Pope urges people to protect, cultivate even smallest signs of peace, hope

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Editor’s note: Bishop Joseph Kopacz serves on the International Justice and Peace committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He and others will be traveling to the Holy Land this month. Please pray for peace in our world and take a moment to read the full text of Pope Leo XIV’s message for World Day of Peace at https://bit.ly/49piqTt.

Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, smiles as he appears at the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican following his election as pope May 8, 2025. The new pope was born in Chicago. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

By Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The “confrontational” tone dominating both global and national politics is “deepening instability and unpredictability day by day,” Pope Leo XIV wrote in his message for World Peace 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,” he wrote in the message for the Jan. 1 observance.

But peace must be protected and cultivated, Pope Leo said. “Even when it is endangered within us and around us, like a small flame threatened by a storm, we must protect it.”
Throughout the coming year, Pope Leo will give visiting heads of state signed copies of his message, which was released by the Vatican Dec. 18, and Vatican ambassadors will distribute it to government leaders in the countries where they serve.

(Read the entirety of Pope Leo XIV’s message for World Day of Peace at https://bit.ly/49piqTt)