At the beginning of every year, the Holy Father offers his thoughts on a theme connected to peace. This year’s message is entitled The Culture of Care as a Path to Peace. He offers it to “Heads of State and Government, leaders of International Organisations, spiritual
leaders and followers of different religions, and to men and women of good will”; it is not just for Catholics or even Christians. He begins this year’s reflection expressing sympathy with all who have lost loved ones in the COVID-19 pandemic, and with those who have lost their jobs because of it, and he thanks “physicians and nurses, pharmacists, researchers,volunteers, chaplains and the personnel of hospitals and healthcare centres”, as well as all those involved developing vaccines. At the same time, he mentions negative developments in different parts of the world. What runs through all these aspects of life in 2020 is an awareness of “how important it is to care for one another”; he says “a culture of care” can “combat the culture of indifference, waste and confrontation so prevalent in our time”.
You can read a short summary of the message here: Message for World Day of Peace (pdf)
You can read the full message here (10 languages): A Culture of Care as a Path to Peace – Pope Francis, 54th. World Day of Peace, 2021