Pope John Paul II: If we want world peace, we must share the world's goods

From the Pope's message for the celebration of the World Day of Peace, 1 January 2005

As a member of the human family, each person becomes a citizen of the world, with consequent duties and rights, since all human beings are united by a common origin and supreme destiny. By the mere fact of being conceived, a child is entitled to rights and deserving of care and attention; and someone has the duty to provide these.

The condemnation of racism, the protection of minors, the provision of aid to displaced persons, and the mobilisation of international solidarity towards all the needy are nothing other than consistent applications of the principle of world citizenship.

The good of peace should be seen as closely related to the goods derived from progress in science and technology. These too, in application of the principle of the universal destination of the earth's goods, need to be put at the service of humanity's basic needs.

The good of peace will be better ensured if the international community takes on greater responsibility for what are commonly called public goods. These are goods which all citizens automatically enjoy, without having consciously chosen them or contributed to them. Such is the case, at the national level, with such goods as the judiciary system, the defence system and the network of highways and railways.

Globalisation means that more and more public goods are taking on a global character, and as a result common interests are daily increasing. We need but think of the fight against poverty, the promotion of peace and security, concern for climate change, and disease control.

The international community needs to respond to these interests with a broader network of juridical accords aimed at regulating the use of public goods, and inspired by universal principles of fairness and solidarity.