christ's face in the face of every human person, the heart of peace!
From the Vatican, 8 December 2006.
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
(1) Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 357.
(2) Sermo 169, 11, 13: PL 38, 923.
(3) No. 3.
(4) Homily at Islinger Feld, Regensburg, 12 September 2006.
(5) Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter to the
Bishops of the Catholic Church on the collaboration of men and women
in the Church and in the world (31 May 2004), 15-16.
(6) No. 38.
(7) In this regard, the Catechism of the Catholic Church indicates
strict and precise criteria: cf. 2307-2317.
(8) Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 80.
(9) Ibid., 76.
© Copyright 2006 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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