Diplomacy of hope

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WHILE we are having a vin d’honneur, a new year tradition where diplomats are feted in Malacañang to renew the nation’s ties with their respective states, Pope Francis was also meeting with diplomats accredited to the Vatican to discuss the “state of the world” and rally support for whatever diplomatic advocacies the small city-state in Italy is currently pushing.

A cold prevented the 88-year-old pontiff from reading his address but Francis asked an aide to deliver his prepared remarks at the Vatican’s Hall of Blessings.

The Pope urged the diplomats to flesh out a “diplomacy of hope,” even as he decried the increasing polarization in many nations.

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“We see increasingly polarized societies marked by a general sense of fear and distrust of others and the future, which is aggravated by the continuous creation and spread of ‘fake news,’ which not only distorts facts but also perceptions,” he said.

‘… the Pope and his audience of world diplomats in the Vatican know that it will take more than rhetoric to achieve lasting peace in most conflict areas of the globe.’

“This phenomenon generates false images of reality, a climate of suspicion that foments hate, undermines people’s sense of security, and compromises civil coexistence and the stability of entire nations. Tragic examples of this are the attacks on the chairman of the government of the Slovak Republic and the president-elect of the United States of America,” the pontiff continued.

It is usual that whenever the Pope speaks, he embellishes his words with biblical teachings, and on this occasion, he focused on justice, peace, and freedom and how Jesus Christ came to “bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Pope Francis proclaimed that adherence to Christ’s teachings is the only way to “break the chains of hatred and vengeance that bind and to defuse the explosive power of human selfishness, pride, and arrogance, which are the root of every destructive determination to wage war.”

The Pope’s call for peace extended to conflict zones, with a special emphasis on Ukraine and the Holy Land. He called for the international community to help end the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has caused widespread destruction and loss of life.

“My wish for the year 2025 is that the entire international community will work above all to end the conflict that, for almost three years now, has caused so much bloodshed in war-torn Ukraine and has taken an enormous toll of lives, including those of many civilians,” he said.

On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Pope Francis renewed his call for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages. He also prayed that Jerusalem may become a “city of encounter” for people of all faiths and expressed hope for a peaceful two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.

These comforting words and motherhood statements are good to hear, but the Pope and his audience of world diplomats in the Vatican know that it will take more than rhetoric to achieve lasting peace in most conflict areas of the globe.

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