Since the start of life on Earth, the most important and missing factor that ensures a normal and productive life is the perpetuation of peace. Peace has always been the fulcrum of the progress of brotherly and productive life enshired in love and mutual respect.

The absence of genuine peace has all the time led to abysmal outcomes that have prolonged negatve impacts on every aspect of life, including economy and education which are the cornerstones of a progressive society, among others.

In this regard, Vatican media has announced the publication of the first book by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, which includes a collection of his earliest addresses since becoming Pope.

The 160-page volume, compiled under the title, “Let There Be Peace! Words to the Church and to the World”, hit the shelves on 27 August 2025 in Italian, English and Spanish.

According to Vatican Publishing, the book contains the complete collection of Pope Leo's speeches during the first weeks of his pontificate, "through which we can better understand the Pontiff from his own words”.

The book's central theme focuses on the need for peace, a call the Pope first made immediately after his election on 8 May, when he greeted crowds in St. Peter’s Square with the words saying, “Peace be with you all! Dearest brothers and sisters! This is the first greeting of the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd, who gave his life for the flock of God. I too would like this greeting of peace to reach your hearts and to your families and all people, wherever they may be, to all nations, to the whole earth. Peace be with you! This is the peace of the risen Christ, an unarmed peace, a disarming, humble, and persevering peace, which comes from God, from God who loves us all unconditionally.”

The issuance of this book conveys to humanity a noble and divine message, as it extends  a timely message indicating that with the attainment of peace all problems can be solved particularly though constructive dialogue. Wars wreak havoc on the future of entire generations that find themselves bereft of the basics of a normal life.

What is needed is to heed the message of peace extended by Pope Leo at a time when the Middle East and Europe are sizzling with extended wars that have claimed thousands of lives and pushed peoples into the abyss of the unknown.

 Since the start of his pontificate, Pope Leo has repeatedly called for the entrenchment of peace which opens the doors wide open for solving all pending problems among nations, where such peace would ultimately snowball into hammering out deals leading to everlasting stability.

It is important in this regard to recall the issuance over a decade ago of a book titled, "The Name of God is Mercy" by the late Pope Francis. This book was translated at the time into Arabic by Catholic Center of Studies and Media (CCSM) members of staff in Jordan in order to introduce the sublime views expressed in this book to the largest possible groups of people who read Arabic. This book elucidates the significance of mercy as a prelude leading to peace and common living. In this book Pope Francis invites all humanity to an intimate and personal encounter with the subject closest to the heart, namely mercy which has long been an elusive aspiration. A quote in the book stating that "mercy is the attribute of God Who does not want anyone to be lost. His mercy is infinitely greater that our sins," serves as an open invitation to observe the importance to mercy as a divine door that opens the way to peace.

Actually, the Name of God is Mercy resonates in all parts of the world with the desire to reach out to those who  look for a meaning of life, a road leading to peace and reconciliation, as well as a healing to the chronic physical and spiritual wounds of humanity.

Many thanks are conveyed to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV whose resonating call “Let There Be Peace" may be heard in all parts of the world so that the world peoples would enjoy fraternal relations incorporated in permanent  and flowery future for all generations.