Pope Addresses World Peace Day: Africa Needs New Direction

1st January will mark World Peace Day. The Pope John Paul II last week delivered his address for the day, urging the world to foster peace by overcoming evil with good.

Particularly, the Pope expressed his deep love for the innocents who have suffered and sacrificed in the wars around the world. He lamented the millions of lives lost in his "beloved Africa"; the "torn fabric of mutual understanding" in Palestine; "terrorist violence that appears to be driving the whole world towards a future of fear and anguish"; and the situation in Iraq, "which has given rise to uncertainty and insecurity for all".

For Africa, he commented that the continent needs a radically new direction. To the fact that Africa is burdened by poverty, political instability and widespread insecurity for such a long time, the Pope described it is a "tragic situation".

He writes, "May Africa cease to be a mere recipient of aid, and become a responsible agent of convinced and productive sharing." Debt and trade rules in Africa are described as "grave obstacles to peace which urgently need to be addressed and resolved".

While the world focuses on fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals, the Pope urges growth on the quantity of work being done, otherwise, he stressed, the poor countries will remain trapped in a vicious circle.

With a Christian teaching of emptying oneself to fill up others, the Pope called for a "clear and conscious acknowledgement" of the interdependence between wealthy and poor countries.

"Moral and economic mobilisation" on agreements made with the poor countries and the review of those that have proved "excessively burdensome" are urgently demanded.

Nowadays, science and technology mainly benefits the wealthy countries. The Pope said that they should be "put at the service of humanity’s basic needs".

In conclusion, the Pope encourages all Christians to uphold the Christian truth of peace in their lives to make a difference to the world, "each person, in some way, to work for the common good".