Pope Francis on Saturday called on the world to “roll up their sleeves” to work for peace and assured that violence against women amounts to “insulting God”, in a message on the first day of the year.
The Pope dedicated his message at the end of the first Angelus prayer of 2022 to the need to end violence in the world, on the occasion of the 55th World Day of Prayer for Peace.
Under a sunny sky, the head of the Catholic Church, which has 1.3 billion faithful, spoke from his window of the Apostolic Palace in front of the crowd gathered on St. Peter’s Square.
“There is no need to be defeated and complain, but to roll up your sleeves to build peace,” he said. “Let’s go home with peace, peace, peace in mind. We need peace ”.
Francis, who turned 85 on December 17 and will begin the ninth year of his pontificate in March, recalled that peace supposes “concrete actions” and is built “with attention to the little ones, with the promotion of justice, with the courage of forgiveness, which extinguishes the fire of hatred ”.
It also requires “a positive perspective, which sees, in the Church as well as in society, not the evil that divides us, but the good that unites us!”
Previously, during a mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in honor of the Virgin Mary, the Pope denounced violence against women as an insult to God.
“The Church is mother, the Church is woman,” he said. “And while mothers give birth and women keep the world, let’s all make sure to promote mothers and protect women.”
“How much violence there is against women! Enough! To hurt a woman is to insult God who has taken the humanity of a woman, ”he added.
In a message made public on December 21 by the Vatican for World Day of Peace, the Pope recommended “three ways to build lasting peace”, dialogue between generations, education and work, “essential for” the elaboration of a social pact “, without which any peace project is inconsistent”.
The text underlined that the budget devoted to education was reduced “appreciably” these last years in the world contrary to the military expenses which exceeded “the level of the end of the cold war”.
The Pope took up these themes on Saturday after the Angelus, referring to “uncertain and difficult times due to the pandemic”.
“There are many who are afraid of the future and who are overwhelmed by social situations, personal problems, the dangers of the ecological crisis, injustices and planetary economic imbalances,” he said. “As I look at Mary holding her child in her arms, I think of young mothers and their children fleeing wars and famine or waiting in refugee camps”.
