The great contribution made by President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev in resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis and thereby saving the world from an all destructive nuclear war is widely known. What is not so well-known but needs to be better known is the great contribution made by Pope John XXIII to facilitating the crucial peace efforts of those dangerous days in 1962.

The great pope reached out to both Kennedy and Khrushchev with messages of peace, also using a journalist Norman Cousins (Editor of Saturday Review) to convey important messages.

The support of the Pope was very helpful to the two great leaders in going ahead with their peace efforts. The Pope broadcast a special peace message from Vatican Radio on October 25, 1962 which was very helpful.

The Pope placed great emphasis on the role of the two leaders in taking forward the responsibility of protection and love of all humankind. To Khrushchev he wrote specifically, “You can say you are not religious but religion is not a sum of precepts but the commitment of actions made of love for mankind.” This was followed by his 1963 encyclical Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) in which he went out of his way to say that this is not just for Catholics but instead for “all people of goodwill.”

The importance of peacemaking role of Pope John XXIII at a very critical time of history has been widely acknowledged.

As today again the world is faced with a situation of extremely dangerous wars, can this role of peace be repeated?

More specifically, can Pope Leo XIV and Grand Ayatollah Ali-al-Sistani together release a statement calling for early justice-based end of Iran war on a note of goodwill, also calling for peace and justice in the wider middle-east region, along with immediately increasing humanitarian aid to all those who need this, particularly in Gaza? If such a joint statement can be released, this can greatly increase the prospects of justice-based peace as well as more durable peace. If a joint statement is difficult, then two different statements conveying essentially the same message of justice based peace and access to improved humanitarian aid can also achieve good results.

Some of the most respected and greatest spiritual leaders of the world can also get together to contribute to the efforts for ending other most destructive wars like those of Ukraine and Sudan. 

More generally, in these difficult times it has become very important for great spiritual leaders from various religions, leaders who are committed to peace and justice, to get together in groups to spread important messages of peace with continuity.

The role of religion is of spreading peace, love and truth, but some extremely narrow-minded leaders are unfortunately going in exactly the opposite direction.

They are most unfortunately evoking religion and distorted religious beliefs to spread hatred, violence and destruction.

This horrible misuse of religion and religious beliefs should be checked. Spiritual leaders from various religions should get together for this important task and whenever religious beliefs are distorted to spread hatred and violence, they should immediately issue statements that this is wrong.

This should be done in a completely non-partisan way. At the same time they should also play the more positive role of interpreting religious texts and beliefs to create a consensus that religion should not be made the basis of conflicts and that people of all religions and sects (as well as atheists and those who do not see themselves in religious terms) can live in peace with each other. Religions cannot be made a means of dividing people and creating hostility or hatred among them. If at any stage it appears that someone is indulging in some ‘religious’ practices that appear to be harmful to others, then this issue (or other similar issues) can be resolved through the legal and democratic processes like any other issue without allowing this to become a big problem. While this is the proper democratic spirit that should be easy to understand, in difficult times if this is conveyed by respected spiritual leaders in a united way then this has more impact.

It is extremely unfortunate that when the world faces so many serious problems, some persons in high positions in some powerful countries are using the name of religion to spread destruction and kill people. Such attitudes should be completely rejected by respected spiritual leaders of all religions unitedly. Instead they should clearly show the path ahead of making religion a force of strengthening ethical and moral values and of increasing commitment to truth, compassion, unity and brotherhood of all people to create a protective future for all people of the world and for future generations.

*

Click the share button below to email/forward this article. Follow us on Instagram and X and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost Global Research articles with proper attribution.

Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, A Day in 2071, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Pope John XXIII (Public Domain)

Global Research is a reader-funded media. We do not accept any funding from corporations or governments. Help us stay afloat. Click the image below to make a one-time or recurring donation.