Reflections for International Day of Peace, 21^st September

Justice, right reason and humanity urgently demand that the arms race should cease; that the stockpiles that exist in various countries should be reduced equally and simultaneously by the parties concerned; that nuclear weapons should be banned; and that a general agreement should eventually be reached about progressive disarmament and an effective method of control.
- Pacem in Terris. Pope John xxiii 1963. #112

Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities or of extensive areas along with their population is a crime against God and humanity. It merits unequivocal and unhesitating condemnation.
- Gaudium et Spes. Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World. 1965. #80

The arms race is an utterly treacherous trap for humanity and one which injures the poor to an intolerable degree.
- Ibid #81

Peace cannot be limited to a mere absence of war….No, peace is something that is built up day after day in pursuit of an order intended by God which implies a more perfect form of justice among people.
- Populorum Progressio –the Development of Peoples. Pope Paul vi 1967 #