Peace is not the mere absence of war or the
simple maintenance of a balance of power between forces, nor can it be imposed
at the dictate of absolute power. It is called, rightly and properly, a work of
justice. It is the product of order, the order implanted in human society by
its divine founder, to be realised in practice as men hunger and thirst for
ever more perfect justice.
The common good of the human race is subject
to the eternal law as its primary principle, but its requirements in practice
keep changing with the passage of time. The result is that peace is never
established finally and for ever; the building up of peace has to go on all the
time. Again, the human will is weak and wounded by sin; the search for peace
therefore demands from each individual constant control of the passions, and
from legitimate authority untiring vigilance.
Even this is not enough. Peace here on earth
cannot be maintained unless the good of the human person is safeguarded, and
men are willing to trust each other and share their riches of spirit and
talent. If peace is to be established it is absolutely necessary to have a firm
determination to respect other persons and peoples and their dignity, and to be
zealous in the practice of brotherhood. Peace is therefore the fruit also of
love; love goes beyond what justice can achieve. Peace on earth, born of love
for one’s neighbour, is the sign and the effect of the peace of Christ that
flows from God the Father. In his own person the incarnate Son, the Prince of
Peace, reconciled all men to God through his death on the cross. In his human
nature he destroyed hatred and restored unity to all mankind in one people and
one body. Raised on high by the resurrection, he sent the Spirit of love into
the hearts of men.
All Christians are thus urgently summoned to
live the truth in love, and to join all true peacemakers in prayer and work for
peace. Moved by the same spirit, we cannot but praise those who renounce
violence in defence of rights, and have recourse to means of defence otherwise
available to the less powerful as well, provided that this can be done without
injury to the rights and obligations of others or of the community.
From Vatican II pastoral constitution "Gaudium et spes" on the Church in the modern world
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