Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

To promote a reflection on the need for a “conversion of mind and heart” open to the needs of others, Pope Francis has chosen “Overcome indifference and win peace” as the theme for the church’s celebration of the next World Day of Peace. Announcing the theme for the celebration on Jan. 1, 2016, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace said that peace is difficult to achieve when people are indifferent “to the scourges of our time.” The problems everyone must be aware of, the council said in a statement on Aug. 11, include “fundamentalism, intolerance and massacres, persecutions on account of faith and ethnicity,” disregard for human rights, human trafficking and forced labor, corruption, organized crime and forced migration. Simply increasing the amount of information about the problems is not enough, the council said; people must open their hearts and minds to the suffering of others. “Today, indifference is often linked to various forms of individualism, which cause isolation, ignorance, selfishness and, therefore, lack of interest and commitment,” the statement said.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
Anne Chapman
9 years 6 months ago
Are most people indifferent? Or do they simply feel overwhelmed? The information revolution has meant that almost everyone, almost everywhere, is constantly bombarded with news - often very graphic - about every tragedy, disaster, and war going on in the world, along with countless "news stories" of human corruption of every type, great and small, of human cruelty, of man's inhumanity towards their fellow human beings. This massive onslought of terrible news can engender a feeling of helplessness. This is not the same as indifference.

The latest from america

The Trump administration's recent attacks on the resources and structures that serve the poor and on the religious institutions that serve the most vulnerable are unprecedented in their scale, pace and human impact.
John CarrFebruary 19, 2025
A Homily for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, by Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinFebruary 19, 2025
Sam Sawyer, S.J., president and editor in chief of America, announced today the selection of three graduating seniors from three U.S. colleges to serve as the 2025-26 Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J., Postgraduate Media Fellows.
The EditorsFebruary 19, 2025
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni visited the pope today. In an official statement, she said that the pope was “alert and responsive” and “has not lost his legendary sense of humor.”
Gerard O’ConnellFebruary 19, 2025