“We are standing on the edge of a precipice. Whether we take a step forward and descend into insanity or take a step back is up to us. Let us hope that the decision taken will be the only one that offers a possible future.” Archbishop Giovanni Ricchiuti made these comments in response to President Trump’s announcement that the US would immediately begin testing new nuclear weapons in response to testing being carried out by other countries. In a post on Truth before his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Gyeongju, South Korea, the US president wrote, “Because of other countries’ testing programmes, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis. This process will begin immediately.” Archbishop Ricchiuti is preparing to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Pax Christi International Movement. To mark the occasion, a world meeting will be held in Florence from 5 to 9 November, focusing on the theme ’80 years of building bridges for the future’. The event will bring together Church leaders, theologians, peace workers, and young activists from around the world. The Italian Bishops’ Conference’s President, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, will be present at the event.
Monsignor Ricchiuti, the Pax Christi movement is celebrating its 80th anniversary. Yet the news from around the world is dominated by stories about weapons and war. How do you explain this?
The world is rearming. There is little room for wishful thinking — we are in the midst of a rearmament race. Every day, we hear calls for a return to an outdated past when nuclear weapons were considered a solution to war. I could never have imagined that the Pax Christi International Movement’s 80th anniversary and the Pax Christi Movement in Italy’s 70th anniversary, both celebrated last year, would be marked in this way. The idea that Europe, America and the rest of the world could be lured back to a future that, as Pope John Paul II said, amounts to a dead end was unthinkable. We had hoped that the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons would put the world on a new path. But this is not the case.
However, I must say that, during my journeys around Italy, I meet people who are increasingly of the opinion that the path of rearmament is the wrong one. I see a reawakening.
Is this the peoples’ prophecy?
It is more than that. In the past months and years, the ‘people of peace’ have been speaking out against that future, against rearmament and against this insane nuclear arms race. Unfortunately, however, we are not being listened to. While our governments remain silent, people are praying, taking action and committing themselves to saying firmly: ‘No, this is not the way.’ The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church reminds us that peace is achieved through peace and cannot be separated from justice. And yet, this mindset struggles to take hold. A warmongering mentality still holds sway and is showing no signs of abating. We are not being listened to while a painful paradox becomes increasingly evident.
The arms race is causing schools, infrastructure and healthcare to be neglected, and six million Italians are now living in absolute poverty. We must ask ourselves: is this really the right path?
What role can Christians play in all this?
As Christians, we must continue to speak out and bear witness because we are challenged by the future and the words of the Gospel that proclaim it: ‘The days will come… they will be called blessed… for they shall inherit the earth.’ This future should inspire us, not frighten us, and encourage us to move forward every day. In short, we must resist the temptation to resign ourselves to the idea that war is inevitable.
Another world is still possible, a world that takes a different path.
If you had the chance to address the world’s major leaders — the people who hold the fate of entire populations in their hands today — what would you say?
First of all, I would issue a plea for humanity. We are living in a time when humanity itself has been dismissed. Rediscovering our lost humanity is crucial. I would then appeal to the leaders’ sense of reason because war is inhuman; it pushes us out of the realm of reason and makes us unreasonable. Only by restoring reason and humanity can we hope to stop this madness. We will continue our commitment through prayer, thought and peace demonstrations, however small our efforts may be. There is a community of people who pray and act for peace.
To political leaders, I would say: rediscover your humanity, rediscover reason, and rediscover your role as heads of state and government who practise the highest form of love for their peoples in politics.
