Pope Francis to Diplomats: There Can Be No Peace Without Truth!

By Stefano Gennarini, J.D. | March 22, 2013

The Holy Father met diplomats from around the world at the Vatican earlier today. He explained his choice for the name Francis in these terms:

As you know, there are various reasons why I chose the name of Francis of Assisi, a familiar figure far beyond the borders of Italy and Europe, even among those who do not profess the Catholic faith. One of the first reasons was Francis’ love for the poor. How many poor people there still are in the world! And what great suffering they have to endure! After the example of Francis of Assisi, the Church in every corner of the globe has always tried to care for and look after those who suffer from want, and I think that in many of your countries you can attest to the generous activity of Christians who dedicate themselves to helping the sick, orphans, the homeless and all the marginalized, thus striving to make society more humane and more just.

But there is another form of poverty! It is the spiritual poverty of our time, which afflicts the so-called richer countries particularly seriously. It is what my much-loved predecessor, Benedict XVI, called the “tyranny of relativism”, which leaves everyone to the measure of themselves and endangers the coexistence of peoples. And that brings me to a second reason for my name. Francis of Assisi tells us we should work to build peace. But there is no true peace without truth! There cannot be true peace if everyone can be the measure of himself, if everyone can always and exclusively claim his own rights, without at the same time caring for the good of others, of everyone, on the basis of the nature that unites every human being on this earth.

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