Speaking with participants in last year’s Arena of Peace, Pope Leo says the Gospel and the Church’s social doctrine are a constant source of support for Christians, and a compass for everyone in efforts to build peace.
Newsroom (May 30, 2025, 09:05, Gaudium Press) Pope Leo XIV on Friday welcomed more than 300 representatives from associations and movements that participated in the 2024 Arena of Peace, an initiative promoting dialogue and social justice in Verona, Italy. The Vatican meeting served as a follow-up to Pope Francis’ participation in last year’s event, reinforcing the gathering’s role as a key forum for advancing the Church’s social teaching.
“Peace Begins by Standing with Victims”
In his address, Pope Leo emphasized that true peacebuilding requires solidarity with those who suffer. Quoting his predecessor, he said, “Building peace starts by standing alongside victims and seeing things from their point of view.”
“This approach is essential,” he continued, “for disarming hearts, approaches, and mentalities, and for denouncing the injustices of a system that kills and is based on the throwaway culture.”
He pointed to a powerful moment from the Verona gathering—an embrace between an Israeli and a Palestinian, each of whom had lost family members in the Gaza conflict. “They are now friends and work with one another,” the Pope said, calling their reconciliation “a testimony and sign of hope.”
Forming Hearts and Minds for Peace
The Holy Father stressed that peace is not merely the absence of war but a proactive effort requiring education in dialogue and fraternity. “The path to peace requires hearts and minds trained and formed to be attentive to the other, and capable of recognizing the common good in today’s context,” he said.
He praised the Arena of Peace participants for their “particularly precious” work, noting that their grassroots initiatives “generate hope” in a world too often marked by division.
Educating Youth in Non-Violence
Expressing sorrow over global violence, Pope Leo highlighted the urgent need to mentor young people in “the culture of life, dialogue, and mutual respect.” He pointed to survivors of injustice who reject revenge as “the most credible agents of non-violent peace-building processes.”
“Non-violence, as a method and a style, must distinguish our decisions, our relationships, and our actions,” he insisted.
Gospel as a Compass for Peace
The Pope reaffirmed that the Gospel and Catholic social teaching serve as both a foundation for Christians and “a compass for everyone” in the shared mission of peacebuilding.
He concluded with a call to action: “If you want peace, prepare institutions of peace”—not only political ones but also educational, economic, and social structures.
“I encourage you to remain committed and present: present within history as a leaven of unity, communion, and fraternity,” he said. “Fraternity must be recovered, loved, experienced, proclaimed, and witnessed, in the confident hope that it is indeed possible, thanks to the love of God ‘poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.’”
The audience ended with Pope Leo blessing the participants, urging them to continue their work as builders of a more just and peaceful world.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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