We publish a letter from Pope Francis to the Italian daily newspaper “Corriere della Sera” editor-in-chief Luciano Fontana, written in response to Fontana’s message of support during the Pope’s illness. In the letter, the Pope asks Fontana to relaunch and amplify his appeal for peace and disarmament.
Dear Director,
I wish to thank you for the words of closeness with which you have expressed your presence in this moment of illness, in which, as I have already said, war appears even more absurd. Human fragility has the power to make us more lucid about what endures and what passes, what brings life and what kills. Perhaps for this reason, we so often tend to deny limits and avoid fragile and wounded people: they have the power to question the direction we have chosen, both as individuals and as a community.
I would like to encourage you and all those who dedicate their work and intelligence to informing, through communication tools that now connect our world in real time, to feel the full importance of words. They are never just words: they are facts that shape human environments. They can connect or divide, serve the truth or use it for other ends. We must disarm words, to disarm minds and disarm the Earth. There is a great need for reflection, calmness, and an awareness of complexity.
While war only devastates communities and the environment, without offering solutions to conflicts, diplomacy and international organizations are in need of new vitality and credibility. Religions, moreover, can draw from the spirituality of peoples to rekindle the desire for fraternity and justice, the hope for peace.
All this requires commitment, work, silence, and words. Let us feel united in this effort, which heavenly Grace will continue to inspire and accompany.
Francis
Rome, Policlinico Gemelli, March 14, 2025
