Pope: An era without conflict is not unattainable
Pope Leo XIV sent a message to the International Encounter for Peace and Reconciliation held at Loyola University in Chicago. The Pope stressed that true peace is God's gift, not merely the absence of conflict or something imposed by violence. Achieving concord requires commitment from the international community for the common good, involving interdisciplinary collaboration. Peace is described as a constant journey of reconciliation with God, self, others, and creation. The Pope highlighted that when people of different religious traditions pray together, it possesses the power to alter history.
about 1 month ago
Pope Leo XIV sent a message to the International Encounter for Peace and Reconciliation at Loyola University Chicago on March 7, 2026.1 2
The event continues the Building Bridges Initiative launched by Pope Francis in 2022, gathering students, scholars, and leaders from the Americas.1 2
It focuses on five themes: Peace and the Church; Peace, Law, and Migration; Peace and Economics; Culture and Art Inspiring Peace; and Peace, Truth, and Justice in the Age of AI.1
Pope Leo defined true peace as God's gift, not merely the absence of conflict or something imposed by violence.1 2
He rejected worldly peace that relies on deception, rooting authentic harmony in Jesus Christ.1 2
Peace requires ongoing reconciliation with God, self, others, and creation.1
The Pope urged interdisciplinary collaboration among institutions, scientists, and leaders for the common good, transcending borders and faiths.1 2
He warned against the "globalization of powerlessness" and the belief that a conflict-free era is impossible.1 2
Christians must act as "co-workers for peace with Christ" in families, communities, and nations.2
Interreligious prayer holds transformative power to alter history, according to Pope Leo.1 2
He encouraged participants to embrace prayer as essential to peacebuilding efforts.1 2
Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, presided over the event co-hosted by Loyola University and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.1 2
Speakers included Archbishop Filippo Iannone, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Nathalie Becquart, and Bishop Lizardo Estrada, with closing remarks by Emilce Cuda.1
"Assess the Catholic Church’s doctrine on peace as a divine gift."
The Catholic Church teaches that peace is profoundly more than the mere absence of war or conflict; it is the tranquillity of order—a divine gift originating from God, imaged in Christ's redemptive work, and realized through justice and charity. This doctrine, drawn from Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium, portrays peace as both a gratuitous offering from God and a human task requiring moral commitment, fostering harmony within individuals, societies, and nations.
Catholic teaching defines peace as "the tranquillity of order," echoing St. Augustine, where all appetitive movements in a person or community are at rest in alignment with the good. It is not concord alone but well-ordered concord, where wills harmonize in pursuit of what befits human dignity, free from coercive fear. St. Thomas Aquinas clarifies that true peace rests in the good, uniting natural, animal, and rational appetites; apparent peace among the wicked is restless, marked by defects that disturb the soul.
Peace is "the tranquillity of order." Peace is the work of justice and the effect of charity.
Earthly peace mirrors the peace of Christ, the messianic Prince of Peace, who reconciled humanity with God through His blood. As Aquinas notes on Colossians 3:15, the peace of Christ—born of charity—produces joy and thankfulness, harmonizing wills as in "great peace have those who love your law" (Ps 119:165).
The Church unequivocally presents peace as a gift from God, not a human achievement alone. Biblical revelation expands peace beyond war's absence to fullness of life, God's blessing yielding fruitfulness, well-being, prosperity, fearlessness, and joy (e.g., Num 6:26; Is 48:18-19). The Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church affirms: "Peace is a gift from God... a matter of justice and the fruit of love."
Pope Leo XIV repeatedly invokes this: peace as the "divine gift of peace" and an "active and demanding gift" built from the heart, echoing Christ's "Peace be with you" (Jn 20:19). In his message to the Congress of World Religions, he calls for "synergy for peace" as unarmed, disarming, and persevering, rooted in faith's healing power. Pope Benedict XVI's World Day of Peace message (2011) elaborates: peace is "gift and task," manifest in creation's harmony and redemption from sin's disorder, inscribed in human consciences via natural law.
St. Thomas reinforces that all things desire peace as union in the good, with perfect peace in eternal enjoyment of God and imperfect peace possible here.
Peace flows from Christ's Paschal Mystery. By His Cross, He "killed the hostility" (Eph 2:16), making the Church a sacrament of unity. Pope Francis, in Assisi, distinguishes Franciscan peace as the peace of Christ from the Cross, not saccharine or pantheistic, but borne through meekness: "Love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 13:34). Peacemakers are "blessed" and "children of God" (Mt 5:9), as peace is charity's fruit, not a distinct virtue.
While divine, peace demands response. The common good requires stability and security of a just order, with authority ensuring morally acceptable defense. Threats like injustice, inequalities, envy, and pride must be overcome. Pacem in Terris underscores peace's necessity amid armaments driven by fear, calling for recognition of human rights to foster global fraternity. Gaudium et Spes locates peace in conscience's law, urging fidelity to objective morality.
Pope Leo XIV urges "unarmed and disarming witnesses" like St. Francis, interceding for peacemaking. This aligns with the Compendium: peace involves obedience to the divine plan.
Discernment is key: true peace is in the good; the wicked's "peace" is illusory, a "great war of ignorance" (Wis 14:22). Christ's peace contrasts worldly peace, which He did not bring (Mt 10:34).
| Aspect | True Peace (Divine Gift) | False/Apparent Peace |
|---|---|---|
| Source | God/Christ, via justice/charity | Human efforts, ignorance, coercion |
| Effects | Rest, joy, unity in good | Restlessness, defects |
| Examples | Reconciliation in Church; Franciscan | Armaments from fear; inequalities |
Peace is meritorious, a beatitude and fruit of the Spirit. Believers are called "in one body" to Christ's peace (Col 3:15). It undergirds human development, rights, and global solidarity.
In summary, the Church's doctrine affirms peace as a divine gift par excellence—Christ's legacy of ordered tranquility, bestowed gratuitously yet requiring human cooperation through virtue and justice. Rooted in high-authority sources like the Catechism and papal teachings, it challenges the faithful to embody peacemaking amid worldly disorders, fostering true harmony in God.