"We do not want these tragedies to be forgotten. Rather together we want to give voice to all those who suffer, to all those who have no voice and are not heard. They know well, often better than the powerful, that there is no tomorrow in war, and that the violence of weapons destroys the joy of life."
Speaking out against religious fundamentalism, the Pope said, "peace alone, and not war, is holy!"
"We never tire of repeating that the name of God cannot be used to justify violence," he said. "Peace, a thread of hope that unites earth to heaven, a word so simple and difficult at the same time."
Peace means forgiveness, openness to dialogue, cooperation, and education, Pope Francis said, noting how leaders from all branches of Christianity were in attendance, all united in their prayer for peace.
"Prayer and concrete acts of cooperation help us to break free from the logic of conflict and to reject the rebellious attitudes of those who know only how to protest and be angry," he said.
Our path toward peace "leads us to immersing ourselves in situations and giving first place to those who suffer," the Pope stated.
"To taking on conflicts and healing them from within; to following ways of goodness with consistency, rejecting the shortcuts offered by evil; to patiently engaging processes of peace, in good will and with God's help."
Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.