Voice from the Vatican

In a warmongering world of aggression, volatility and unabashed violence, we need voices of sanity. When we witness total devastation in the wake of war - with missiles and drones streaking through the skies, bulldozing homes, hospitals and schools - we see a civilisation decimated. Rebuilding the world to restore the status quo would require the making of an entire civilisation anew.

Yet, powerful nations advocate for, and are actively involved in, war; the less powerful turn into bystanders, mute spectators who, at best, raise voices of dissent and, in a sense, become approvers. The collective conscience is laid to rest, history forgotten in the name of strategy, neutrality and convenient alliances.

It is at this moment that we hear Pope Leo's voice, loud, clear and sane, calling for dialogue and diplomacy, condemning death of civilians and attacks on institutions. Religion cannot be a defence or rationale for war, nor should it be manipulated to further violence and greed. God cannot be desecrated for economic or political gain.


When he was reprimanded and told to restrict himself to matters of theology, the Pope delivered a powerful message: in a world ravaged by tyrants, peace is everybody's responsibility, and prayer its redemption. John Steinbeck once said, 'War is the symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal,' and we now need to think in terms more constructive peace than fragile ceasefires.