NEVER AS AT THE beginning of this millennium has humanity felt how precarious is the world which it has shaped. I have been personally struck by the feeling of fear which often dwells in the hearts of our contemporaries.

An insidious terrorism capable of striking at any time and anywhere; the unresolved problem of the Middle East, with the Holy Land and Iraq; the turmoil disrupting South America; the conflicts preventing numerous African countries from focusing on their development; the diseases spreading contagion and death; the grave problem of famine, especially in Africa; irresponsible behaviour contributing to the depletion of the planet’s resources; all these are so many plagues threatening the survival of humanity, the peace of individuals, and the security of societies.

Yet everything can change. It depends on each of us. Everyone can develop within himself his potential for faith, for honesty, for respect of others, and for commitment to the service of others.

That is why choices must be made so that humanity can still have a future, and therefore the peoples of the earth and their leaders must sometimes have the courage to say “No”.

I say: NO TO WAR! War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity.

International law, honest dialogue, solidarity between states, the noble exercise of diplomacy; these are methods worthy of individuals and nations in resolving their differences. I say this as I think of those who still place their trust in nuclear weapons, and as I think of the all too numerous conflicts which continue to hold hostage our brothers and sisters in humanity. Bethlehem reminds us of the unresolved crisis in the Middle East, where two peoples, Israeli and Palestinian, are called to live side by side, equally free and sovereign, in mutual respect.

Faced with the constant degeneration of the crisis in the Middle East, I say to you that the solution will never be imposed by recourse to terrorism or armed conflict, as if military victories could be the solution.

And what are we to say about the threat of a war which could strike the people of Iraq, the land of the Prophets, a people already sorely tried by more than 12 years of embargo? War is never just another means that one can choose to employ for settling differences between nations.

As the charter of the United Nations Organisation and international law itself remind us, war cannot be decided upon, even when it is a matter of ensuring the common good, except as the very last option and in accordance with very strict conditions, without ignoring the consequences for the civilian population both during and after the military operations.

All states are interconnected both for better and for worse. For this reason, and rightly so, we must be able to distinguish good from evil and call them by their proper names. And history has taught us time and time again that it is when doubt or confusion about what is right and what is wrong prevails that the greatest evils are to be feared.

If we are to avoid descending into chaos, it seems to me that two conditions must be met. First, we must rediscover both within states and between states the paramount value of natural law, which was the source of inspiration for the rights of nations and for the first formulations of international law.

Second, we need the persevering work of statesmen who are honest and selfless; in effect, the indispensible professional competence of political leaders has no legitimacy unless it is connected to strong moral convictions.

It will always be possible for a leader who acts in accordance with his convictions to reject situations of injustice or institutional corruption, or to put an end to them. It is precisely in this, I believe, that we rediscover what is today commonly called good governance.