Rome (Italy). The 56th World Day of Peace, established by Pope Paul VI in 1968, is celebrated on 1 January 2023, inviting everyone to prayer and reflection on this gift to be asked for incessantly, to promote paths oriented towards peace for all of humanity.
“No one can save oneself. Starting afresh from Covid-19 to trace paths of peace together” is the theme of Message 2023, which opens with the exhortation of the Apostle Paul to the community of Thessalonica, to remain steadfast in waiting for the encounter with the Lord, to maintain “a careful eye on reality and on the events of history”:
“Regarding the times and the moments, you don’t need me to write to you; for you well know that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” (1 Th 5:1-2).
“It is an invitation to stay awake, not to lock ourselves up in fear, pain or resignation, not to give in to distraction, not to be discouraged but instead, to be like sentinels capable of staying awake and seizing the first light of dawn, especially in the darkest hours,” Pope Francis makes this actual, alluding to the dramatic experience of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Pope recalls the suffering due to human losses; the disorientation and malaise of individuals and families generated by isolation and the limitation of freedom; the economic and social repercussions, which “we cannot forget” and reiterates again that “You never come out of a crisis the same; you come out either better or worse.”
What have we learned from this pandemic situation? What new paths will we have to take to abandon the chains of our old habits, to be better prepared, to dare to be new? What signs of life and hope can we grasp to move forward and try to make our world better? These are the questions he leaves for personal and community reflection, encouraging everyone at the beginning of the new year, to re-read the experience, nourishing the hope and desire to do their part to try to make the world better.
The post-pandemic has unfortunately reserved “another scourge: another war, in part comparable to Covid-19, but nevertheless guided by guilty human choices.” For this reason, it is even more necessary to implement policies and paths of fraternity and solidarity, appealing to personal responsibility:
“We can no longer think only of preserving the space of our personal or national interests, but we must think of ourselves in the light of the common good, with a sense of community, or as a ‘we’ open to universal fraternity. (…) We need to develop, with adequate policies, reception and integration, especially towards migrants and those who live as discarded in our societies. Only by spending ourselves in these situations, with an altruistic desire inspired by God’s infinite and merciful love, will we be able to build a new world and help construct the Kingdom of God, which is the Kingdom of love, justice, and peace”.
In the press conference for the presentation of the Message, held by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Development on 16 December 2022, Sr. Alessandra Smerilli, FMA, Secretary of the Dicastery, announced the closure of the work of the Vatican Commission for Covid-19, established by Pope Francis, “not because the emergency is over,” in fact the Dicastery continues to work by listening and in dialogue with the Churches and local realities of every continent, and has presented new paths:
“Speaking of peace, the ‘Catholic Response For Ukraine’ (CR4U) working group, promoted by our Dicastery, was also born on the model of the Covid Commission. This group was set up as a space for structured dialogue and coordination among the many Catholic actors who are doing their utmost to assist the Ukrainian population in the most urgent needs. In fact, Pope Francis had asked us for ‘concreteness’ and we will try to continue on this path.”
At the conclusion of the Message, the Holy Father hopes that in the new year we can walk together treasuring what history can teach us and wishes all men and women of good will, “to build day by day as artisans of peace, a good year!”.
