Peace Case

Peace is defined as the balance characterized by lack of violence and conflict, both within and outside the human body. Peace is needed in this Earth, but can never be founded without social order.

Social order, on the other hand, is linked with the divinity of human life. As proof of man's wisdom and capability to create order, "the world's Creator has stamped man's inmost being with an order revealed to man by his conscience; and his conscience insists on his preserving it."

Pope John XXII promulgated Pacem of Terris on April 11, 1963. At that time, tension between the Western world and the communist world brought about the belief that the basis for peace is the equal balance of armaments between countries. As such, if one increases its military power and equips itself with atomic weapons, another country is compelled to match - even surpass - the strength of the former.

Albeit the ongoing arms race then, Pope John also called to attention the clamor of the people for peace and social order through what he perceived as the signs of times. He mentioned that his age was characterized by the progressive improvement in the economic and social conditions of workers, noting that these men are much more vocal in claiming their rights. Secondly, women started gaining an increasing awareness of their natural dignity by playing an important role in political life. They, too, have become active in demanding the rights and duties that belong to them as humans. Lastly, almost every nation has attained independence thus eliminating the inequality or discrimination among certain classes.