c. 2004 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY _ In his message for the World Day of Peace, Pope John Paul II on Thursday (Dec. 16) condemned the evils of conflict and poverty in Africa, violence between Israelis and Palestinians, terrorism and the war in Iraq.

He also called on all men and women of goodwill to “overcome evil with good.”

The 84-year-old Roman Catholic pontiff emphasized the role of individuals as well as states and international organizations in fighting “social and political manifestations of evil” in the world.

“Evil is not some impersonal, deterministic force at work in the world. It is the result of human freedom,” he said. “Evil always has a name and a face: the name and the face of those men and women who freely choose it.”

The Vatican issued the pope’s 16-page message, titled “Do Not Be Overcome by Evil but Overcome Evil With Good,” in advance of the World Day of Peace, which the Catholic Church observes annually on Jan. 1.

The text will go to heads of state, government and international organizations and bishops worldwide. The Vatican’s permanent observer at the United Nations traditionally delivers it in person to the U.N. secretary-general.

“If we look to the present state of the world, we cannot help but note the disturbing spread of various social and political manifestations of evil: from social disorders to anarchy and war, from injustice to acts of violence and killing,” John Paul said.

Condemning “outbreaks of violence,” he first cited Africa, where, he said, “conflicts which have already claimed millions of victims are still continuing.”

The pope warned of the “dangerous situation of Palestine, the land of Jesus, where the fabric of mutual understanding, torn by a conflict which is fed daily by acts of violence and reprisal, cannot yet be mended in justice and truth.”

“And what of the troubling phenomenon of terrorist violence, which appears to be driving the whole world towards a future of fear and anguish?” he asked.

John Paul, who strongly opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, said he thought “with profound regret of the drama unfolding in Iraq, which has given rise to tragic situations of uncertainty and insecurity for all.”

The pope stressed the concept of “the common good” to promote peace.

Each person must be “constantly looking out for the good of others as if it were his own,” while political authorities at every level must foster “respect for the integral promotion of the person and his fundamental rights as well as respect for and the promotion of the rights of nations,” he said.

Urging individuals to take on the duties and rights of “a citizen of the world,” John Paul said that globalization is giving such “public goods” as the judiciary and defense systems and highway and railroad networks a global character, “and as a result common interests are daily increasing.”

“We need but think of the fight against poverty, the promotion of peace and security, concern for climate change and disease control,” the pope said. “The international community needs to respond to these interests with a broader network of juridical accords aimed at regulating the use of public goods and inspired by universal principles of fairness and solidarity.”

To reduce poverty, he said, “what is urgently needed is a moral and economic mobilization” to review existing foreign financial aid to developing countries and explore new forms of financing for development.

The pope, a leader in the campaign to cancel the indebtedness of the world’s poorest countries, said that poverty in Africa and elsewhere “remains closely linked” to the still unresolved issue of foreign debt. He also called for trade concessions for developing countries.

John Paul expressed particular concern over the “tragic situations” of conflict, pandemic diseases aggravated by poverty and political instability, which he said lead to widespread insecurity in Africa. He urged “a radically new direction for Africa” through “new forms of solidarity at bilateral and multilateral levels.”

“No man or woman of goodwill can renounce the struggle to overcome evil with good,” the pope said. “This fight can be fought effectively only with the weapons of love. When good overcomes evil, love prevails and where love prevails, there peace prevails.”

MO/PH RNS END