My predecessor Pope Paul VI issued an appeal to all people of good will to celebrate a World Day of Peace on the first day of each civil year, as both a hope and promise that peace "would dominate the development of events to come" (AAS 59, 1967, p. 1098). Twenty years later, I repeat this appeal, addressing myself to every member of the human family. I invite you to join with me in reflecting on peace and in celebrating peace. To celebrate peace in the midst of difficulties - such as those of today - is to proclaim our trust in humanity.

The theme I have chosen for this year's Message takes its inspiration from that deep truth about humanity: we are one human family. By simply being born into this world, we are of one inheritance and one stock with every other human being. This oneness expresses itself in all the richness and diversity of the human family: in different races, cultures, languages and histories. And we are called to recognize the basic solidarity of the human family as the fundamental condition of our life together on this earth.

This Message for the Twentieth World Day of Peace is closely linked to the Message I addressed to the world last year on the theme North-South, East-West: Only One Peace. In that Message, I said: " ... the unity of the human family has very real repercussions for our life and for our commitment to peace ... It means that we commit ourselves to a new solidarity, the solidarity of the human family ... a new relationship, the social solidarity of all" (No. 4).

To recognize the social solidarity of the human family brings with it the responsibility to build on what makes us one. This means promoting effectively and without exception the equal dignity of all as human beings endowed with certain fundamental and inalienable human rights. This touches all aspects of our individual life, as well as our life in the family, in the community in which we live, and in the world. Once we truly grasp that we are brothers and sisters in a common humanity, then we can shape our attitudes towards life in the light of the solidarity which makes us one. This is especially true in all that relates to the basic universal project: peace.

At the same time, how often in recent years have we had occasion to reach out as brothers and sisters to help those struck by natural disaster or subjected to war and famine. We are witnessing a growing collective desire - across political, geographical or ideological boundaries - to help the less fortunate members of the human family. The suffering, still so tragic and protracted, of our brothers and sisters in Sub-Saharan Africa is giving rise to forms and concrete expressions of this solidarity of human beings everywhere. Two of the reasons why I was pleased in 1986 to confer the Pope John XXIII International Peace Prize on the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR) of Thailand were first, to be able to call the attention of the world to the continuing plight of those who are forced from their homelands; and secondly to highlight the spirit of cooperation and collaboration that so many groups - Catholic and otherwise - have displayed in responding to the need of these sorely tried homeless people. Yes, the human spirit can and does respond with great generosity to the suffering of others. In these responses we can find a growing realization of the social solidarity that proclaims in word and deed that we are one, that we must recognize that oneness, and that it is an essential element for the common good of all individuals and nations.

These examples illustrate that we can and do cooperate in many ways, and that we can and do work together to advance the common good. However, we must do more. We need to adopt a basic attitude towards humanity and the relationships we have with every person and every group in the world. Here we can begin to see how the commitment to the solidarity of the whole human family is a key to peace. Projects that foster the good of humanity or good will among peoples are one step in the realization of solidarity. The bond of sympathy and charity that compels us to help those who suffer brings our oneness to the fore in another way. But the underlying challenge to all of us is to adopt an attitude of social solidarity with the whole human family and to face all social and political situations with this attitude.

- a xenophobia that closes nations in on themselves or which leads governments to enact discriminatory laws against people in their own countries;  

- the closing of borders in an arbitrary and unjustifiable way so that people are effectively deprived of the ability to move and to better their lot, to be reunited with their loved ones, or simply to visit their family or reach out in care and understanding to others;  

- ideologies that preach hatred or distrust, systems that set up artificial barriers. Racial hatred, religious intolerance, class divisions are all too present in many societies, both openly and covertly. When political leaders erect such divisions into internal systems or into policies regarding relationships with other nations, then these prejudices strike at the core of human dignity. They become a powerful source of counteractions that further foster division, enmity, repression and warfare. Another evil, which in this past year brought so much suffering to people and havoc to society, is terrorism.

Now, twenty years later, I wish to pay tribute to this teaching of Paul VI. In the changed circumstances of today, these profound insights, especially regarding the importance of a spirit of solidarity for development, are still valid and shed great light on new challenges.

When we reflect on commitment to solidarity in the field of development, the first and most basic truth is that development is a question of people. People are the subjects of true development, and the aim of true development is people. The integral development of people is the goal and measure of all development projects. That all people are at the centre of development is a consequence of the oneness of the human family; and this is irrespective of any technological or scientific discoveries that the future may hold. People must be the focus of all that is done to improve the conditions of life. People must be active agents, not passive recipients, in any true development process.

What is true of personal development through the choice of values that enhance life applies also to the development of society. Whatever impedes true freedom militates against the development of society and of social institutions. Exploitation, threats, forced subjection, denials of opportunities by one sector of society to another are unacceptable and contradict the very notion of human solidarity. Such activities, both within a society and among nations, may unfortunately seem successful for a while. However, the longer such conditions exist, the more likely they are to be the cause of still further repression and increasing violence. The seeds of destruction are already sown in institutionalized injustice. To deny the means of achieving development to any sector of a given society or to any nation can only lead to insecurity and social unrest. It breeds hatred and division and destroys the hope for peace. 

The solidarity that fosters integral development is that which protects and defends the legitimate freedom of every person and the rightful security of every nation. Without this freedom and security, the very conditions for development are missing. Not only individuals but also nations must be able to share in the choices which affect them. The freedom that nations must have to ensure their growth and development as equal partners in the family of nations is dependent on reciprocal respect among them. Seeking economic, military or political superiority at the expense of the rights of other nations places in jeopardy any prospects for true development or true peace.

Certainly the continuing problem of the external debt of many of the developing countries could be looked at with new eyes if everyone concerned would consciously include these ethical considerations in the evaluations made and the solutions proposed. Many aspects of this issue - protectionism, prices of raw materials, priorities in investment, respect for obligations contracted as well as consideration of the internal condition of the debtor countries - would benefit from seeking in solidarity those solutions that promote stable development.

Recent contributions on the relationship between disarmament and development - two of the most crucial problems facing the world today - point to the fact that current East-West tensions and North-South inequalities present serious threats to world peace. It is becoming increasingly clear that a peaceful world, one in which the security of peoples and of States is ensured, calls for active solidarity in efforts for both development and disarmament. All States are inevitably affected by the poverty of other States; all States inevitably suffer from the lack of results in disarmament negotiations. Nor can we forget the so-called local wars that take a heavy toll of human life. All States have responsibility for world peace and this peace cannot be ensured until a security based on arms is gradually replaced with a security based on the solidarity of the human family. Once again, I appeal for further efforts to reduce arms to the minimum necessary for legitimate defence, and for increased measures to aid the developing countries to become self-reliant. Only thus can the community of States live in true solidarity.

In too many societies, the family has become a secondary element. It is relativized by various forms of interference and it often fails to find in the State the protection and support that it needs. Not infrequently it is deprived of the just means to which it has a right so that it can grow and provide an atmosphere where its members can flourish. The phenomena of broken families, of family members forced to separate for survival, or unable even to find shelter to begin or to maintain themselves as families, are all signs of moral underdevelopment and of a society that has confused its values. A basic measure of the health of a people or nation is the importance it gives to conditions for the development of families. Conditions that are beneficial to families promote the harmony of the society and nation, and this in turn fosters peace at home and in the world.

Peace is at stake: civil peace within nations and world peace among States (cf. Populorum Progressio, 55). Paul VI saw this clearly twenty years ago. He saw the intrinsic connection between the demands of justice in the world and the possibility of peace for the world. It is no mere coincidence that the very year of the publication of Populorum Progressio also marked the institution of the annual World Day of Peace, an initiative which I was glad to continue.

All of us who believe in God are convinced that this harmonious order for which all peoples long cannot come about solely through human efforts, indispensable though they be. This peace - personal peace and peace for others - must at the same time be sought in prayer and meditation. In saying this, I have before my eyes and in my heart the deep experience of the recent World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi. Religious leaders and representatives of the Christian Churches and Ecclesial Communities and the World Religions gave living expression to solidarity in prayer and meditation for peace. It was a visible commitment on the part of every participant - and of the many others who j oined with us in spirit - to seek peace, to be peacemakers, to do everything possible, in the deep solidarity of the spirit to work for a society in which justice will flourish and peace abound (cf. Ps 72:7).

We too are called to be like Christ, to be peacemakers through reconciliation, to be cooperators with him in the task of bringing peace to this earth by furthering the cause of justice for all peoples and nations. And we must never forget those words of his which summarize every perfect expression of human solidarity: "Treat others the way you would have them treat you" (Mt 7:12). When this commandment is broken, Christians should realize that they are causing a division and committing a sin. This sin has serious effects on the community of believers and on the whole of society. It offends God himself, who is the creator of life and the one who keeps it in being.

The grace and wisdom that Jesus shows even from the time of hi s hidden lif e in Nazareth with Mary and Joseph (cf. Lk 2: 51f) is a model for our own relations with one another in the family, in our nations, in the world. The service of others through word and deed that marks the public life of Jesus is a reminder to us that the solidarity of the human family has been radically deepened. It has been given a transcendent aim that ennobles all our human efforts for justice and peace. Finally, the ultimate act of solidarity that the world has known - the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross for all - opens up to us Christians the way we are to follow. If our work for peace is to be fully effective, it must share in the transforming power of Christ, whose death gives life to all people born into this world, and whose triumph over death is the final guarantee that the justice which solidarity and development require will lead to lasting peace. 

May the acceptance that Christians give to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord direct all their efforts. May their prayers sustain them in their commitment to the cause of peace through the development of peoples in the spirit of social solidarity.

And so together we begin another year: 1987. May it be a year in which humanity finally puts aside the divisions of the past, a year in which people seek peace with all their heart. My hope is that this Message may be an occasion for each one to deepen his or her commitment to the oneness of the human family in solidarity. May it be a spur encouraging us all to seek the true good of all our brothers and sisters in an integral development that fosters all values of the human person in society.

- to all of you, Government leaders and those responsible for international agencies: in order to ensure peace I appeal to you to redouble your efforts for the integral development of individuals and nations;

And dare I hope to be heard by those who practise violence and terrorism? Those of you who will at least listen to my voice, I beg you again, as I have in the past, to turn away from the violent pursuit of your goals - even if the goals themselves are just. I beg you to turn away from killing and harming the innocent. I beg you to stop undermining the very fabric of society. The way of violence cannot obtain true justice for you or for anyone else. If you want, you can still change. You can profess your own humanity and recognize human solidarity.