Pope condemns ‘arrogance of invaders’ in Ukraine and Palestine
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The “arrogance” of the invaders attacking
Ukraine and Palestine blocks the dialogue necessary to build peace in
those countries, Pope Francis said.
Without explicitly naming Russia or Israel, the pope referred to “two
failures of humanity” in achieving peace: “Ukraine and Palestine, where
there is suffering, where the arrogance of the invader wins over
dialogue.”
Speaking Nov. 25 at an event commemorating the 40th anniversary of the
peace accords signed between Chile and Argentina and mediated by St.
John Paul II, Pope Francis said the agreement remains “model for the
complete, definitive and peaceful settlement of a dispute” that
“deserves to be reproposed in the current world situation, in which so
many conflicts persist and degenerate without an effective will to
resolve them through the absolute exclusion of recourse to force or the
threat of its use.”
In 1984, the Vatican brokered the Treaty of Peace and Friendship
between Chile and Argentina, putting an end to years of territorial
disputes and military tensions primarily over claims to the Beagle
Channel.
In his address, the pope sharply criticized the willingness of
countries to remain entrenched in armed conflicts despite the suffering
they create, and he condemned what he called the “hypocrisy of talking
about peace while playing war.”
“In some countries where there is much talk of peace, the most
profitable investments are in arms manufacturing,” he said. “This
hypocrisy always leads to failure, the failure of brotherhood, the
failure of peace.”
Earlier in the day, the pope addressed a delegation from the
Universal Peace Council — an interreligious body comprised of 15 peace
organizations to promote peace and dialogue in the Holy Land — and told
them that “dialogue is the only path for peace.”
Reflecting on the “devastating effects of war and hate,” namely
poverty, hunger and discrimination, he acknowledged that it could seem
as though “our commitment to dialogue may be in vain because it produces
few concrete results.”
“In those moments, remember that anything that is worth doing is not
easy,” he said. “It requires sacrifice, it requires the willingness to
commit oneself every day, especially when things don’t seem to be going
our way.”
Pope Francis also recalled the importance of young people, who he
said can be “great artisans of peace through dialogue” and reminding
people “that a better world is possible.”
“Young people can help others discover the crucial elements that pave
the way for peace: forgiveness and a willingness to let go of past
prejudices and wounds,” he said.
