Welcome Ceremony, Buenos Aires (11 June 1982)

On Friday, 11 June 1982, the Holy Father arrived at the «Ezeiza» Airport in Buenos Aires, Brazil. There the Pope reiterated his prayer that the nations “forget forever the use of war, terrorism or methods of violence; and to decisively follow paths of understanding, harmony and peace.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!
He repeats to us again: “I give you my peace; not as the world gives, so do I give to you” (Jn 14, 27).

1. Blessed be the Lord who brings me to this dear Argentine land.

I wanted to come here, to express to you with my lips the sentiments that I expressed to you in my personal letter which, at the end of last month, I addressed to you, beloved sons and daughters of the Argentine Nation, on the eve of my pastoral journey to Churches in England, Scotland and Wales.

2. If during that apostolic visit - which was intended to be and in fact was a continuous prayer in favor of peace, as well as a service rendered to the cause of ecumenism and the Gospel - my thoughts and affection were also with you , my presence here today means the visible proof of this love, in a historical moment as painful for you as the current one.

I am driven by the love of Christ and by the imperious concern that, as successor of the Prince of the Apostles, I owe to the One and Universal Church, which is incarnated in every people, nation and culture, to announce salvation in Jesus Christ and the common destiny that each man has a common Father under him.

For this reason, although fully and joyfully aware of the Catholic condition of this beloved nation, in perfect continuity with my previous apostolic journey, my visit wants to be marked by the same pastoral and ecclesial character, which places it above any political potential. It is simply an encounter between the father in faith and his suffering children; of the brother in Christ who once again indicates it as a Way of peace, reconciliation and hope.

3. My stay on Argentine soil, although short due to well-known needs, will first of all be a supplication with you to Him from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth descends, so that he fills everyone's souls with feelings of brotherhood and reconciliation .

In this spirit, allow me from this very moment to invoke the peace of Christ upon all the victims, on both sides, of this war conflict between Argentina and Great Britain; may I show my affectionate closeness to all the families who mourn the loss of a loved one; who urges governments and the international community to take measures to avoid greater damage, to heal the wounds of war and to facilitate the restoration of spaces for a just and lasting peace and progressive serenity in spirits.

To She for whom every man has only one name: that of son; to the Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church, at whose feet I come to prostrate myself in her Sanctuary of Luján, I ask that she dry many tears, that she support those who bend under the weight of the test; that it inspires new energies of good on a national and international level, capable of alleviating current pain and difficulties, so that we can look to the future with confident tranquility; that the anxieties of the people who yearn for peace become reality.

4. These wishes are the best word of cordial greeting that I address to each of you, beloved brothers and sisters of Argentina, as well as to each family or social group; and first of all to the brothers in the Episcopate, to the priests, to the men and women religious and seminarians.

With particular deference I wish to address this word of respectful greeting to Mr. President, who was kind enough to come to receive me, interpreting the desire of all the children of this Catholic nation. From now on, I express to him, as to every Argentinian, my deepest gratitude for the immediate and joyful acceptance of this visit, despite the practical difficulties it entailed, due to the limited time available.

And crossing the Argentine borders, I send my greeting of peace and cordial esteem to each people and nation of Latin America. This short visit makes me remember once again the two previous ones I made to this continent and of which I retain such indelible memories. With my greeting I express my confidence that, in the current moments, while problems and unknowns for the future appear on the horizon, this continent of ecclesial hope will find inspiration and motivation in solidarity towards peace and progress in consideration of the common Christian origin.

5. But faithful to my condition as a humble servant of the cause of peace and understanding between men, I cannot help but extend my gaze from here to the entire world.

The sad spectacle of loss of human life, with social consequences that will last for quite some time in the peoples suffering from war, makes me think with deep sorrow of the trail of death and desolation that every armed conflict always causes.

We are not faced with terrifying spectacles like those of Hiroshima or Nagasaki; but every time we risk human life, we set in motion the mechanisms that lead to such catastrophes, we take dangerous, retrograde and inhuman paths. Therefore, at this moment humanity must question itself, once again, on the absurd and always unjust phenomenon of war, in whose scenario of death and pain only the negotiating table that could and should have avoided it remains valid.

May God grant that this conflict that we lament, those underway between Iran and Iraq and in Lebanon, as well as those others that more or less covertly affect other areas of the world, are the latest disastrous examples, the valid lesson in which the world learn to put respect for the sacredness of life above everything else, always and in every circumstance; to forget forever the use of war, terrorism or methods of violence; and to decisively follow paths of understanding, harmony and peace.

6. With these prayerful wishes, in which I invite all of you to join, I invoke divine protection and comfort on every person and family of the beloved Argentine nation, first of all on the orphans, the victims of war, on those who suffer from 'infirmity or uncertainty regarding the fate of some loved one. May the apostolic blessing which I impart to all be a pledge of my universal benevolence and reconciliation of spirits.

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