an immediate universal ceasefire

The prayer in the Coliseum and the appeal at the end of the meeting organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio with representatives of the various Christian confessions and Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. Francesco: “Guiltfully, after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, atomic weapons have continued to be produced and tested. Let us not resign ourselves to war, let us cultivate seeds of reconciliation.”

Rome () – “A universal ceasefire must be declared immediately. Launch promptly, before it is too late, negotiations that can lead to just solutions for a stable and lasting peace. Let the dialogue be resumed to cancel the threat of nuclear weapons.” From the Colosseum in Rome, Pope Francis together with a group of representatives of the world’s great religions launched this afternoon a new call for peace during the prayer meeting “The Cry of Peace. Religions and Cultures in Dialogue” organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio.

The appeal was signed by the pontiff and representatives of other Christian denominations, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, and was significantly read by Elissar, a young Syrian woman who came to Italy fleeing the war in her country and is now a university student in Rome. Before assuming this commitment, each of them, separately, prayed for peace according to their own religious tradition, in the suggestive setting of the Colosseum.

“In a reflective attitude, we address the world and those responsible for the States – says the document -. We make ourselves the voice of those who suffer the war, of the refugees and of the families of all the victims and fallen. With firm conviction we say: enough of war. Let’s stop all conflicts.”

Religious leaders affirm in the text that “it is our duty to help disarm hearts and call for reconciliation between peoples. Unfortunately – they acknowledge – we too have sometimes divided ourselves by abusing the holy name of God: we ask forgiveness, with humility and shame. Peace is sacred, war can never be.” “The world, our common home -they conclude- is unique and does not belong to us, but to future generations. Therefore, we must free it from the nuclear nightmare. Peace It is always possible”.

Precisely the issue of the atomic threat had also been present shortly before in the reflection proposed by Pope Francis. “The cry for peace – observed the pontiff – is often silenced not only by the rhetoric of war, but also by indifference. It is silenced by the hatred that grows while fighting.” “Today,” he continued, “what we never wanted to hear is becoming a reality: that is, the use of atomic weapons is being openly threatened, which guiltily continued to be produced and tested after Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

In this context, the Pope recalled the timeliness of the words pronounced exactly 60 years ago by John XXIII in his radio message during the missile crisis in Cuba: “Promote, favor and accept dialogue, at all levels and at all times, it is a rule of wisdom and prudence that attracts the blessing of heaven and earth”. “This is what we will try to continue doing – concluded Francesco – better and better, every day. Let us not resign ourselves to war, let us cultivate seeds of reconciliation. May it be so, with the grace of God and the good will of the men and women loved by Him”.