ADDRESS OF JOHN PAUL II
TO THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
AND ECCLESIAL COMMUNITIES AND OF THE WORLD RELIGIONS
Basilica of Saint Francis
27 October 1986
My Brothers and Sisters,
Heads and Representatives of the Christian Churches
and Ecclesial Communities and of the World Religions,
Dear Friends,
1. IN CONCLUDING this World Day of Prayer for Peace, to which you have come from many parts of the world, kindly accepting my invitation, I would like now to express my feelings, as a brother and friend, but also as a believer in Jesus Christ, and, in the Catholic Church, the first witness of faith in him.
2. It is, in fact, my faith conviction which has made me turn to you, representatives of the Christian Churches and Ecclesial Communities and World Religions, in deep love and respect.
If there are many and important differences among us, there is also a common ground, whence to operate together in the solution of this dramatic challenge of our age: true peace or catastrophic war?
For the first time in history, we have come together from every where, Christian Churches and Ecclesial Communities, and World Religions, in this sacred place dedicated to Saint Francis, to witness before the world, each according to his own conviction, about the transcendent quality of peace.
The form and content of our prayers are very different, as we have seen, and there can be no question of reducing them to a kind of common denominator.
4. Yes, in this very difference we have perhaps discovered anew that, regarding the problem of peace and its relation to religious commitment, there is something which binds us together.
There is no peace without a passionate love for peace. There is no peace without a relentless determination to achieve peace.
Peace awaits its prophets. Together we have filled our eyes with visions of peace: they release energies for a new language of peace, for new gestures of peace, gestures which will shatter the fatal chains of divisions inherited from history or spawned by modern ideologies.
Peace awaits its builders. Peace is a workshop, open to all and not just to specialists, savants and strategists. Peace is a universal responsibility: it comes about through a thousand little acts in daily life. By their daily way of living with others, people choose for or against peace.
In this spirit, we invite the world leaders to acknowledge our humble plea for peace to God. But we also ask to recognise their responsibilities and to renew their commitment to work for peace, to implement strategies with courage and vision.
Allow me to address to each one of you, representatives of the Christian Churches and ecclesial communities and of the world religions, gathered in Assisi for this day of prayer, fast and pilgrimage. I thank you again for accepting my invitation to come here for this act of testimony before the world.
