"NOT INDIFFERENT"

God is not indifferent! God cares about mankind! God does not abandon us! At the beginning of the New Year, I would like to share not only this profound conviction but also my cordial good wishes for prosperity, peace and the fulfillment of the hopes of every man and every woman, every family, people and nation throughout the world , including all Heads of State and Government and all religious leaders.

GOD'S GIFT

Peace is both God's gift and a human achievement. As a gift of God, it is entrusted to all men and women, who are called to attain it.

WITNESS TO MERCY

... With the present Jubilee of Mercy I want to invite the Church to pray and work so that every Christian will have a humble and compassionate heart, one capable of proclaiming and witnessing to mercy.

DIGNITY AND RELATIONSHIPS

Personal dignity and interpersonal relationships are what constitutes us as human beings whom God willed to create in His own image and likeness... We are related to all our brothers and sisters, for who we are responsible and with whom we act in solidarity.

"A MENACE TO ... HUMAN FAMILY"

... Indifference represents a menace to the human family... I would ask everyone to take stock of this reality, in order to overcome indifference and to win peace.

INDIFFERENCE SPREADS

The first kind of indifference in human society is indifference to God, which then leads to indifference to one's neighbor and to the environment.

"A GRAVE DERELICTION"

Indifference and lack of commitment constitute a grave dereliction of the duty whereby each of us must work in accordance with our abilities and our role in society for the promotion of the common good, and in particular for peace, which is one of mankind's most precious goods.

WE MUST RECOGNIZE INDIFFERENCE

... All of us are called to realize how indifference can manifest itself in our lives and to work concretely to improve the world around us, beginning with our families, neighbors and places of employment.

THE POPE'S APPEAL

... I would like to make a threefold appeal to the leaders of nations: to refrain from drawing other peoples into conflicts or wars which destroy not only their material, cultural and social legacy, but also ... their moral and spiritual integrity; to forgive or manage in a sustainable way the international debt of the poorer nations; and to adopt policies of cooperation which instead of bowing before the dictatorship of certain ideologies, will respect the values of local populations and, in any case, not prove detrimental to the fundamental and inalienable right to life of the unborn.

(Source: Message for World Day of Peace, dated 12/8/2015)