By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“War can never be waged in the name of God. For us believers, ‘to fight in the name of religion means attacking religion itself.’ There is no such thing as a holy war: only peace is holy.”
Pope Leo XIV shared this powerful reminder in a video message he sent Tuesday to participants in the International Meeting in the Spirit of Assisi, organised by the Community of Sant’Egidio.
The theme of the 3-day meeting that concludes today in the Umbrian hilltown where St Francis was born was “Unarmed and Disarming Peace.”
‘I would have very much liked to have been with you’
The Pope began by recalling that the participants had gathered in the town of St Francis forty years after the World Day of Prayer for Peace, held on Oct 27 1986, which was initiated by Saint John Paul II.
Following that first historic meeting, Pope Leo said that his predecessor called for us to “continue to live the spirit of Assisi.”
The Pope greeted the organizers, the Patriarchs, religious leaders, and Franciscans who have actively taken part in the various days of prayer and dialogue.
“I would very much like to have been with you at the tomb of Saint Francis on this important anniversary, to see your faces and bear witness together to the fact that living as brothers and sisters is already possible!”
Need to cultivate ‘Spirit of Assisi’
Precisely in these times marked by a “culture of power,” Pope Leo noted, “there is a need to cultivate the spirit of Assisi, which entails a rejection of the religious justification of war, a spirit of mediation and dialogue, and contemplative reflection combined with creative action in the service of a future of peace.”
In this context, the Holy Father insisted that peace may once again become “the common ideal of all peoples, the guiding star for all our choices, the standard that exposes injustice, and the shared horizon for all.”
“We must rebuild peace everywhere, not prepare for more wars,” he stressed, reiterating that God’s name can never be manipulated to try to justify war.
The journey that began in Assisi as a shared quest for peace, he explained, is, first and foremost, “the path of prayer.”
Prayer may seem ‘weak,’ but is humble strength
“Prayer may seem weak in the face of the powers of the world,” Pope Leo acknowledged, “but it is the humble strength of believers.”
Thus, he appealed, “Let us turn to God, the giver of peace, that he may touch the hearts of those who seek war and terrorism. Let us not forget that prayer is never in vain.”
Emphasizing that the world needs dialogue, the Pope said that “the path of Assisi calls religious leaders to foster a climate of dialogue amongst the faithful and within society, so that the language of arrogance may give way to the language of peace, negotiation and understanding,” in order to “gradually lead humanity away from the cycle of violence.”
Finally, Pope Leo expressed the hope that “may our prayers obtain from God that peace for the world’s nations for which we long,” praying that the Lord “make us unarmed instruments of His peace.” – Vatican News
