Religious leaders gathered in Rome: War is 'a failure of humanity'

By Francesca Sabatinelli

Religious leaders present at the Community of Sant'Egidio's annual Meeting for Peace sat side by side in Rome's iconic Colosseum, which has become a modern symbol of the struggle against violence and a place of prayer for peace.

They gathered to engage in discussions dedicated to seeking peace and denouncing inequality, indifference toward Creation and toward the life of future generations.

Death and fear in Sudan

During the event, Pope Leo XIV and the heads of various religions welcomed the voice of someone who experienced the horrific, and yet so-often forgotten, war in Sudan. 

READ POPE LEO XIV'S FULL DISCOURSE

Omer Malla Ali, a thirty-one year old doctor, shared his recollection of when death and fear invaded his country, and resulted in a conflict that has lasted two and a half years.

He committed himself to pursuing peace, and left much of his life behind. Omer became a refugee in Ethiopia, and was later welcomed in Italy, arriving in Rome through the humanitarian corridors of the Community of Sant’Egidio.

He appealed to those listening to pray for peace in Sudan and in every place where war still rages, because “peace is not only the absence of war, but the presence of love, of dignity, and of humanity.”

Opening paths of peace

"It is no longer the time to wait," the religious leaders insisted in their joint appeal.

Rather, they underscored, it is time to show courage, by pursuing peace, because one cannot stand still before “millions of children, elderly, women, and men who suffer the consequences of war.”

They denounced fear, nationalism, ethnic and racial hatred, as well as the use of force, which tramples international law and weakens the institutions born to protect the world from war. The consequences are violence, aggression, and the justification of conflicts, where people fall into the illusion “that a better future can be built against others and without others.”

Yet the leaders argued “that there is never a future without the other.”

A change of paradigm

Thus, from the heart of Rome, the faith leaders reiterated that “peace is the unheeded cry of entire peoples, of refugees, of children, of women,” and they called for “a disarmed and disarming peace.”

There can be no future, they said, “if war replaces diplomacy and dialogue in the resolution of conflicts.”

Calling for peace, an end to wars, and reconciliation, the leaders appealed for “security founded on dialogue and not on the escalation of arms production and threats.”

From the stage in the Colosseum, the Community of Sant’Egidio recounted the road traveled over these thirty-nine years, continuing the encounter with the constant conviction that “peace is always possible,” that “prayer can change history,” and that “God listens to the cries and groans of those who suffer war.”

The President of the Community of Sant’Egidio, Marco Impagliazzo, highlighted that in the face of so many open conflicts, they continue their commitment to peace.

With this perspective, he reiterated that war and evil will not have the final word, because “peace is always possible.”

Finally, after recalling Pope Leo XIV's words of hope, Impagliazzo announced that next year will mark forty years of dialogue and encounter, and will take place once again in Assisi, the city of Saint Francis, where everything began on 26 October 1986.