May the earth be freed from violence

On the 60th anniversary of the radio message with which John XXIII intervened at the height of the Cold War to avert the nuclear threat during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Pope Francis, at the Colosseum, renewed his predecessor’s “cry for peace”, together with leaders of Christian Churches and of World Religions who took part in the Prayer Meeting organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio. Hundreds of people attended the event in the square outside the highly symbolic Flavian Amphitheatre. There, the Bishop of Rome and other religious leaders signed a joint appeal to peoples and government leaders so that dialogue might prevail over evil and the name of God not be used as an instrument of conflict. The signing of the appeal was the culminating moment of the 36th International Meeting of Prayer for Peace, held in Rome from 23 to 25 October ...