Omaggio a Giovanni Paolo II costruttore di pace all’insegna di «tutti i diritti umani per tutti»

The wealth of religious, cultural and political contents of John Paul II mission for world peace and justice is enormous. «Joanni Paulo Magno» (to John Paul the Great) is dedicated the huge volume entitled John Paul II. The Ways of Justice. Itineraries for the Third Millennium, comprising the essays of nearly five hundred scholars from all over the world.
Indeed, the greatness of Pope John Paul is vox populi, not only the voice of the intellectuals.He was the spiritual ombudsman of all members of the «human family». He had a very large vision of peace and justice. His advocacy was for human dignity, life, peace, human rights, social justice, equitable economy, intercultural dialogue. In his last speech to the Diplomatic Corps before the Holy See on January 10, 2005, he included «liberty, life, bred, peace» in the list of the «big challenges for humanity today». He constantly developed the enlightened vision enshrined in the Encyclical «Pacem in Terris» of John XXIII, stressing the importance of the International law of human rights and the vital role of the United Nations. He stressed that, in the era of globalisation, international peace cannot be separated from peace inside countries, as peace cannot be separated from life. Peace is a duty, He said, because it is possible, and it is possible because real alternatives to war do really exist today: for instance, the collective security system of the United Nations that should be developed and improved.
The Message for the Peace Day 2005 is a strong, even dramatic appeal for wisdom, responsibility, hope. After since long advocating for positive peace, the Pope seems to be forced to face the mysterium iniquitatis, in particular with the criminal theorising and planning of the «clash of civilisations». But He does not give up, spes contra spem. His last provocation, that is moral, religious and civil at the same time, is like a mandate, a mission addressed to all: «Peace is a good to pursue with the good: it is a good for the persons, for the families, for the Nations of the Earth and for the whole humanity; but it is a good to guard with care and nourish through choices and good works».
For all, and in particular for political leaders John Paul II is a parameter, a unit of measurement, a driving force. In the above mentioned speech of January 10, 2005 the Pope indicated a very hard roped party of personalities to look at as an example: «The “poor means” are strictly linked with the primacy of spirit (...) They are reliable signs of the presence of the Spirit in the history of humanity (...) For this values rank it is enough to remind, to only refer to non catholics, the Mahatma Gandhi, Dag Hammarskjold, Martin Luther King». He now enriches this hard, fertile roped party.