Pope evokes cold-war replay, says leaders should avoid arms

Pope Francis urged world leaders Wednesday to use reason and not arms to resolve differences, evoking memories of the 1960s Cold War between Washington and Moscow.

At his weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square, Francis noted that Tuesday (yesterday, Macau time) marked the 60th anniversary of the issuance of a Cold War-era encyclical by Pope John XXIII.

The “Pacem in Terris” encyclical, intended for both the Catholic Church and the world at large, was issued several months after the Cuban missile crisis, which had fueled fears of nuclear war between the United States and what was then the Soviet Union.

Francis recalled the world then as “full of tensions between two opposing blocs in the so-called Cold War” and said his predecessor’s message, which encouraged peace efforts, “is very current today.”

The encyclical “opened horizons in which you could speak of peace, construct peace,’’ Francis told thousands of faithful gathered in the square. He called the document issued April 11, 1963 ”a real blessing, like a serene break in the midst of dark clouds.”