Pope asks lawmakers to fight cynicism, be witnesses of hope

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis asked Catholic legislators to be examples and witnesses of hope to young people who are bombarded with "messages of pessimism and cynicism."

"How important it is for them to see models of hope and idealism," the pope told members of the International Catholic Legislators Network during an audience at the Vatican Aug. 24.

The legislators were holding their annual meeting outside Rome Aug. 22-25 and focused this year on the theme, "The World at War: Permanent Crises and Conflicts -- What Does It Mean for Us?"

Pope Francis told them he was "not exaggerating" when he when described the multiple armed conflicts in the world as being "a third world war fought piecemeal."

The situation "seems permanent and unstoppable," he said. "This ongoing crisis seriously jeopardizes the patient efforts made by the international community, above all through multilateral diplomacy, to encourage cooperation in addressing the grave injustices and the pressing social, economic and environmental challenges facing our human family."

All people of goodwill, but especially legislators who claim to be inspired by the Gospel, must renounce war as a suitable means of resolving conflicts and establishing justice, he said. "War is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil."

Using negotiation and mediation to resolve conflicts is not a surrender, the pope said; relying on violence and war is the real capitulation, and it always leaves a country and its people worse off than before.

"Moreover, the enormous destructive capacity of contemporary weaponry has effectively rendered the traditional boundaries of warfare obsolete," he said. "In many instances, the distinction between military and civilian targets is increasingly erased. Our consciences cannot fail to be moved by the scenes of death and destruction daily before our eyes."

"We need to hear the cry of the poor, the 'widows and orphans' of which the Bible speaks, in order to see the abyss of evil at the heart of war and to resolve by every means possible to choose peace," Pope Francis told the lawmakers.

The pope also asked them to support efforts to reform and renew the United Nations and other international bodies founded to promote peace and cooperation. "In this regard," he said, "particular attention needs to be paid to upholding international humanitarian law and providing it with ever more solid juridical foundations."

In addition, promoting peace "naturally entails working for an ever more just distribution of the earth's goods, ensuring the integral development of individuals and peoples, and in this way overcoming the scandalous inequalities and injustices that fuel long-term conflicts and generate further injustices and acts of violence worldwide."

Pope Francis asked the Catholic legislators to be "witnesses of hope, particularly to the rising generation. War is not hope, war does not give hope. May your commitment to the common good, buoyed by trust in Christ's promises, serve as an example for our young people."

The challenge for all Christians, especially lawmakers, he said, "is to find the wisdom and strength to see beyond the clouds, to read the authentic signs of the times and, with the hope born of faith, to inspire others, especially the young, to work for a better tomorrow."