Pope Francis called the heart of war an “abyss of evil” during a meeting with international Catholic politicians and legislators at the Vatican on Saturday. Source: CNA.
“Our consciences cannot fail to be moved by the scenes of death and destruction daily before our eyes,” the Pope said about the many violent conflicts taking place around the globe.
“We need to hear the cry of the poor, the ‘widows and orphans’ of which the Bible speaks,” he continued, “in order to see the abyss of evil at the heart of war and to resolve by every means possible to choose peace.”
Francis addressed the topic of war in an audience with members of the International Catholic Legislators Network (ICLN) in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace.
He said it was imperative to renounce war as a suitable way of resolving international conflicts and establishing peace, urging the Catholic legislators and all men and women of good will “to build a world — to cultivate a garden — marked by fraternity, justice, and peace.”
ICLN met the Pope as it held its 15th annual meeting in the Italian cities of Rome and Frascati (on the southeast outskirts of Rome), from August 22-25.
The theme of the gathering was “The World at War: Permanent Crises and Conflicts — What Does It Mean for Us?”
The network’s mission is to help Christians in public office exercise “virtuous and effective leadership that is committed to the dignity of every human being.”
In his remarks, the pontiff quoted from his 2020 encyclical on fraternity, Fratelli Tutti, which says that “War is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil.”
He also lamented an increasing lack of distinction between military and civilian targets and the enormous destructive capacity of contemporary weapons.
The ongoing crisis of “a third world war fought piecemeal,” Francis continued, “seriously jeopardises the patient efforts made by the international community, above all through multilateral diplomacy, to encourage cooperation in addressing the grave injustices and the pressing social, economic and environmental challenges facing our human family.”
He noted a need for patience and perseverance “in pursuing the path of peace, in season and out of season, through negotiation, mediation and arbitration”.
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Pope Francis: War has an ‘abyss of evil’ at its center (By Hannah Brockhaus, CNA)
