We Need a Pope for Peace

As I write this, our world is greatly in need of a Pope for peace.  As I write this, nuclear-armed India and nuclear-armed Pakistan are edging towards war.  As I write this, the Russians continue their brutal lawless war against the Ukraine.  As I write this, fifty-nine hostages are still being held by Palestinian militants after having been seized some 582 days ago when those militants invaded Israel and slaughtered thousands of innocent people.  

 
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).  

 
At the Last Supper, Jesus tells his Apostles:  “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid”  (John 14:27).

 
Traditionally and in recent decades, Popes have been powerful voices for peace in our world.  

 
The great calamitous First World War was already well underway when Pope Benedict XV began his Papacy on 3 September 1914.  Few Popes have ever assumed the Chair of St. Peter in such consequential times as Pope Benedict XV.  In his first encyclical Ad Beatissimi Apostolorum issued 1 November 1914,  Pope Benedict XV appealed to both Heaven and the rulers of the warring powers for peace.  “It remains for Us, Venerable Brethren, since in God's hands are the wills of princes and of those who are able to put an end to the suffering and destruction of which We have spoken, to raise Our voice in supplication to God, and in the name of the whole human race, to cry out: ‘Grant, O Lord, peace, in our day’" he wrote.  

In his Christmas Eve Radio Message of 1944, Pope Pius XII declared:

“There is a duty, besides, imposed on all, a duty which brooks no delay, no procrastination, no hesitation, no subterfuge: It is the duty to do everything to ban once and for all wars of aggression as legitimate solution of international disputes and as a means towards realizing national aspirations.” 

In his 11 April 1963 encyclical Pacem in Terris, Pope St. John XXIII exhorted:

“Let us, then, pray with all fervor for this peace which our divine Redeemer came to bring us. May He banish from the souls of men whatever might endanger peace. May He transform all men into witnesses of truth, justice and brotherly love. May He illumine with His light the minds of rulers, so that, besides caring for the proper material welfare of their peoples, they may also guarantee them the fairest gift of peace.”

 
Two years later, Pope St. Paul VI addressed the United Nations, offering these famed words: 

“never again war, never again war! It is peace, peace, that has to guide the destiny of the nations of all mankind!”

 
In his 2 October 1979 Address to the United Nations, Pope St. John Paul II reitirated the calls for peace of his predecessors and declared 

"The Catholic Church in every place on earth proclaims a message of peace, prays for peace, educates for peace." 

 
But true peace is not simply the absence of war.  True peace consists of freedom and justice.  True peace comes only from Christ, the Prince of Peace.  Alarmed by the rise of atheistic Nazism, Pope Pius XI took the extraordinary step of issuing the encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge in German, having it smuggled into Nazi Germany, printed in secret and having it read from the pulpits on Palm Sunday.  Pope Pius XI wrote:  

“Whoever exalts race, or the people, or the State, or a particular form of State, or the depositories of power, or any other fundamental value of the human community - however necessary and honorable be their function in worldly things - whoever raises these notions above their standard value and divinizes them to an idolatrous level, distorts and perverts an order of the world planned and created by God; he is far from the true faith in God and from the concept of life which that faith upholds.”

 
I have written many books and articles on military and naval history.  As a Navy Religious Program Specialist, I deployed twice to Iraq. So it may seem paradoxical that I am writing about the need for true peace.   I write about naval and military history not to celebrate war but to educate about war and to honor those who have served our country in war and to memorialize those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  It may seem paradoxical but I took up arms in the pursuit of peace following September 11th.  By the grace of God, I was guided by Him to serve both Him and my country in the pursuit of peace, a peace without Islamic terrorism.

 
When Robert Cardinal Prevost first greeted the world as Pope Leo XIV, his very first words were:  “Peace be with you all. Dearest brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd, who has given his life for God’s flock. I too would like that this greeting of peace enters into your heart, reaching your families, and all people, wherever they are, to all peoples, to all the earth. Peace be with you.”

 
Pope Leo XIV’s very first words as Pope echoed Our Risen Lord and Savior, the Prince of Peace:  “Peace be with you all.”

I am joyful and hopeful for our new Pope!   May God grant him the wisdom and prudence and fortitude and faith to be the Pope for peace that our world so very much needs!

 
Vivat Jesus!