A diplomacy of hope is also a diplomacy of forgiveness, capable, at a time full of open or latent conflicts, of mending relationships torn by hatred and violence, and thus caring for the broken hearts of their all too numerous victims. My wish for the year 2025 is that the entire international community will work above all to end the conflict that, for almost three years now, has caused so much bloodshed in war-torn Ukraine and has taken an enormous toll of lives, including those of many civilians. Some encouraging signs have appeared on the horizon, but much work must still be done to create the conditions for a just and lasting peace and to heal the wounds inflicted by the aggression.
Similarly, I renew my appeal for a ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza, where there is a very serious and shameful humanitarian situation, and I ask that the Palestinian population receive all the aid it needs. My prayerful hope is that Israelis and Palestinians can rebuild the bridges of dialogue and mutual trust, starting with the smallest, so that future generations can live side by side in the two States, in peace and security, and that Jerusalem can be the “city of encounter”, where Christians, Jews and Muslims live together in harmony and respect. Just last June, in the Vatican gardens, we joined in commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Invocation for Peace in the Holy Land that, on 8 June 2014, saw the presence of the then President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres, and the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, along with Patriarch Bartholomew I. That meeting bore witness to the fact that dialogue is always possible and that we cannot give in to the idea that enmity and hatred between peoples will have the upper hand.
At the same time, it must also be pointed out that war is fuelled by the continued proliferation of ever more sophisticated and destructive weapons. This morning, I reiterate my appeal that “with the money spent on weapons and other military expenditures, let us establish a global fund that can finally put an end to hunger and favour development in the most impoverished countries, so that their citizens will not resort to violent or illusory solutions, or have to leave their countries in order to seek a more dignified life”. [3]
War is always a failure! The involvement of civilians, especially children, and the destruction of infrastructures is not only a disaster, but essentially means that between the two sides only evil emerges the winner. We cannot in any way accept the bombing of civilians or the attacking of infrastructures necessary for their survival. We cannot accept that children are freezing to death because hospitals have been destroyed or a country’s energy network has been hit.
The entire international community seems to agree on the need to respect international humanitarian law, yet its failure to implement that law fully and concretely raises questions. If we have forgotten what lies at the very foundation of our existence, the sacredness of life, the principles that move the world, how can we think that this right is effectively respected? We need to recover these values and to embody them in precepts of the public conscience, so that the principle of humanity will truly be the basis of our activity. I trust, then, that this Jubilee year will be a favourable moment in which the international community will take active steps to ensure that inviolable human rights are not sacrificed to military needs.