{"id":122285,"date":"2026-01-01T15:50:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T14:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/?p=122285"},"modified":"2026-01-01T15:50:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T14:50:41","slug":"pope-leo-calls-for-an-unarmed-peace-amid-the-threat-of-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/pope-leo-calls-for-an-unarmed-peace-amid-the-threat-of-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo calls for an unarmed peace amid the threat of war"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In his Message for the 2026 World Day of Peace<\/a> on 1 January, Pope Leo XIV addresses the escalation of war, rearmament and fear in international relations, and reiterates the Church\u2019s opposition to deterrence based on military force. He calls for disarmament, dialogue and the conversion of hearts as necessary conditions for a lasting and unarmed peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeace be with you!\u201d\u2014the greeting of the Risen Christ\u2014stands at the centre of the Message. Pope Leo XIV writes that these words \u201cdo not merely desire peace, but truly bring about a lasting transformation in those who receive it,\u201d affirming that Christian peace is active and disruptive in its refusal of violence.<\/p>\n

Fear is a theme in the Pope\u2019s reflection. He warns that when societies lose sight of peace as a lived reality, they accept narratives in which war appears inevitable, even necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is no coincidence,\u201d the Pope continued, \u201cthat repeated calls to increase military spending, and the choices that follow, are presented by many government leaders as a justified response to external threats. The idea of the deterrent power of military might, especially nuclear deterrence, is based on the irrationality of relations between nations, built not on law, justice and trust, but on fear and domination by force\u201d.<\/p>\n

This approach, he said, does not bring security but entrenches instability and perpetuates anxiety.<\/p>\n

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When war becomes \u201cnormal\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Message highlights a shift in political and cultural attitudes, where preparedness for war is viewed as prudent and disarmament as na\u00efve. Pope Leo XIV writes: \u201cWhen peace is not a reality that is lived, cultivated and protected, then aggression spreads into domestic and public life.\u201d He warns that this normalisation of confrontation dominates global politics, undermining diplomacy and international law.<\/p>\n

The Pope also addresses the role of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, in military decision-making. He calls this a \u201cdestructive betrayal of the legal and philosophical principles of humanism,\u201d as machines increasingly assume responsibility for life-and-death choices, while economic interests drive rearmament.<\/p>\n

The unarmed path of the Gospel<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Pope reiterates that the Gospel links peace and nonviolence. \u201cThe peace of the risen Jesus is unarmed,\u201d he writes, \u201cHis was an unarmed struggle in the midst of concrete historical, political and social circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

He recalls the challenge faced even by the disciples: \u201cPut your sword back into its sheath.\u201d Christians, he notes, are called to recognise past complicity in violence and commit to prophetic witness.<\/p>\n

In a world that equates strength with domination, goodness itself becomes \u201cdisarming.\u201d Pope Leo XIV reflects: \u201cPerhaps this is why God became a child,\u201d pointing to the defenselessness of Bethlehem as a revelation of divine power.<\/p>\n

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A political and moral imperative<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Message also addresses public authority. Pope Leo XIV calls for a renewed commitment to diplomacy, mediation and international law, lamenting the erosion of treaties and the weakening of supranational institutions.<\/p>\n

He highlights that peace is not a utopia but a choice – personal, communal and political. Quoting Pope Francis, he warns against narratives that present violence as inevitable, noting that such narratives are tools of domination.<\/p>\n

The Message concludes with a vision rooted in hope, recalling the biblical promise of swords turned into ploughshares. In the Jubilee of Hope, Pope Leo XIV invites humanity to begin a \u201cdisarmament of heart, mind and life,\u201d trusting that God\u2019s promises call for responsibility.<\/p>\n

Peace, he writes, \u201cexists; it wants to dwell within us.\u201d The task is not to create it, but to welcome it – and to allow it \u201cto disarm us.\u201d<\/p>\n

* Article published in Vatican News. By: Linda Bordoni. Photographs: Vatican Media.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In his Message for the 2026 World Day of Peace […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":122273,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3386,3367],"tags":[3799,3751],"class_list":["post-122285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-see","category-news","tag-peace","tag-pope-leo-xiv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122285"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122286,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122285\/revisions\/122286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}