Åbent brev til pave Leo XIV.

Den 17. maj 2025

Deres Hellighed

Vi, de undertegnede, byder Deres Hellighed hjerteligt velkommen til Deres pontifikat i disse yderst turbulente tider, og vi værdsætter, at Deres første ord var: »Fred være med jer alle«.

Ikke alene raser der regionale konflikter i mange dele af verden, men flere af disse konflikter har potentiale til at eskalere til en atomar dommedag, der kunne bringe civilisationen til ophør og dermed være den ultimative synd mod Guds skaberværk.

De har tilbudt at fremme fredsforhandlinger mellem lande i krig og dermed fortsætte pave Frans’ mandat, der i sin sidste Urbi et Orbi-budskab gjorde fred til et påtrængende krav og gentagne gange fordømte våbenhandel og dem, der drager fordel af krig.

Vi ønsker at meddele Deres Hellighed, at vi er fast besluttet på at gøre alt, hvad der står i vores magt, for at nå ud til alle kristne såvel som troende af andre religioner og verdenssyn, for at forene os i en indsats for at etablere en ægte fredsorden i verden, en fredsorden, der afskaffer de reelle årsager til krig ved at tage hensyn til alle parters berettigede sikkerhedsinteresser.

Men i lyset af det forfærdelige, sataniske folkemord, der finder sted i Gaza, og den utilgivelige tavshed og passivitet fra regeringernes side over for dette, appellerer vi også til Dem om at tage afstand fra dette igangværende folkemord. Vi har brug for en moralsk autoritet til at fordømme dette folkemord, uden det mister vi ethvert moralsk kompas.

Vi støtter også fuldt ud Deres afvisning af de »manikæiske forestillinger«, der opdeler mennesker i »gode og onde«, fordi sådanne forestillinger nægter mennesker muligheden for at overvinde det onde gennem udvikling. Men det kræver mobilisering af vores frie vilje, og det indebærer ikke en automatisk frifindelse af dem, der beslutter at være redskaber for det onde.

Vi støtter tanken om, at »det nye navn for fred er udvikling!«

Underskrifter:

Helga Zepp-LaRouche (Tyskland), grundlægger af Schiller Instituttet og medinitiativtager til Den Internationale Fredskoalition (IPC)

Ray McGovern (USA), tidligere CIA-analytiker, medstifter af Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

Liliana Gorini (Italien), formand for Movimento Solidarietà (Movisol)

Anastasia Battle, medinitiativtager til Den Internationale Fredskoalition (IPC)

Jacques Cheminade (France), former French presidential candidate, President of Solidarité et Progrès,

Underskriv gerne her: https://schillerinstitute.nationbuilder.com/open_letter_to_pope_leo_xvi

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May 22, 2025 –The Schiller Institute today released the names of 85 prominent endorsers of the Institute’s Open Letter to Pope Leo XIV on peace efforts, from all over the world, as a spur to broader circulation of the Letter, and the addition of many further endorsers. These names come from more than 600 current signers. The Institute stresses the urgency of this effort, in light of the unimaginable civilian death toll and suffering in Gaza as the Israeli government’s policy of genocide and ethnic cleansing intensifies, and other conflicts, such as that in Ukraine, which continue to menace humanity with the specter of nuclear war. The letter is translated into Danish, Spanish, French, German, Swedish, Arabic, and Portuguese.

The listing of a first group of 85 prominent additional signers, organized alphabetically by country, and alphabetically by last name and country. Profession, title and/or affiliation, for identification purposes only:

Daud Azimi, Afghanistan/Germany, Engineer; Board Member, Peace National Front of Afghanistan

Tse Anye Kevin, State55 Afrika, Acting President

Enrique Juan Box, Argentina, journalist

Roberto Fritzsche, Argentina, Professor, Department of Economics, Universidad de Belgrano

Rubén Darío Guzzetti, Argentina, Professor, Argentine Institute of Geopolitical Studies

Juan Francisco Numa Soto, Argentina, Legal advisor, Yacyretá Binational Entity; former Professor of Constitutional Law, Universidad de Buenos Aires.

Carlos Perez Galindo, Argentina, Lawyer

Meinrad Schneckenleithner, Austria, Pax Christi

Gen. (ret.) Edwin Alfonso De La Fuente Jeria, Bolivia, Former Commander-in-Chief, Bolivian Armed Forces

Paulo Cannabrava Filho, Brazil, journalist; founding director, Diálogos do Sul

Jairo Dias Carvalho, Brazil, Professor of Philosophy of Technology, University of Uberlândia

Dimitri Lascaris, Canada/Greece, Lawyer, Activist; 2025 Serena Shim laureate award for integrity in journalism; host, Reason to Resist podcast

H. Douglas Lightfoot, Canada, Mechanical engineer (ret.); founder, Lightfoot Institute

Juan Gómez, Chile, Coordinator, World Without War and Without Violence

Vincenzo Romanello, Ph.D., Czech Republic/Germany/Italy, Nuclear engineer; founder, Italian chapter, “Atoms for Peace”

Tom Gillesberg, Denmark, President, Schiller Institute Denmark; former independent candidate for parliament

Alcibíades Abreu, Dominican Republic, University Professor, School of Mathematics, Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) and Universidad Católica, Santo Domingo

Ramón Emilio Concepción, Dominican Republic,Attorney at Law; Presidential Pre-candidate, PRM party (2020)

Marino J. Elsevyf Pineda, Dominican Republic, Attorney at Law; notary

Arsenio Hernández Fortuna, Dominican Republic, Director, El Diario Antillano newspaper

José Rodríguez Portorreal, Dominican Republic, President, Solidarity Party

Ernesto Pazmiño Granizo, Ecuador, Human rights lawyer; university professor; former Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Ecuador; former vice-president, Justice Center of the Americas.

Mariano Nguema Esono Medja, Equatorial Guinea, Focal Point in Equatorial Guinea, United Nations Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Africa

Col. (ret.) Alain Corvez, France, consultant, international strategic affairs; former advisor to Commandant of UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)”;

Jean-François Geneste, France, business CEO

Jean-Marc Gentil, France, High level civil servant; honorary administrator general

Ali Rastbeen, France, President, Académie de Géopolitique de Paris

Joachim Bonatz, Germany, Vice President, East German Board of Trustees of Associations (Ostdeutsches Kuratorium von Verbänden e.V.), Berlin

Magret Bonin, Germany, Global Women for Peace United Against NATO

Holger Hüttel, Germany, Chairman, local branch of Die Linke, Sangerhausen

Sabiene Jahn, Germany, Independent Journalist, Koblenz: In Dialogue

Dr. Takis Ioannidis, Greece, Co-Founder, Global Gandhian Harmony Association; Dr. Litt., poet, writer

Raúl Aníbal Marroquín Casasola, Guatemala, Coordinator, Citizen Observatory for Peace “La pupila del cielo”—Human and Environmental Rights Defender.

H. E. Donald Ramotar, Guyana, former President of Guyana

Koushik Das, India, Journalist

Mauricio Abbate, Italy, Chairman, National Institute for Cultural Activities (ENAC)

Gaetano Santoro, Italy, trade unionist

Marino Savina, Italy, National chairman ANDICOSI, Italian Association of Security Workers

Alessia Ruggeri, Italy, trade unionist

Tatjana Ždanoka, Latvia/Belgium, Former Member, European Parliament; Ph.D., Mathematics

Bachar el Hachem, Lebanon, Professor of Political Sociology; researcher

Chandra Muzaffar, Malaysia,Founder and Director, International Movement for a Just World (JUST)

Driss Larafi, Morocco, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Ibn Tofail University

Kees le Pair, Ph.D., Netherlands, Physicist, Univ. of Leiden; former Ass’t Professor, American University of Beirut; Science Advisor, Dutch Military Research

Adewale Aiyedun, Ph.D., Nigeria, Forensic Investigator, Audit & Security Consultant

David Ajetunmobi, Nigeria, trade union leader, auto sector

Shamsudeen Hassan, Nigeria, Founder, Yhunich Mentors Academy—Advocates for Youth Development

Adeshola Kukoyi, Nigeria, Founder, Equilibrium Perspectives, University of Lagos

Archbishop Theodosios Atallah Hanna, Palestine, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Yorel Kira Alcarraz Aguero, Peru, Congresswoman, Congress of the Republic of Peru

Luis Mora, Peru, President, Peruvian chapter, “World without war and without violence”

Fabiola Morales, Peru, President, Cooperation and International Relations Commission, Municipality of Lima. First Councilwoman, Lima.

Roberto Vela Pinedo, Peru, Former National Dean, College of Economists of Peru

Georgy Toloraya, Russia, Executive Director, Russian National Committee on BRICS Research; concurrently Director, Asian Strategy Center, Institute of Economics and Chief Researcher, Institute of China and Contemporary Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences

Earl Bosquet, St. Lucia, veteran Caribbean journalist

Hussein Askary, Sweden, Southwest Asia coordinator, Schiller Institute

Ulf Sandmark, Sweden, Chairman, Schiller Institute Sweden

Erich Fankhauser, Switzerland/Germany, Peace Through Culture e.V. (Frieden durch Kultur e.V.)

Prof. Dr. iur. et phil. Alfred de Zayas, Switzerland, former UN Independent Expert on International Order, Geneva

Bernie Holland, United Kingdom, musician; antiwar activist

Mohammad Salim Akhtar, United States, National Director, American Muslim Task Force on Civil Rights and Elections

Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, United States, Vice Moderator, Central & Executive Committee, World Council of Churches; Board & Executive Committee Member, National Council of Churches; Diocese of the Armenian Church of America

Fatmeh Atieh Bakhit, United States, Publisher/Editor, Al Enteshar Al Arabi newspaper

Col. (ret.) Richard H. Black, United States, former Virginia State Senator; former head of U.S. Army’s Criminal Law Division, Pentagon

Nelson Borelli, United States, Professor of Psychiatry (ret.), author, teacher

Charles Borowsky, PH.D., United States, musician, educator; President, Intermuse Performing Artists Bureau

Fr. Harry Bury, United States, Twin Cities Non-violent; U.S. Catholic Priest Association

Dr. James C. Cobey, MD, United States, Founder, Health Volunteers Overseas; Steering Committee, Voices from the Holy Land; as part of work with Physicians for Human Rights, shared 1997 Nobel Peace Prize with International Campaign to Ban Landmines coalition

Joseph J. Fahey, United States, Co-Founder, Pax Christi USA; author, teacher, theologian

Christopher and Mary Fogarty, United States, Author, “The Perfect Holocaust: Ireland 1845-1850”; Chicago Ireland Support

Graham Fuller, United States/Canada, Former U.S. diplomat and CIA official; former Vice-Chair, National Intelligence Council

Jack Gilroy, United States, Veterans for Peace; Pax Christi—Upstate NY; Pax Christi International

Joyce Hall, United States, Coordinator, Pax Christi, Dallas chapter

Nydia Leaf, United States, Granny Peace Brigade

Marie-Noelle Lombard, United States, United National Anti-War Coalition (UNAC)

Martin Melkonian, United States, Adjunct Associate Professor of Economics, Hofstra University; Treasurer, Long Island (NY) Alliance for Peace and Justice

Lt. Col. (ret.) Earl Rasmussen, United States, international consultant

Coleen Rowley, United States, Retired FBI agent; former Minneapolis Division Legal Consel, 9/11 whistleblower; member, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS); First recipient, Sam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence.

Diane Sare, United States, President, The LaRouche Organization

John Shanahan, United States, Civil engineer; president, Go Nuclear Inc.; editor, website: allaboutenergy.net

John Steinbach, United States, Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Committee, National Capital Area

Dr. Mohammad Toor, United States, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Pakistani-American Congress

Father Joseph Varghese, United States, Executive Director, Institute for Religious Freedom and Tolerance; Holy Sophia Coptic Orthodox Church School of Theology

René Wadlow, United States/France, President, Association of World Citizens

Alan Waltar, Ph.D., United States, Former president, American Nuclear Society; former head, nuclear engineering, Texas A&M University; consultant, IAEA, DOE

Jim Wohlgemuth, United States, Veterans for Peace, Nashville (TN) chapter; radio host

Luisa Beatriz Báez Catarí, Venezuela, Secretary of Organization, Diocesan Union of Confraternities of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar Guarenas

Munashe Chiwanza, Zimbabwe, civil engineer

Ahmed Bassalat, Ph.D., Professor of Physics, CERN associate