Pope calls for peace on earth

VATICAN (RIA Novosti): Sergey Startsev. On the first day of the new year, Pope Francis called for pe-ace on earth and thanked t-he organizers of the numerous initiatives that are taking place today on the occasion of the World Day of Peace celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church.
“At the beginning of the new year, I wish everyone peace, which is the sum of all the best,” he said during an address to believers fro-m the window of the Apo-stolic Palace in the Vatican.
The pontiff recalled that the World Day of Peace was established by Pope Paul VI and first celebrated on January 1, 1968. In this regard, he drew attention to the famous encyclical Pacem in terris (“Peace on earth”), written by Pope John XXIII at the height of the Cold War, in 1963. According to Pope Francis, this message is “more relevant than ever.”
“We will go home thinking: peace, peace, peace! We need peace! I saw im-ages of war, homeless people, poverty on the TV program today … This is what is happening in the world today. We want peace!” – said the Pope to the appla-use of the believers gathered in St. Peter’s Square.