VATICAN - Benedict XVI: "Educating men and women in peace is part of the mission received from Christ, it is an integral part of evangelization"

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - "For the ecclesial community, educating men and women in peace is part of the mission received from Christ, it is an integral part of evangelization, because the Gospel of Christ is also the Gospel of justice and peace", said the Holy Father Benedict XVI during the Mass celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday, 1 January 2012, on the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God and the 45th World Day of Peace on the theme: "Educating young people for justice and peace".
The Pope stressed that "the Church, in recent times, has articulated a demand that effects everyone with a sensitive and responsible conscience regarding humanity’s future; the demand to respond to a decisive challenge that consists precisely in education" then he continued: "in the face of the shadows that obscure the horizon of today’s world, to assume responsibility for educating young people in knowledge of the truth, in fundamental values and virtues, is to look to the future with hope. And in this commitment to a holistic education, formation in justice and peace has a place".
Boys and girls today are growing up "in a world that has, so to speak, become smaller, where contacts between different cultures and traditions, even if not always direct, are constant. For them, now more than ever, it is indispensable to learn the importance and the art of peaceful coexistence, mutual respect, dialogue and understanding. Young people by nature are open to these attitudes, but the social reality in which they grow up can lead them to think and act in the opposite way, even to be intolerant and violent. Only a solid education of their consciences can protect them from these risks and make them capable of carrying the fight, depending always and solely on the power of truth and good".
This education begins in the family, and is developed at school and in other formative experiences. It is essentially about helping "infants, children, adolescents, to develop a personality that combines a profound sense of justice with respect for their neighbour, with a capacity to address conflicts without arrogance, with the inner strength to bear witness to good, even when it involves sacrifice, with forgiveness and reconciliation", he added. In this task of educating young generations, "a particular responsibility lies with religious communities", the Pope continued, because "every pathway of authentic religious formation guides the person, from the most tender age, to know God, to love him and to do his will . God is love, he is just and peaceable, and anyone wishing to honor him must first of all act like a child following his father's example". (SL) (Agenzia Fides 02/01/2012)