If You Want Peace, TALK PEACE!
Living Words from John Paul II
“Where hatred and the thirst for revenge dominate, where war brings suffering and death to the innocent, the grace of mercy are needed to settle human minds and hearts and bring about peace.”
Homily at the Shrine of Divine Mercy at Krakow-Lagiewniki, 17 August 2002, No.5
The Vatican, 24 January 2003 | During the Cold War’s darkest days, Blessed Pope John XXIII’s Encyclical Pacem in Terris served as a guiding light for those of goodwill.
It emphasized that genuine peace relies on diligently following divine order, with truth, justice, charity, and freedom as key pillars of peace.
Furthermore, media’s influence has grown, affecting interactions and shaping political and social realms for better or worse.
Media and Truth. Communication must respect and serve the truth. Mass media have an unavoidable responsibility as the modern space for sharing ideas and fostering understanding and solidarity.
The media can sometimes propagate propaganda and disinformation for interests such as bias, greed, and false ideologies. Humanity must oppose this misconception.
Media and Justice. The media must avoid fostering division, such as promoting class conflict, nationalism, racial supremacy, or ethnic cleansing.
By accurately reporting events, clarifying issues, and fairly representing perspectives, the media play a crucial role in promoting justice and unity. Addressing the causes of grievances and divisions fosters understanding and healing.
Media and Freedom. Freedom is essential for peace. The media support freedom by providing truth. When people have free access to accurate information, they can work for the common good and hold authorities accountable.
Their privileged position demands that the media go beyond commercial interests. Journalists and commentators must uphold moral principles and resist pressures to distort the truth for wealth or political gain.
We must find ways to give weaker societal sectors access to information and prevent their exclusion from active media decision-making.
Media and Love. “The preservation of peace must rely on a different principle than the current one. Genuine peace should depend not on equal weapons but on mutual trust“ (Pacem in Terris, 113).
Media outlets play a vital role in fostering trust. Journalists promote global peace by dismantling mistrust, encouraging understanding, and uniting people and nations through respect, reconciliation, and compassion.
“Where hatred and the thirst for revenge dominate, where war brings suffering and death to the innocent, there the grace of mercy is needed to settle human minds and hearts and to bring about peace” (Homily at the Shrine of Divine Mercy at Krakow-Lagiewniki, 17 August 2002, No.5).
The media serve as agents of truth, justice, and freedom—”founded on truth, built upon justice, nurtured and animated by charity, and brought into effect under the auspices of freedom“ (Pacem in Terris, 167).
Excerpted from the writings of Pope John Paul II
Message for the 37th World Communications Day
“The Communications Media at the Service of Authentic Peace in the Light of Pacem in Terris”
The Vatican — 24 January 2003
Feast of Saint Francis de Sales
Read the original Vatican text