…Calls for unarmed peace amid threat of war
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“We all desire this peace for nations wounded by conflict, but let us remember that harmony and respect begin in our daily relationships, in the gestures and words we exchange at home, at the parish, with schoolmates, in sports,” he stated.
He also urged young Catholics to portray Christ as the ‘Prince of Peace’ as revealed in the Book of Isaiah where his birth underlines the true meaning of the word, which is not merely the absence of war, but friendship among peoples based on justice.
The Pope added that peace is a gift that can only be found in the heart, adding that promoting it is a ‘Catholic action’ par excellence, because it is the gesture that makes Catholic faithful witnesses of Jesus, as the redeemer of the world.
The Pontiff also urged the youth to pray before the Nativity scene so as to be able to spread peace to people around them. The Pope stated that in looking at the various figures present in the Nativity scenes that may have been set up in homes, schools, and parishes, young people can see how there is room for everyone, from the example of Jesus’ sacrifice to save mankind.
Pope Leo reminded the young people that the Lord “makes room for every person, every child, teenager, young person, and elderly person,” in line with the 2025 theme of the Catholic Action’s youth groups, ‘There is room for everyone.’
“When the Son of God comes into the world, He doesn’t find room in a house, but knocks on our hearts just as He opens His own to welcome everyone with love.”
Pope Leo XIV invited young people of Catholic Action to ask to be like the angels who proclaim God’s glory and peace to all when they pray before the Nativity scenes. “This peace is the commitment of every person of good will, and especially of us Christians, who are called not only to be good, but to become better every day.”
Similarly, the Pope has called for disarmament, dialogue and the conversion of hearts as necessary conditions for a lasting and unarmed peace, as the Church observes the World Day of Peace on January 1, 2026.
“The peace of the risen Jesus is unarmed. His was an unarmed struggle in the midst of concrete historical, political and social circumstances,” the Pope stated, reiterating that the Gospel links peace and nonviolence.
The Pope made the appeal in his first message for the observance, on the back of the seriousness of the moment while proposing a vision of peace that is “unarmed and disarming,” resisting violence not through force but through moral clarity, dialogue and the conversion of hearts.
According to him, ‘Peace be with you!’— the greeting of the risen Christ stands at the centre of the message for the World Day of Peace. He however warned against fear as the currency of way, stating that when societies lose sight of peace as a lived reality, they accept narratives in which war appears inevitable, even necessary.
“It is no coincidence that repeated calls to increase military spending, and the choices that follow, are presented by many government leaders as a justified response to external threats.
“The idea of the deterrent power of military might, especially nuclear deterrence, is based on the irrationality of relations between nations, built not on law, justice and trust, but on fear and domination by force,” the Pope stated.
His message highlights a shift in political and cultural attitudes, where preparedness for war is viewed as prudent and disarmament as naïve. He warned that the normalisation of confrontation, which currently dominates global politics, undermine diplomacy and international law. “When peace is not a reality that is lived, cultivated and protected, then aggression spreads into domestic and public life.”
The Pope also addressed the role of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), in military decision-making; calling it a “destructive betrayal of the legal and philosophical principles of humanism,” as machines increasingly assume responsibility for life-and-death choices, while economic interests drive rearmament.
