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Vatican City (Fides Service) - "Pacem In Terris: A Permanent
Commitment" is the title of the Holy Father's Message for
World Day for Peace on 1 January 2003 made public in the Vatican
on December 17. The Pope writes: "Almost forty years ago,
on Holy Thursday, 11 April 1963, Pope John XXIII published his
epic Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris. Addressing himself to
"all men of good will", my venerable predecessor, who
would die just two months later, summed up his message of "peace
on earth" in the first sentence of the Encyclical: "Peace
on earth, which all men of every era have most eagerly yearned
for, can be firmly established and sustained only if the order
laid down by God be dutifully observed". After focussing
on the need to have complete trust in God and also trust in mankind,
and to continue to work to build peace on earth the Pope concludes:
"The fortieth anniversary of Pacem in Terris is an apt occasion
to return to Pope John XXIII's prophetic teaching. Catholic communities
will know how to celebrate this anniversary during the year with
initiatives which, I hope, will have an ecumenical and interreligious
character and be open to all those who have a heartfelt desire
"to break through the barriers which divide them, to strengthen
the bonds of mutual love, to learn to understand one another and
to pardon those who have done them wrong". See
complete message. (Fides Service 18/12/2002)
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