"We, unfortunately, have a short memory. Yes, because if we had memory, we would remember what our grandparents and parents told us, and we would feel the need for peace just as our lungs need oxygen."
In the preface to a book published on April 14, 2022, by the Vatican Publishing House, Pope Francis delivers a renewed cry against war, which he calls a "defeat of politics" and a "shameful surrender in the face of the forces of evil."
"Hate, before it is too late, must be eradicated from hearts," he urges, alluding to the calamity of a possible nuclear war in Europe, in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
The 192-page book in Italian, titled Contro la Guerra: Il Coraggio di Constuire la Pace, (Against War: The Courage to Build Peace), gathers the main texts of the Head of the Catholic Church on the subject of war.
Towards a World War III
But it's not inevitable!
Read the whole text here, in a translation provided by Vatican News.
