Cardinal Tobin:
Peace, a gift of God’s unconditional love, is our responsibility

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Vol. 7. No. 12

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

Peace be with you. This powerful greeting, which our Redeemer used when he first appeared to the disciples after his resurrection, was the first thing Pope Leo XIV said to us when he began his Petrine ministry on May 8, 2025. And based on his many reflections on the importance of peace in today’s world, I believe it’s fair to say that our new Holy Father has been emphasizing peace ever since.

Earlier this month, in my newsletter dated January 2, I quoted from Pope Leo’s homilies in Türkiye and Lebanon:

Dear brothers and sisters, all that has happened in these recent days in Türkiye and Lebanon teaches us that peace is possible, and that Christians in dialogue with men and women of other faiths and cultures can contribute to building it up.  Let us not forget that peace is possible!

The Holy Father insists that “peace is possible.” He counsels us to resist the temptation to give up hope or to acquiesce to the fear that our efforts to build a genuine peace are hopeless. It’s true that peace is difficult to achieve and to sustain, and that without God’s help, we have little or no chance of succeeding as permanent peacemakers. But God is always with us, challenging us and encouraging us in our efforts to make peace a reality—in our hearts, our homes, our communities, and our world.

Pope Leo’s message for the World Day of Peace 2026 (see selection below) is a continuation of the dialogue about peace that began in modern times with Pope Saint John XXIII’s 1963 encyclical Pacem in Terris, and that has involved the thinking of all recent popes. (Even Pope John Paul I, whose brief time in office did not allow for sustained reflection on this subject, observed during his Angelus Message on September 10, 1978, that “All men are hungry and thirsty for peace, especially the poor, who pay more and suffer more in troubled times and in wars.”)

As he continues the discussion of his predecessors about peace on earth, Pope Leo makes two points that are especially worthy of our reflection. First, he says that “the peace of the risen Jesus is unarmed, because his was an unarmed struggle in the midst of concrete historical, political and social circumstances.” An unarmed peace can only exist when there is a radical commitment to nonviolence. This means that genuine peace can only exist in an environment that is free from all repression or fear. “The idea of the deterrent power of military might, especially nuclear deterrence,” the Holy Father says, “is based on the irrationality of relations between nations, built not on law, justice and trust, but on fear and domination by force.”

Secondly, Pope Leo says that because “goodness is disarming,” genuine peace requires that we surrender our arms. Quoting Saint John XXIII, he says:

Everyone must realize that, unless this process of disarmament be thoroughgoing and complete, and reach people’s very souls, it is impossible to stop the arms race, or to reduce armaments, or — and this is the main thing — ultimately to abolish them entirely. Everyone must sincerely co-operate in the effort to banish fear and the anxious expectation of war from our minds. But this requires that the fundamental principles upon which peace is based in today’s world be replaced by an altogether different one, namely, the realization that true and lasting peace among nations cannot consist in the possession of an equal supply of armaments but only in mutual trust.

Peace only comes when we have banished all resentment and fear, when we have learned to forgive past offenses and when we have begun to trust each other. Disarmament must be “thoroughgoing and complete, and reach people’s very souls,” Otherwise the fragile ceasefires we accomplish cannot last.

Peace is a gift of God’s unconditional love, Pope Leo tells us. But because it is a precious gift that is too easily neglected or abused, we who long for peace must accept the serious responsibility of nurturing it, caring for it, and always guarding it. If we neglect this sacred duty or take it for granted, the consequences will be dire.  

This is what Pope Leo calls “the disarming work of diplomacy.” It is the hard work of peacemaking and peacekeeping that has been entrusted to world leaders from very different cultures, religions, socio-political and economic points of view. But it would be a serious mistake to think that humankind can afford to hand over this disarming work to a relatively few “experts.” In fact, we are all responsible for building peace in our world. Unless all of us insist on treating one another with dignity, respect, and justice, we will never be able to achieve the peace that we long for and that we know God expects us to build and sustain.

To help us in the difficult work of peacemaking, we must turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, and ask her to help us to forgive one another, listen to each other, and trust and respect all our sisters and brothers. Above all, we must ask Mary, Mother of the Church, to accompany us and to encourage us as we surrender our arms and trust that the grace of God will protect us and free us from every evil that threatens us. May the Holy Mother of God guide us on our quest for the Peace of Christ, which is disarming and unarmed. May the Queen of Peace help us to accept the serious responsibility for taking care of and sharing this precious gift of God’s unconditional love.

Sincerely yours in Christ the Redeemer,
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.
Archbishop of Newark

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Second Edition, 1997
Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Anger is a desire for revenge. “To desire vengeance in order to do evil to someone who should be punished is illicit,” but it is praiseworthy to impose restitution “to correct vices and maintain justice.” If anger reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound a neighbor, it is gravely against charity; it is a mortal sin. The Lord says, “Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.”

2303.  Deliberate hatred is contrary to charity. Hatred of the neighbor is a sin when one deliberately wishes him evil. Hatred of the neighbor is a grave sin when one deliberately desires him grave harm. “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.”

2304.    Respect for and development of human life require peace. Peace is not merely the absence of war, and it is not limited to maintaining a balance of powers between adversaries. Peace can not be attained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity. Peace is “the tranquility of order.” Peace is the work of justice and the effect of charity.

2305.    Earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ, the messianic “Prince of Peace.” By the blood of his Cross, “in his own person he killed the hostility,” he reconciled men with God and made his Church the sacrament of the unity of the human race and of its union with God. “He is our peace.” He has declared: “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
2306.    Those who renounce violence and bloodshed and, in order to safeguard human rights, make use of those means of defense available to the weakest, bear witness to evangelical charity, provided they do so without harming the rights and obligations of other men and societies. They bear legitimate witness to the gravity of the physical and moral risks of recourse to violence, with all its destruction and death.

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A Message from Pope Leo XIV:
In the One Christ We are One

An unarmed peace

Shortly before being arrested, in a moment of intimate confidence, Jesus said to those who were with him: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.”  And he immediately added: “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (Jn 14:27). Their distress and fear were certainly connected to the violence soon to befall him. But, more deeply, the Gospels do not hide the fact that what troubled the disciples was his nonviolent response: a path that they all, Peter first among them, contested; yet the Master asked them to follow this path to the end. The way of Jesus continues to cause unease and fear. He firmly repeats to those who would defend him by force: “Put your sword back into its sheath” (Jn18:11; cf. Mt 26:52).

The peace of the risen Jesus is unarmed, because his was an unarmed struggle in the midst of concrete historical, political and social circumstances. Christians must together bear prophetic witness to this novelty, mindful of the tragedies in which they have too often been complicit. The great parable of the Last Judgment invites all Christians to act with mercy in this awareness (cf. Mt 25:31-46). In doing so, they will find brothers and sisters at their side who, in different ways, have listened to the pain of others and freed themselves inwardly from the deception of violence.

Although many people today have hearts ready for peace, they are often overcome by a great sense of powerlessness before an increasingly uncertain world.  Saint Augustine had already pointed out this particular paradox: “It is not difficult to possess peace; it is, perhaps, more difficult to praise it. To praise peace, we may find that we lack the necessary talent; we search for the right ideas and weigh our words. But to have peace, it is there, within reach, and we can possess it without effort.”

When we treat peace as a distant ideal, we cease to be scandalized when it is denied, or even when war is waged in its name. We seem to lack those “right ideas,” the well-considered words and the ability to say that peace is near. When peace is not a reality that is lived, cultivated, and protected, then aggression spreads into domestic and public life. In the relations between citizens and rulers, it could even be considered a fault not to be sufficiently prepared for war, not to react to attacks, and not to return violence for violence. Far beyond the principle of legitimate defense, such confrontational logic now dominates global politics, deepening instability and unpredictability day by day. 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.

A disarming peace

Goodness is disarming. Perhaps this is why God became a child. The mystery of the Incarnation, which reaches its deepest descent even to the realm of the dead, begins in the womb of a young mother and is revealed in the manger in Bethlehem. “Peace on earth,” sing the angels, announcing the presence of a defenseless God, in whom humanity can discover itself as loved only by caring for him (cf. Lk 2:13-14). Nothing has the power to change us as much as a child. Perhaps it is precisely the thought of our children and of others who are equally fragile, that cuts to the heart (cf. Acts 2:37). In this regard, my predecessor wrote that “human fragility has the power to make us more lucid about what endures and what passes, what brings life and what kills. Perhaps for this reason, we so often tend to deny our limitations and avoid fragile and wounded people: they have the power to question the direction we have chosen, both as individuals and as a community.”

John XXIII was the first pope to advocate “integral disarmament,” which can only be achieved through renewal of the heart and mind.  In Pacem in Terris, he wrote: “Everyone must realize that, unless this process of disarmament be thoroughgoing and complete, and reach people’s very souls, it is impossible to stop the arms race, or to reduce armaments, or — and this is the main thing — ultimately to abolish them entirely. Everyone must sincerely co-operate in the effort to banish fear and the anxious expectation of war from our minds. But this requires that the fundamental principles upon which peace is based in today’s world be replaced by an altogether different one, namely, the realization that true and lasting peace among nations cannot consist in the possession of an equal supply of armaments but only in mutual trust. And we are confident that this can be achieved, for it is a thing which not only is dictated by common sense but is in itself most desirable and most fruitful of good.”

An essential service that religions must render to a suffering humanity is to guard against the growing temptation to weaponize even thoughts and words. The great spiritual traditions, as well as right reason, teach us to look beyond blood ties or ethnicity, beyond associations that accept only those who are similar and reject those who are different. Today, we see that this cannot be taken for granted. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly common to drag the language of faith into political battles, to bless nationalism, and to justify violence and armed struggle in the name of religion. Believers must actively refute, above all by the witness of their lives, these forms of blasphemy that profane the holy name of God. Therefore, alongside action, it is more necessary than ever to cultivate prayer, spirituality, and ecumenical and interreligious dialogue as paths of peace and as languages of encounter within traditions and cultures. Throughout the world, it is to be hoped that “every community become a ‘house of peace,’ where one learns how to defuse hostility through dialogue, where justice is practiced and forgiveness is cherished.” Now more than ever, we must show that peace is not a utopia by fostering attentive and life-giving pastoral creativity.

At the same time, this should in no way detract from the importance of the political dimension. Those entrusted with the highest public responsibility must “give serious thought to the problem of achieving more humane relations between States throughout the world. This adjustment must be based on mutual trust, sincerity in negotiations and the faithful fulfillment of obligations. Every aspect of the problem must be examined, so that, eventually, a point of agreement may emerge from which sincere, lasting, and beneficial treaties can be initiated.” This is the disarming path of diplomacy, mediation and international law, which is sadly too often undermined by the growing violations of hard-won treaties, at a time when what is needed is the strengthening of supranational institutions, not their delegitimization.

Selections from the Message of Pope Leo XIV for the 59^th World Day of Peace, January 1, 2026.

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My Prayer for You  

Please join me in expressing a profound desire for peace as shared with us by Pope Leo XIV in his Angelus Message for January 1, the World Day of Peace:

Since 1 January 1968, at the request of Pope Saint Paul VI, today the World Day of Peace is celebrated. In my Message, I wanted to repeat the wish that the Lord suggested to me when calling me to this service: “Peace be with you all!” A peace that is unarmed and disarming, which comes from God, a gift of his unconditional love, and is entrusted to our responsibility.

Dear friends, with the grace of Christ, let us begin today to build a year of peace, disarming our hearts and refraining from all violence.

May the Holy Mother of God guide us on our journey in the new year.

Amen