Messaggio del Santo Padre Leone XIV per la LIX Giornata Mondiale della Pace [1° gennaio 2026]
Pope Leo calls for an unarmed peace amid the threat of war
In his Message for the 2026 World Day of Peace, Pope
Leo XIV addresses the escalation of war, rearmament and fear in international
relations, and reiterates the Church’s opposition to deterrence based on
military force. He calls for disarmament, dialogue and the conversion of hearts
as necessary conditions for a lasting and unarmed peace.
By Linda Bordoni
As the Church observes the World Day of Peace on 1
January, Pope Leo XIV reflects on a world marked by fear, militarization and
the threat of war. In his first Message for this observance, he addresses the
seriousness of the moment while proposing a vision of peace that is “unarmed
and disarming,” resisting violence not through force but through moral clarity,
dialogue and the conversion of hearts.
“Peace be with you!”—the greeting of the Risen
Christ—stands at the centre of the Message. Pope Leo XIV writes that these
words “do not merely desire peace, but truly bring about a lasting
transformation in those who receive it,” affirming that Christian peace is
active and disruptive in its refusal of violence.
Fear as the currency of War
Fear is a theme in the Pope’s reflection. He warns
that when societies lose sight of peace as a lived reality, they accept
narratives in which war appears inevitable, even necessary.
"It is no coincidence," the Pope continued,
"that repeated calls to increase military spending, and the choices that
follow, are presented by many government leaders as a justified response to
external threats. The idea of the deterrent power of military might,
especially nuclear deterrence, is based on the irrationality of relations
between nations, built not on law, justice and trust, but on fear and
domination by force. "
This approach, he said, does not bring security but
entrenches instability and perpetuates anxiety.
Quoting Saint John XXIII, Pope Leo XIV recalls how
peoples today live “in the grip of constant fear,” aware that weapons capable
of catastrophic destruction already exist, and that war could erupt “by some
chance and unforeseen circumstance.” He cites concrete figures, noting that
global military expenditure rose by 9.4 percent in 2024 alone, reaching $2.7
trillion - resources directed toward instruments of death rather than human
development.
When war becomes “normal”
The Message highlights a shift in political and
cultural attitudes, where preparedness for war is viewed as prudent and
disarmament as naïve. Pope Leo XIV writes: “When peace is not a reality that is
lived, cultivated and protected, then aggression spreads into domestic and
public life.” He warns that this normalisation of confrontation dominates
global politics, undermining diplomacy and international law.
“When peace is not a reality that is lived, cultivated
and protected, then aggression spreads into domestic and public life.”
The Pope also addresses the role of emerging
technologies, including artificial intelligence, in military decision-making.
He calls this a “destructive betrayal of the legal and philosophical principles
of humanism,” as machines increasingly assume responsibility for life-and-death
choices, while economic interests drive rearmament.
The unarmed path of the Gospel
The Pope reiterates that the Gospel links peace and
nonviolence. “The peace of the risen Jesus is unarmed,” he writes, “His was an
unarmed struggle in the midst of concrete historical, political and social
circumstances.”
He recalls the challenge faced even by the disciples:
“Put your sword back into its sheath.” Christians, he notes, are called to
recognise past complicity in violence and commit to prophetic witness.
In a world that equates strength with domination,
goodness itself becomes “disarming.” Pope Leo XIV reflects: “Perhaps this is
why God became a child,” pointing to the defenselessness of Bethlehem as a
revelation of divine power.
“The peace of the risen Jesus is unarmed, His was an
unarmed struggle in the midst of concrete historical, political and social
circumstances.”
Integral disarmament: beginning from within
Drawing again on Saint John XXIII, the Pope stresses
that disarmament must extend beyond the realm of weapons. “Unless this process
of disarmament be thoroughgoing and complete, and reach people’s very souls, it
is impossible to stop the arms race.”
He insists that fear must be addressed at its root
through the renewal of minds and hearts, replacing suspicion with trust. True
peace, he writes, “cannot consist in the possession of an equal supply of
armaments but only in mutual trust.”
Religions, he adds, have a responsibility to avoid
using faith to justify violence or war and instead to be “houses of peace,”
where hostility is addressed through dialogue, justice and forgiveness.
“True peace cannot consist in the possession of an
equal supply of armaments but only in mutual trust.”
A political and moral imperative
The Message also addresses public authority. Pope Leo
XIV calls for a renewed commitment to diplomacy, mediation and international
law, lamenting the erosion of treaties and the weakening of supranational
institutions.
He highlights that peace is not a utopia but a choice
- personal, communal and political. Quoting Pope Francis, he warns against
narratives that present violence as inevitable, noting that such narratives are
tools of domination.
Walking
in the light
The Message concludes with a vision rooted in hope,
recalling the biblical promise of swords turned into ploughshares. In the
Jubilee of Hope, Pope Leo XIV invites humanity to begin a “disarmament of
heart, mind and life,” trusting that God’s promises call for responsibility.
Peace, he writes, “exists; it wants to dwell within
us.” The task is not to create it, but to welcome it - and to allow it “to
disarm us.”
“Peace exists; it wants to dwell within us. The task
is not to create it, but to welcome it, and to allow it to disarm us.”
