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MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE BENEDICT XVI
FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE
WORLD DAY OF PEACE
1 JANUARY 2012
EDUCATING
YOUNG PEOPLE IN JUSTICE AND PEACE
1. The beginning of a new year, God’s gift to humanity, prompts me to
extend to all, with great confidence and affection, my heartfelt good
wishes that this time now before us may be marked concretely by justice
and peace.
With what attitude should we look to the New Year? We find a very
beautiful image in Psalm 130. The Psalmist says that people of faith
wait for the Lord “more than those who watch for the morning” (v. 6);
they wait for him with firm hope because they know that he will bring
light, mercy, salvation. This waiting was born of the experience of the
Chosen People, who realized that God taught them to look at the world in
its truth and not to be overwhelmed by tribulation. I invite you to look
to 2012 with this attitude of confident trust. It is true that the year
now ending has been marked by a rising sense of frustration at the
crisis looming over society, the world of labour and the economy, a
crisis whose roots are primarily cultural and anthropological. It seems
as if a shadow has fallen over our time, preventing us from clearly
seeing the light of day.
In this shadow, however, human hearts continue to wait for the dawn of
which the Psalmist speaks. Because this expectation is particularly
powerful and evident in young people, my thoughts turn to them and to
the contribution which they can and must make to society. I would like
therefore to devote this message for the XLV World Day of Peace to the
theme of education: “Educating Young People in Justice and Peace”,
in the conviction that the young, with their enthusiasm and idealism,
can offer new hope to the world.
My Message is also addressed to parents, families and all those involved
in the area of education and formation, as well as to leaders in the
various spheres of religious, social, political, economic and cultural
life and in the media. Attentiveness to young people and their concerns,
the ability to listen to them and appreciate them, is not merely
something expedient; it represents a primary duty for society as a
whole, for the sake of building a future of justice and peace.
It is a matter of communicating to young people an appreciation for the
positive value of life and of awakening in them a desire to spend their
lives in the service of the Good. This is a task which engages each of
us personally.
The concerns expressed in recent times by many young people around the
world demonstrate that they desire to look to the future with solid
hope. At the present time, they are experiencing apprehension about many
things: they want to receive an education which prepares them more fully
to deal with the real world, they see how difficult it is to form a
family and to find stable employment; they wonder if they can really
contribute to political, cultural and economic life in order to build a
society with a more human and fraternal face.
It is important that this unease and its underlying idealism receive due
attention at every level of society. The Church looks to young people
with hope and confidence; she encourages them to seek truth, to defend
the common good, to be open to the world around them and willing to see
“new things” (Is 42:9; 48:6).
Educators
2. Education is the most interesting and difficult adventure in life.
Educating – from the Latin educere – means leading young people
to move beyond themselves and introducing them to reality, towards a
fullness that leads to growth. This process is fostered by the encounter
of two freedoms, that of adults and that of the young. It calls for
responsibility on the part of the learners, who must be open to being
led to the knowledge of reality, and on the part of educators, who must
be ready to give of themselves. For this reason, today more than ever we
need authentic witnesses, and not simply people who parcel out rules and
facts; we need witnesses capable of seeing farther than others because
their life is so much broader. A witness is someone who fi rst lives the
life that he proposes to others.
Where does true education in peace and justice take place? First of all,
in the family, since parents are the first educators. The family is the
primary cell of society; “it is in the family that children learn the
human and Christian values which enable them to have a constructive and
peaceful coexistence. It is in the family that they learn solidarity
between the generations, respect for rules, forgiveness and how to
welcome others.” (1) The family is the first school in which we are
trained in justice and peace.
We are living in a world where families, and life itself, are constantly
threatened and not infrequently fragmented. Working conditions which are
often incompatible with family responsibilities, worries about the
future, the frenetic pace of life, the need to move frequently to ensure
an adequate livelihood, to say nothing of mere survival – all this makes
it hard to ensure that children receive one of the most precious of
treasures: the presence of their parents. This presence makes it
possible to share more deeply in the journey of life and thus to pass on
experiences and convictions gained with the passing of the years,
experiences and convictions which can only be communicated by spending
time together. I would urge parents not to grow disheartened! May they
encourage children by the example of their lives to put their hope
before all else in God, the one source of authentic justice and peace.
I would also like to address a word to those in charge of educational
institutions: with a great sense of responsibility may they ensure that
the dignity of each person is always respected and appreciated. Let them
be concerned that every young person be able to discover his or her own
vocation and helped to develop his or her God-given gifts. May they
reassure families that their children can receive an education that does
not conflict with their consciences and their religious principles.
Every educational setting can be a place of openness to the transcendent
and to others; a place of dialogue, cohesiveness and attentive
listening, where young people feel appreciated for their personal
abilities and inner riches, and can learn to esteem their brothers and
sisters. May young people be taught to savour the joy which comes from
the daily exercise of charity and compassion towards others and from
taking an active part in the building of a more humane and fraternal
society.
I ask political leaders to offer concrete assistance to families and
educational institutions in the exercise of their right and duty to
educate. Adequate support should never be lacking to parents in their
task. Let them ensure that no one is ever denied access to education and
that families are able freely to choose the educational structures they
consider most suitable for their children. Let them be committed to
reuniting families separated by the need to earn a living. Let them give
young people a transparent image of politics as a genuine service to the
good of all.
I cannot fail also to appeal to the world of the media to offer its own
contribution to education. In today’s society the mass media have a
particular role: they not only inform but also form the minds of their
audiences, and so they can make a significant contribution to the
education of young people. It is important never to forget that the
connection between education and communication is extremely close:
education takes place through communication, which influences, for
better or worse, the formation of the person.
Young people too need to have the courage to live by the same high
standards that they set for others. Theirs is a great responsibility:
may they find the strength to make good and wise use of their freedom.
They too are responsible for their education, including their education
in justice and peace!
Educating in truth and freedom
3. Saint Augustine once asked: “Quid enim fortius desiderat anima
quam veritatem? – What does man desire more deeply than truth?”(2)
The human face of a society depends very much on the contribution of
education to keep this irrepressible question alive. Education, indeed,
is concerned with the integral formation of the person, including the
moral and spiritual dimension, focused upon man’s final end and the good
of the society to which he belongs. Therefore, in order to educate in
truth, it is necessary first and foremost to know who the human person
is, to know human nature. Contemplating the world around him, the
Psalmist reflects: “When I see the heavens, the work of your hands, the
moon and the stars which you arranged, what is man that you should keep
him in mind, mortal man that you care for him?” (Ps 8:4-5). This
is the fundamental question that must be asked: who is man? Man
is a being who bears within his heart a thirst for the infinite, a
thirst for truth – a truth which is not partial but capable of
explaining life’s meaning – since he was created in the image and
likeness of God. The grateful recognition that life is an inestimable
gift, then, leads to the discovery of one’s own profound dignity and the
inviolability of every single person. Hence the first step in education
is learning to recognize the Creator’s image in man, and consequently
learning to have a profound respect for every human being and helping
others to live a life consonant with this supreme dignity. We must never
forget that “authentic human development concerns the whole of the
person in every single dimension”(3), including the transcendent
dimension, and that the person cannot be sacrificed for the sake of
attaining a particular good, whether this be economic or social,
individual or collective.
Only in relation to God does man come to understand also the meaning of
human freedom. It is the task of education to form people in authentic
freedom. This is not the absence of constraint or the supremacy of free
will, it is not the absolutism of the self. When man believes himself to
be absolute, to depend on nothing and no one, to be able to do anything
he wants, he ends up contradicting the truth of his own being and
forfeiting his freedom. On the contrary, man is a relational being, who
lives in relationship with others and especially with God. Authentic
freedom can never be attained independently of God.
Freedom is a precious value, but a fragile one; it can be misunderstood
and misused. “Today, a particularly insidious obstacle to the task of
educating is the massive presence in our society and culture of that
relativism which, recognizing nothing as definitive, leaves as the
ultimate criterion only the self with its desires. And under the
semblance of freedom it becomes a prison for each one, for it separates
people from one another, locking each person into his or her own self.
With such a relativistic horizon, therefore, real education is not
possible without the light of the truth; sooner or later, every person
is in fact condemned to doubting the goodness of his or her own life and
the relationships of which it consists, the validity of his or her
commitment to build with others something in common”(4).
In order to exercise his freedom, then, man must move beyond the
relativistic horizon and come to know the truth about himself and the
truth about good and evil. Deep within his conscience, man discovers a
law that he did not lay upon himself, but which he must obey. Its voice
calls him to love and to do what is good, to avoid evil and to take
responsibility for the good he does and the evil he commits(5). Thus,
the exercise of freedom is intimately linked to the natural moral law,
which is universal in character, expresses the dignity of every person
and forms the basis of fundamental human rights and duties:
consequently, in the final analysis, it forms the basis for just and
peaceful coexistence.
The right use of freedom, then, is central to the promotion of justice
and peace, which require respect for oneself and others, including those
whose way of being and living differs greatly from one’s own. This
attitude engenders the elements without which peace and justice remain
merely words without content: mutual trust, the capacity to hold
constructive dialogue, the possibility of forgiveness, which one
constantly wishes to receive but finds hard to bestow, mutual charity,
compassion towards the weakest, as well as readiness to make sacrifices.
Educating in justice
4. In this world of ours, in which, despite the profession of good
intentions, the value of the person, of human dignity and human rights
is seriously threatened by the widespread tendency to have recourse
exclusively to the criteria of utility, profit and material possessions,
it is important not to detach the concept of justice from its
transcendent roots. Justice, indeed, is not simply a human convention,
since what is just is ultimately determined not by positive law, but by
the profound identity of the human being. It is the integral vision of
man that saves us from falling into a contractual conception of justice
and enables us to locate justice within the horizon of solidarity and
love(6).
We cannot ignore the fact that some currents of modern culture, built
upon rationalist and individualist economic principles, have cut off the
concept of justice from its transcendent roots, detaching it from
charity and solidarity: “The ‘earthly city’ is promoted not merely by
relationships of rights and duties, but to an even greater and more
fundamental extent by relationships of gratuitousness, mercy and
communion. Charity always manifests God’s love in human relationships as
well, it gives theological and salvific value to all commitment for
justice in the world”(7).
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they
shall be satisfied” (Mt 5:6). They shall be satisfied because
they hunger and thirst for right relations with God, with themselves,
with their brothers and sisters, and with the whole of creation.
Educating in peace
5. “Peace is not merely the absence of war, and it is not limited to
maintaining a balance of powers between adversaries. Peace cannot be
attained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free
communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples,
and the assiduous practice of fraternity.”8 We Christians believe that
Christ is our true peace: in him, by his Cross, God has reconciled the
world to himself and has broken down the walls of division that
separated us from one another (cf. Eph 2:14-18); in him, there is
but one family, reconciled in love.
Peace, however, is not merely a gift to be received: it is also a task
to be undertaken. In order to be true peacemakers, we must educate
ourselves in compassion, solidarity, working together, fraternity, in
being active within the community and concerned to raise awareness about
national and international issues and the importance of seeking adequate
mechanisms for the redistribution of wealth, the promotion of growth,
cooperation for development and conflict resolution. “Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”, as Jesus says in the
Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:9).
Peace for all is the fruit of justice for all, and no one can shirk this
essential task of promoting justice, according to one’s particular areas
of competence and responsibility. To the young, who have such a strong
attachment to ideals, I extend a particular invitation to be patient and
persevering in seeking justice and peace, in cultivating the taste for
what is just and true, even when it involves sacrifice and swimming
against the tide.
Raising one’s eyes to God
6. Before the difficult challenge of walking the paths of justice and
peace, we may be tempted to ask, in the words of the Psalmist: “I lift
up my eyes to the mountains: from where shall come my help?” (Ps
121:1).
To all, and to young people in particular, I wish to say emphatically:
“It is not ideologies that save the world, but only a return to the
living God, our Creator, the guarantor of our freedom, the guarantor of
what is really good and true … an unconditional return to God who is the
measure of what is right and who at the same time is everlasting love.
And what could ever save us apart from love?”(9) Love takes delight in
truth, it is the force that enables us to make a commitment to truth, to
justice, to peace, because it bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things (cf. 1 Cor 13:1-13).
Dear young people, you are a precious gift for society. Do not yield to
discouragement in the face of difficulties and do not abandon yourselves
to false solutions which often seem the easiest way to overcome
problems. Do not be afraid to make a commitment, to face hard work and
sacrifice, to choose the paths that demand fidelity and constancy,
humility and dedication. Be confident in your youth and its profound
desires for happiness, truth, beauty and genuine love! Live fully this
time in your life so rich and so full of enthusiasm.
Realize that you yourselves are an example and an inspiration to adults,
even more so to the extent that you seek to overcome injustice and
corruption and strive to build a better future. Be aware of your
potential; never become self-centred but work for a brighter future for
all. You are never alone. The Church has confidence in you, follows you,
encourages you and wishes to offer you the most precious gift she has:
the opportunity to raise your eyes to God, to encounter Jesus Christ,
who is himself justice and peace.
All you
men and women throughout the world, who take to heart the cause of
peace: peace is not a blessing already attained, but rather a goal to
which each and all of us must aspire. Let us look with greater hope to
the future; let us encourage one another on our journey; let us work
together to give our world a more humane and fraternal face; and let us
feel a common responsibility towards present and future generations,
especially in the task of training them to be people of peace and
builders of peace. With these thoughts I offer my reflections and I
appeal to everyone: let us pool our spiritual, moral and material
resources for the great goal of “educating young people in justice and
peace”. |
