In a few days the International Meeting for Peace in the spirit of Assisi will open in Paris, the French capital, with the meaningful title “Imagine Peace”. We have thought up the meeting and also its title, to reflect on a world without war, where peace comes once again at the center: a central word, a central reality in the life of peoples. The word “war” and the reality of war have been back on the agenda in many countries of the world for months, indeed for years, causing great suffering, death, destruction, population displacement, refugees, suffering among children, elderly people, women, men.
This war is a tragic reality. This is why the spirit of Assisi – the meeting of men and women of different religions, cultures, humanists, politicians, who get together with so many young people to talk about peace, has a great significance: imagining a reality that does not still exist today, and yet must be possible for this world.
Religions, as we read the Holy Scriptures, if we deepen their history and their faith, teach us to look beyond. The meeting in Assisi, on 1986 was it a glimpse of what we were not able to see yet? Wasn’it imagining a world beyond the Cold War, the confrontation, the enmity between peoples? So, even today in Paris we want to imagine a world without war. A world where the suffering of millions and millions of people finally comes to an end.
Young people's voice must be listened more and more. Young people want peace, as the Global Friendship movement have shown. That’s why we are in Paris. Not just for empty rhetorical nor to mediate conflicts, but to seek new paths to peace that cannot be seen yet. We will do this on behalf of all those people who are still suffering from war. We listen to their cry!
That’s why, we are looking forward to welcoming all of you in Paris. The Community of Sant'Egidio is very pleased to continue this journey. It has been crossing European cities and cities of this world for many years. If you cannot attend in presence in Paris, you can join us through our social networks, because we really want this message of peace to touch so many hearts and change the still too sad reality of our world at war.
Marco Impagliazzo
Marco Impagliazzo
To follow the Meeting for Peace in Paris 2024:
The website www.santegidio.org and the official social media channels will cover the event, which will be broadcast live with multilingual streaming.
