Peace: a need inscribed in the heart of human from the Compendium of the social doctrine of the Church

The international community and values

433. The centrality of the human person and the natural inclination of persons and peoples to establish relationships among themselves are the fundamental elements for building a true international community, the ordering of which must aim at guaranteeing the effective universal common good.[1] Despite the widespread aspiration to build an authentic international community, the unity of the human family is not yet becoming a reality. This is due to obstacles originating in materialistic and nationalistic ideologies that contradict the values of the person integrally considered in all his various dimensions, material and spiritual, individual and community. In particular, any theory or form whatsoever of racism and racial discrimination is morally unacceptable.[2]

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436. To bring about and consolidate an international order that effectively guarantees peaceful mutual relations among peoples, the same moral law that governs the life of men must also regulate relations among States: “a moral law the observance of which should be inculcated and promoted by the public opinion of all the nations and of all the States with such a unanimity of voice and force that no one would dare to call it into question or to attenuate its binding force”.[3] The universal moral law, written on the human heart, must be considered effective and indelible as the living expression of the shared conscience of humanity, a “grammar”[4] on which to build the future of the world.

437. Universal respect of the principles underlying “a legal structure in conformity with the moral order” [5] is a necessary condition for the stability of international life. The quest for such stability has led to the gradual elaboration of a “right of nations” [6] (“ius gentium”), which can be considered as “the ancestor of international law”.[7] Juridical and theological reflection, firmly based on natural law, has formulated “universal principles which are prior to and superior to the internal law of States”,[8] such as the unity of the human race, the equal dignity of every people, the rejection of war as a means for resolving disputes, the obligation to cooperate for attaining the common good and the need to be faithful to agreements undertaken (pacta sunt servanda). This last principle should be especially emphasized in order to avoid “temptation to appeal to the law of force rather than to the force of law”.[9]

438. To resolve the tensions that arise among different political communities and can compromise the stability of nations and international security, it is indispensable to make use of common rules in a commitment to negotiation and to reject definitively the idea that justice can be sought through recourse to war.[10] “If war can end without winners or losers in a suicide of humanity, then we must repudiate the logic which leads to it: the idea that the effort to destroy the enemy, confrontation and war itself are factors of progress and historical advancement”.[11]

Not only does the Charter of the United Nations ban recourse to force, but it rejects even the threat to use force.[12] This provision arose from the tragic experience of the Second World War. During that conflict the Magisterium did not fail to identify certain indispensable factors for building a renewed international order: the freedom and territorial integrity of each nation, defence of the rights of minorities, an equitable sharing of the earth's resources, the rejection of war and an effective plan of disarmament, fidelity to agreements undertaken and an end to religious persecution.[13 ]

439. In order to consolidate the primacy of law, the principle of mutual confidence is of the utmost importance.[14] In this perspective, normative instruments for the peaceful resolution of controversies must be reformulated so as to strengthen their scope and binding force. Processes of negotiation, mediation, conciliation and arbitration that are provided for in international law must be supported with the creation of “a totally effective juridical authority in a peaceful world”.[15] Progress in this direction will allow the international community to be seen no longer as a simple aggregation of States in various moments of their existence, but as a structure in which conflicts can be peacefully resolved. “As in the internal life of individual States ... a system of private vendetta and reprisal has given way to the rule of law, so too a similar step forward is now urgently needed in the international community”.[16] In short, “international law must ensure that the law of the more powerful does not prevail”.[17]

[1] Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1911.[2] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Declaration Nostra Aetate, 5: AAS 58 (1966), 743-744; John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963), 268, 281; Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 63: AAS 59 (1967), 288; Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, 16: AAS 63 (1971), 413; Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, The Church and Racism. Contribution of the Holy See to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Vatican Press, Vatican City 2001.

[3] Pius XII, Christmas Radio Message (24 December 1941): AAS 34 (1942), 16.

[4] John Paul II, Address to the Fiftieth General Assembly of the United Nations (5 October 1995), 3: L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 11 October 1995, p. 8.

[5] John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963), 277.

[6] Cf. Pius XII, Encyclical Letter Summi Pontificatus: AAS 31 (1939), 438-439; Pius XII, Christmas Radio Message (24 December 1941): AAS 34 (1942), 16-17; John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963), 290, 292.

[7] John Paul II, Address to the Diplomatic Corps (12 January 1991), 8: L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 14 January 1991, p. 3.

[8] John Paul II, Message for the 2004 World Day of Peace, 5: AAS 96 (2004), 116.

[9] John Paul II, Message for the 2004 World Day of Peace, 5: AAS 96 (2004), 117; cf. also John Paul II, Message to the Rector of the Pontifical Lateran University (21 March 2002), 6: L'Osservatore Romano, 22 March 2002, p. 6.

[10] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 23: AAS 83 (1991), 820-821.

[11] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 18: AAS 83 (1991), 816.

[12] Cf. Charter of the United Nations (26 June 1945), art. 2.4; John Paul II, Message for the 2004 World Day of Peace, 6: AAS 96 (2004), 117.

[13] Cf. Pius XII, Christmas Radio Message (24 December 1941): AAS 34 (1942), 18.

[14] Cf. Pius XII, Christmas Radio Message (24 December 1945): AAS 38 (1946), 22; John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963), 287-288.

[15] John Paul II, Address to the International Court of Justice, The Hague (13 May 1985), 4: AAS 78 (1986), 520.

[16] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 52: AAS 83 (1991), 858.

[17] John Paul II, Message for the 2004 World Day of Peace, 9: AAS 96 (2004), 120.