Pope Francis urges overcoming ‘indifference’ to attain peace

In his first message of 2016, Pope Francis summoned humanity to show compassion and to transcend the apathy that impedes peace in a world that has of late been filled with conflict and suffering.

“Today we celebrate the World Day of Peace, whose theme is ‘overcome indifference and win peace’,” the pope told thousands of faithful gathered today at St Peter’s Square in an Angelus message. Peace had to be “cultivated” and “won”, he said, beginning with a “spiritual struggle that starts within our hearts”.

The enemy of peace is not merely war, the pope said, “but also indifference that makes one think only of oneself and creates barriers, suspicions, fears and closure”. He called on people to open their hearts to the needs of others, saying, “This is the way to win peace.”

Since 1968, the Vatican has dedicated its New Year's Day message to peace. Earlier in the day, in his homily at a Mass in St Peter's Basilica, the pope condemned the "arrogance of the powerful" that demeans the weak, "relegating them to the most squalid outskirts of our world". He also denounced the "violence and hatred in our world" that has forced tens of thousands of "innocent victims" to flee their homes in the search of a better life. "We are witnessing hordes of men, women and children fleeing war, hunger and persecution, ready to risk their lives simply to encounter respect for their fundamental rights," the pope said.

He did not refer to any particular country, but he has relentlessly urged national governments to help and support the refugees and migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East that have poured into Europe in recent years. (In his annual Urbi et Orbi message on Christmas, the pope cited Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Libya, Syria, South Sudan and Yemen. )

In 2015, more than a million people entered Europe by sea and land, according to the International Organization for Migration. Francis in his speech called this exodus a “torrent of misery”. The pope spoke of the need to “let ourselves be reborn, to overcome the indifference which blocks solidarity, and to leave behind the false neutrality which prevents sharing”. Last month, Francis, who yesterday called for an “ocean of mercy”, inaugurated the Holy Year of Mercy, which will run through November. “The grace of Christ,” he said, leads people to “building an evermore just and fraternal world, a world in which every person and every creature can dwell in peace, in the harmony of God’s original creation”.

New York Times