Linda Bordoni – Vatican News
Against a backdrop of escalating conflicts and a renewed reliance on the “logic of brutal force,” the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, led by Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See, hosted the 17th interreligious service for peace on Wednesday, January 28. The event was attended by approximately 300 diplomats, ambassadors, and religious leaders.
The service took place at St. Nicholas of Flüe Church and was organized with the Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva, and Fribourg. It centered on Pope Leo XIV’s Message for the 2026 World Day of Peace: “Peace be with you all.”
Towards an unarmed and disarming peace”.
To conquer without conquest
In his welcoming remarks, Archbishop Balestrero described the service as a counter-narrative to the logic of violence and conflict. “An ‘unarmed and disarming’ peace conquers without conquest and prepares not for battle, but for reconciliation and cooperation,” he said, urging diplomats to resist the “armament” of thoughts and words, and encouraging believers to “reject those forms of blasphemy” in which faith is used to justify violence.
Demanding hope
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who attended the meeting, called on the international community to reject violence. “To give up on peace would mean accepting war as a ‘normal language’ in human and international relations,” he said. “Embracing Pope Leo XIV’s message is not naive optimism, but a demanding hope.”
Referring to the Holy Land, he stressed that a mere ceasefire is insufficient: “There is no lasting peace without justice, but there is no true justice if the other person is not recognized as a person, and not as a tool or an obstacle.”
Humanitarian imperative
A statement delivered on behalf of the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, and read by Vice-President Giles Carbonnier, pointed to the existence of 130 active armed conflicts worldwide and warned against a weakening respect for international humanitarian law.
“If there are 100 steps to peace, the first ones are humanitarian,” the statement affirmed. “Respect for humanitarian law saves lives and preserves paths back to peace.”
