«Fraternity, the Foundation and Pathway to Peace» is the theme Pope Francis has chosen for the 47th World Day of Peace, established by Pope Paul VI on the first day of the year, for «advancing towards the realization of a more just and peaceful world».
«In a world that is constantly growing more interdependent, the good of fraternity is one that we cannot do without. It serves to defeat the spread of the globalization of indifference to which Pope Francis has frequently referred. The globalization of indifference must give way to a globalization of fraternity. Fraternity should leave its mark on every aspect of life, including the economy, finance, civil society, politics, research, development, public and cultural institutions», it is written in the Note in which the Press Office of the Holy See explains the meaning of the Day.
«The fraternity is a dowry that every man and every woman brings with himself / herself as a human being, as a child of the one and only Father. In the face of the many tragedies that afflict the family of nations—poverty, hunger, underdevelopment, conflicts, migrations, pollution, inequalities, injustice, organized crime and fundamentalisms—fraternity is the foundation and the pathway to peace». Indeed, «the culture of well-being is leading to the loss of the sense of responsibility and fraternal relations. Other people, rather than being ‘like us,’ appear more as antagonists or enemies and are often ‘confiscated.’ The poor and needy are not uncommonly regarded as a ‘burden,’ as an obstacle to development. At most, they are considered as recipients of aid or compassionate assistance. They are not seen as brothers and sisters called to share the gifts of creation, the goods of progress and culture, to sit at the same table of the fullness of life, to be protagonists of integral and inclusive development. Fraternity, a gift and task that comes from God the Father, urges us to be in solidarity against the inequality and poverty that undermine life in society as a whole, to take care of each person, especially the weakest and most defenseless, to love each one as oneself, with the heart of Jesus Christ Himself».
Thus, «Pope Francis, at the beginning of his ministry, situates himself, with a message in continuity with those of his Predecessors, proposing to everyone the pathway of fraternity to humanize the face of the world».
In annex, also an interview on Vatican Radio with Msgr. Giovanni Giudici, on the theme of the 2014 World Day of Peace in relation to the family.
