Today we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the publication of the encyclical "Pacem in terris – On Peace Among All Nations in Truth, Justice, Love, and Freedom," which Pope John XXIII issued in response to the acute danger of a new world war. In 1961, a decision was made in Moscow to build the Berlin Wall, and the following year, the Soviet Union deployed medium-range missiles in Cuba (the United States had its missiles in Turkey and Italy). The encyclical emphasizes human rights and responsibilities, calls for a ban on atomic weapons, and appeals for gradual, mutually verifiable disarmament. John XXIII died less than two months after its publication. The title of this famous text was later misused by the communist regime in Czechoslovakia to name a collaborationist association of Catholic priests.
To establish peace in this world is such a noble and lofty task that it cannot be achieved solely by human means, despite all good and commendable intentions. For human society to be the truest image of God's kingdom, heavenly assistance is essential.Therefore, in these sacred days, we urgently call upon the one who, through his painful suffering and death, not only overcame sin, the source of strife and sorrow, but also reconciled humankind with the heavenly Father through his blood: "He alone is our peace: he has made both one … he came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near."
In the liturgy of these days, the message resonates: "Christ, our Lord, has risen; he stood among his disciples and said: Peace be with you, alleluia; and the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord, alleluia." Therefore, he brought us peace, he left us peace: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you; not as the world gives do I give to you."
Let us fervently seek this peace from him.
(John XXIII, conclusion of the encyclical Pacem in terris, April 11, 1963)
