We still have time

FOUR YEARS HAVE NOW PASSED SINCE THE INVASION OF UKRAINE, but I still can't get used to war.
I can't get used to it, and I never will, the idea that wars can exist as an option, as a solution, as a tragic necessity. As every armed conflict demonstrates, from Ukraine to the Holy Land, from Africa to Southeast Asia, war has no reason; it is simply a human failure, something we have witnessed firsthand by helping the people of so many countries. Above all, we have seen it in the eyes of children, who in their precious years of growth know only hatred. Deep wounds that cannot be healed by a treaty.

THUS, WE CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR PEACE WITH ALL OUR STRENGTH, starting from one certainty: peace is a fact born from works of justice. It is the right of every man and woman to food, shelter, work, healthcare, and dignity.
It is a welcome that does not regard origin or religion, because faiths must return to God—love and mercy—to have the moral authority to say "no" to violence.

FACED IN THE FACE OF THIS HORROR, PEACE MUST CONTINUE TO SEEK PEACE. We ask governments and schools to make peace education the absolute priority, from childhood to university. We need responsible citizens, guardians of dialogue, capable of dreaming of universal disarmament through human advancement. International institutions must be profoundly reformed to truly protect the rights of minorities and ban weapons, remedying injustices with the strength of their presence and mediation. Let us do it now because we still have time, before the abyss, and not—as happened after the Second World War—after sixty million deaths.

LET US REMEMBER THAT PEACE IS NOT ONLY A TASK OF INSTITUTIONS: it is the share of good that falls to me, it is my responsibility. Let us start from within. Let's begin by fighting every temptation to enmity, judgment, and rejection of others. Saying no to war means, first of all, saying yes to war against the dark side of ourselves, against the hatred that festers in our hearts.
This is how we defend the future, one act of justice at a time.

Ernesto Olivero
Editorial
NP March 2026