Pope: War is defeat. Make every effort to negotiate

Violence condemned once again during the general audience in St. Peter's Square. People of Ukraine, Israel and Palestine entrsuted to St Joseph. Continuing the cycle of catechesis on the vices and virtues the Pope dwells on prudence "the quality of one who is called to govern". Even 'too much zeal' does not suit those who administer because it 'can ruin a construction that needs gradualness'.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - “Let us never forget: war is always a defeat. You can't go on in war. We must make every effort to negotiate, to negotiate. To end the war. Let's pray for this." Even today, greeting the Italian pilgrims at the end of the general audience held in a sunny and packed St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis returned to condemn the violence in the world, inviting them to follow the path of dialogue.

A thought was addressed to the populations of "the tormented Ukraine and the Holy Land, Palestine, Israel, who suffer so much from the war", said the Holy Father, after entrusting them to Saint Joseph whose solemnity occurred yesterday.

Bergoglio expressed the desire to entrust to the patronage of Mary's husband, "patron saint of the universal Church", "the Church and the whole world, especially all the fathers who in him have a singular model to imitate", he said.

At the beginning of the final greetings - including those addressed to the "parish of San Pietro in Grignano di Prato, the runners of Boves, and the pupils of the comprehensive institute of Sora" - Pope Francis addressed a particular thought "to the young people, to the sick, the elderly and the newlyweds".

The bishop of Rome initially entrusted the reading of the catechesis - which is part of the cycle of in-depth studies on the theme of "Vices and Virtues" shared in recent weeks during the Wednesday hearings - to Msgr. Pierluigi Giroli, as he already did last week. “I asked the monsignor to read it, because I still can't,” said the Holy Father at the beginning, who spoke again later for the final greetings.

The theme of today's catechesis, read after the recitation of the biblical passage of reference (Pr 15,14.21-22.33), was prudence, a cardinal virtue together with justice, fortitude and temperance, "which are not the exclusive prerogative of Christians, but they belong to the heritage of ancient wisdom,” said Giroli.

In fact, last week the in-depth study on virtues began, after having concluded the chapter dedicated to vices. “Recalling the classical authors in the light of Christian revelation, theologians imagined the septenary of virtues – the three theological and the four cardinal – as a sort of living organism,” he continued.

Of these seven, prudence, with its peculiarities, was the protagonist of today's catechesis. Monsignor Giroli first explained what is an incorrect interpretation of him: "The virtue of the fearful person, always hesitant about the action to take". On the other hand, those who choose to use creativity are prudent.

“He reasons, evaluates, tries to understand the complexity of reality and does not allow himself to be overwhelmed by emotions, laziness, pressure, illusions,” he explained. A way of life that clashes with "a world dominated by appearances, by superficial thoughts, by the banality of both good and evil", said Giroli, adding that precisely in light of these characteristics of reality "the ancient lesson of prudence deserves to be recovered."

Prudent is also he or she who is capable of choosing. “As long as it remains in books, life is always easy, but in the midst of the winds and waves of everyday life it is something completely different,” he added. Winds and waves that the person who has made prudence his own is able to manage because "he knows what he wants, therefore he weighs the situations, gets advice and, with a broad vision and inner freedom, chooses which path to take". At the same time also allowing ourselves a margin of error, as "we always remain human": but precisely because of this prudent attitude we will "avoid major slip-ups".

Prudence is also "the quality of those who are called to govern": those who implement it know that "there are many points of view and we must try to harmonize them", and that "we must do the good not of some but of all ”.

In fact, "too much zeal" is not suitable for those who administer because "it can ruin a construction that would have required gradualness; it can generate conflicts and misunderstandings; it can even trigger violence."

The prudent person, who is "provident", in addition to carefully meeting the needs of the moment, also preserves "the memory of the past" because "he knows that tradition is a heritage of wisdom": he is not afraid of the future.

“Life is made up of a continuous overlapping of old things and new things, and it is not good to always think that the world begins with us, that we have to face problems starting from scratch”, read Mgr. Giroli. In conclusion, prudence is an indispensable virtue that leads to the path of holiness: "God doesn't just want us to be saints, he wants us to be intelligent saints, because without prudence it's just a matter of going the wrong way."