Presentation
“Today many, too many people talk about war: war rhetoric is unfortunately back in fashion. This is bad! But while words of hate are spread, people die in the brutality of conflicts. Instead, we need to talk about peace, to dream of peace, to give creativity and concreteness to the expectations of peace, which are the true expectations of peoples and people. Every effort should be made in this sense, in dialogue with everyone.” (Pope Francis to participants in the First Colloquium between the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Congress of Leaders of Traditional and World Religions, Rome, 2024)
“We invite all people of faith and good will to trust, with us, that a diverse world, a world respectful of the living earth, a world where all have daily bread and life in abundance, a decolonized world, a more loving world , harmonious, a just and peaceful world is possible.” (From the Final Message of the Eleventh Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2022)
«The world is crossed by a growing number of conflicts that are slowly transforming what I have repeatedly defined as a piecemeal third world war into a truly global conflict». The words addressed last January by Pope Francis to the diplomatic corps express apprehension in the face of the current international scenario. The new millennium is in fact characterized by three worrying elements: the spread of conflicts, the increase in global military spending which has doubled compared to the nineties, reaching the record figure of over 2,240 billion dollars in 2022 and the gradual recovery of international trade of weapons. The climate of insecurity that spread worldwide after the events of 11 September 2001, the subsequent crises and conflicts in the North African, Middle Eastern and sub-Saharan regions and the war between Russia and Ukraine have become the pretext for undertaking a new arms race.
Even in the European Union, created to strengthen economic and political cooperation on the continent in the belief that the atrocities and suffering of the two world wars should never be repeated again, the “winds of war” are blowing ever stronger: to the objectives of maintaining peace , promoting international cooperation, consolidating the rule of law while respecting fundamental freedoms, there are overlapping demands aimed at “fortifying the continent”, pressure to “strengthen the defense industry”, pressure to “enter a war economy” .
The “Arena di Pace 2024” will be held in Verona on May 18th, to which Pope Francis has invited Italian popular movements to give life to a great event of reflection on Peace. the “Alienum a ratione” conference. Social Magisterium, role of the Churches and civil society for the promotion of peace in the face of the piecemeal third world war (La Spezia, Saturday 27 April) is proposed as a moment of preparation, in-depth analysis and multi-voiced discussion on social teaching of the Church and on the role of the Churches and civil society for the promotion of peace in the current international context.
What are the cornerstones of Catholic thought and of the Reformed Churches in the face of war? What are the ways indicated by the ecumenical path to promote peace? Is nonviolence just an aspiration to be cultivated in times of peace or an essential requirement and an effective practice in conflicts? In a Europe that is increasingly taking the form of an armed fortress, what are the proposals from the world of work for a sustainable economy? While the profits of military industries are growing, is there still room for responsible and unarmed finance? And what are the initiatives of civil society, national and international, for the promotion of peace?
These are some of the questions that the speakers were invited to answer to help us understand the moment we are experiencing and to indicate to us and to all people of good will the key points and priorities for becoming, together, “artisans of peace ”.
