The following is the theme of the message for the 52nd World Day of Peace, to be held on 1 January 2019:

“Good politics is at the service of peace”

Comment:

Every citizen bears political responsibility, and in particular those who have received the mandate to protect and govern. This mission consists of safeguarding the law and encouraging dialogue between figures of society, among generations and among cultures. There is no peace without mutual trust. And trust has as a first condition respect for the given word. Political commitment – which is one of the highest expressions of charity – involves concern for the future of life and the planet, the youngest and smallest, and their thirst for fulfilment.

When man is respected in his rights – as Saint John XXIII reiterated in the Encyclical Pacen in terries (1963) – this gives rise in him to a sense of duty to respect the rights of others. The rights and duties of man increase awareness of belonging to the same community, with others and with God (cf. ivi, 45). We are therefore called to bear and announce peace as the good news of a future in which every living being is considered in his or her dignity and rights.