Pope John Paul II Peace Quotations

Wars generally do not resolve the problems for which they are fought and therefore... prove ultimately futile.

Violence and arms can never resolve the problems of men.

The obligation to earn one's bread presumes the right to do so. A society that denies this right cannot be justified, nor can it attain social peace.

If development is the new name for peace, war and preparations for war are the major enemy of the healthy development of peoples. If we take the common good of all humanity as our norm, instead of individual greed, peace would be possible.

Sensitivity to the immense needs of humanity brings with it a spontaneous rejection of the arms race, which is incompatible with the all out struggle against hunger, sickness, under-development and illiteracy.

Condemning class struggle does not mean condemning every possible form of social conflict. Such conflicts inevitably arise and Christians must often take a position in the "struggle for social justice." What is condemned is "total war," which has no respect for the dignity of others (and consequently of oneself). It excludes reasonable compromise, does not pursue the common good but the good of a group, and sets out to destroy whatever stands in its way.

There must be a cooperation of all who believe in God, knowing that authentic religiousness - far from placing individuals and peoples in conflict with one another - rather pushes them together to build a world of peace.

There is no true peace without fairness , truth , justice and solidarity .

To reach peace, teach peace.

True freedom is not advanced in the permissive society, which confuses freedom with license to do anything whatever and which in the name of freedom proclaims a kind of general amorality. It is a caricature of freedom to claim that people are free to organize their lives with no reference to moral values, and to say that society does not have to ensure the protection and advancement of ethical values. Such an attitude is destructive of freedom and peace.

Our future on this planet, exposed as it is to nuclear annihilation, depends one one single factor: humanity must make a moral about-face.

War is a defeat for humanity.

Do not be afraid to take a chance on peace, to teach peace, to live peace...Peace will be the last word of history.