Truth, justice and mercy are essential to building peace

Pope Francis’s encyclical Fratelli Tutti (On Social Friendship) was published nearly two years ago in Assisi on October 3, 2020, on the Vigil of the Feast of Saint Francis. It is a prophetic vision for all people who seriously want to build a lasting peace.

Peace is something we can never take for granted. It is not established “once and for all” but must be built continuously in every time and place through the hard work and prayer of people who long for it. Peace is the product of forgiveness and of respect for the fundamental rights and dignity of all. It is not simply the absence of conflict or warfare, but it is the proactive presence of a state of mind that promotes fellowship, harmony and co-responsibility among diverse peoples and cultures.

Peace does not mean that all disagreements and differences have been eliminated. As Pope Francis says in Fratelli Tutti, peace is not “empty diplomacy, dissimulation, double-speak, hidden agendas and good manners that mask reality.” Genuine peace comes when we are able to face the hard truths about each other and our world. Peace requires that we confront our enemies not with hatred or the desire for revenge, but with a willingness to work through our serious problems in an effort to find common ground and achieve the common good.

“Those who were fierce enemies have to speak from the stark and clear truth,” the pope says. “They have to learn how to cultivate a penitential memory, one that can accept the past in order not to cloud the future with their own regrets, problems and plans.” We build peace not by forgetting or ignoring the past but by remembering it in a productive way. Pope Francis calls this a “penitential memory,” which involves remembering with both a deep sorrow for our own sins and a willingness to forgive those who have sinned against us.

Peace cannot be achieved by covering up or denying the deep wounds of the past. Unless the truth is told, past grievances become like open sores that are extremely difficult to heal. Without acknowledging the truth about our past, our present is unsettled and our future is without hope. Peace demands rigorous honesty and the willingness to face, acknowledge and work through the consequences of the wrongs done to us (and by us) in the past.

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