“Blessed are the peacemakers” (Mt 5:9). With these words from the Sermon on the Mount, Pope Leo XIV reminded, in his address to Communication Professionals on May 12, 2025, the personal and communal responsibility each of us bears in safeguarding peace—starting with our language. Authentic communication, he said, is one that “does not seek consensus at all costs, does not cloak itself in aggressive words, does not adopt the model of competition, and never separates the search for truth from the love with which we must humbly pursue it.”
It is a clear invitation: to disarm words, to reject “the war of words and images,” to resist “the paradigm of war.”
Inspired precisely by this exhortation, and in continuity with Pope Francis’s magisterium, the conference “Disarming Peace: Historical Reflections for Peace in Europe” will take place on Saturday, December 6, 2025, from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM, in the Sala dell’Annunciazione of the Basilica of the SS. Annunziata in Florence.
The event is promoted by the Rosario Livatino Study Center and the University of Florence, with the joyful participation of the Pope Leo XIV Study Center.
At a time marked by international tensions and by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the conference proposes a serious, non-ideological approach to the theme of peace in Europe. It does not seek to analyze the causes of the conflict; instead, it offers ethical, legal, and historical perspectives, convinced that history can once again serve as magistra vitae.
The morning will include opening greetings—among them Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See (via video)—followed by contributions from representatives of the promoting and supporting institutions.
An introduction will be offered by Prof. Francesco Farri (University of Genoa, Livatino Study Center).
The program includes:
- “Justice and Peace Shall Embrace”
Prof. Don Francesco Vermigli (Theological Faculty of Central Italy) - The “international order that ensures peace and justice among Nations” in Article 11 of the Constitution
Prof. Leonardo Bianchi (University of Florence) - La Pira’s method in relations with the Soviet Union
Avv. Antonio Casciano (Rosario Livatino Study Center) - Cities and Communities as “artisans of peace” in La Pira’s vision
Prof. Mauro Ronco (Professor emeritus, University of Padua; President, Livatino Study Center)
The conference will conclude with remarks by Prof. Paolo Cappellini, Dean of the University of Florence.
The Archbishop of Florence, Mons. Gambelli, has expressed his support and will offer an address of greeting.
