Pope Francis: Peace is possible

“I ask each party to follow decisively and courageously the path of encounter and negotiation “: Pope Francis tweeted on  Monday morning, 9 September, taking up his appeal for the restitution of peace to martyred people of Syria and all the Middle East.

“Peace is possible”: he affirmed the conviction of the 100,000 people who had gathered around him Saturday evening in St Peter's Square, bring to a quiet and contemplative close the day dedicated to prayer and fasting for peace. With them and for them he repeated the cry to put a stop to every form of violence and to evil of every kind. “Violence and war are never the way to peace!”

“What use is waging war, so many wars, if you aren't capable of waging this profound war against evil?”, the Pope then wondered the next morning, speaking to faithful gathered for the Angelus in St Peter's Square. “And the doubt always remains: is this war or that war — because there are wars everywhere — really a war for solving problems or is it a commercial war for selling weapons in illegal trade”.

“These are the enemies to fight”, he said, “united and consistent, following no other interests than those of peace and of the common good.” Finally Pope Francis thanked everyone everywhere who participated in the vigil of prayer and fasting.

Source: osservatoreromano.va (Sep. 10, 2013)