Wisdom for this Generation
From the pastoral constitution
on the Church in the modern world
of the Second Vatican Council
Reeducation for peace
Men must not be content simply
to support the efforts of others in the work for peace; they must also
scrutinize their own attitudes. Statesmen, responsible as they are for the
common good of their own nation and at the same time for the well-being of the
whole world, are very much dependent on the opinions and convictions of the
general public. Their efforts to secure peace are of no avail as long as men
are divided or set against each other by feelings of hostility, contempt and
distrust, by racial hatred or by inflexible ideologies. There is then a very
great and urgent need to reeducate men and to provide fresh inspiration in the
field of public opinion.
Those engaged in education,
especially among young people, and those who influence public opinion, should
consider it a very serious responsibility to work for the reeducation of
mankind to a new attitude toward peace. We must all undergo a change of heart.
We must look out on the whole world and see the tasks that we can all do
together to promote the well-being of the family of man. We must not be misled
by a false sense of hope. Unless antagonism and hatred are abandoned, unless
binding and honest agreements are concluded, safeguarding universal peace in
the future, mankind, already in grave peril, may well face in spite of its
marvelous advance in knowledge that day of disaster when it knows no other
peace than the awful peace of death.
In saying this, however, the
Church of Christ, living as it does in the midst of these anxious times,
continues unwaveringly in hope. Time and again, in season and out of season, it
seeks to proclaim to our age the message of the Apostle: Now is the hour of God’s
favor, the hour for change of heart; now is the day of salvation.
To build peace, the causes of
human discord which feed the fires of war must first be eliminated, and among
these especially the violations of justice. Many of these causes are due to
gross economic inequality and delay in providing necessary remedies. Others
arise from a spirit of domination and from a contempt for others, and, among
more fundamental causes, from human envy, distrust, pride and other forms of
selfishness. Since man cannot bear so many violations of due order, the result
is that, even where war does not rage, the world is constantly plagued by human
conflict and acts of violence.
The same evils are also found
in relations between nations. It is therefore absolutely necessary that
international institutions should cooperate more effectively, more resolutely
and with greater coordination of effort, in order to overcome or prevent these
evils, and to check unbridled acts of violence. There must also be constant
encouragement for the creation of organizations designed to promote peace.
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