A Pope for a Disarmed Peace: From Chicago to the World
- Jun 30
- 3 min read
By: Nino Kalos
New York, NY — At a time when the language of politics seems increasingly dominated by the logic of force, a different voice emerges — one that speaks an ancient and yet strikingly modern lexicon: the language of disarmed peace. It is the voice of Pope Leone XIV, a pontiff who surprises with his evangelical radicalism and his deeply American biography.
Born in Chicago — the same city that gave life to the world’s largest humanitarian organization, Rotary International — Pope Leone carries within him a culture of service that is not theoretical but concrete, civic, and lived daily.A culture born in neighborhood clubs, in volunteer initiatives, in the conviction that peace is not a diplomatic abstraction but patient work made of outstretched hands and communities that care for one another.
“Disarmed Peace”: A Simple and Revolutionary Idea
Pope Leone insists on an expression that is rapidly entering the moral vocabulary of our time: “disarmed peace.”
Not a peace guaranteed by arsenals, nor an equilibrium built on mutual fear, but a peace born of trust, dialogue, and the dignity of the other.
It is a vision that recalls another great pontiff of the twentieth century: Pope Benedetto XV, the “Pope of Peace,” born in Genoa — a city of sailors, merchants, and bridge builders. It was he who, in 1917, described the First World War as a “senseless slaughter,” paying the price of governmental incomprehension and moral solitude.
And yet, history proved him right.
Two Cities, Two Worlds, One Mission
Chicago and Genoa may seem distant, yet they share a vocation:they are open, port cities, accustomed to looking beyond the horizon.
From Genoa came Amadeo Giannini, founder of Bank of America, the son of immigrants who revolutionized access to credit for the poor and the voiceless.
From Genoa also comes a bond with Istanbul, where the Turks erected a seven meter statue of Benedetto XV, recognizing his courage in helping their people during the war without asking for anything in return — giving without asking, something almost unthinkable in today’s world.
From Chicago comes Pope Leo, son of a city that has made service its global identity.Rotary, born there in 1905, brought to the world a simple and powerful idea: peace is built through humanitarian action, cooperation, and civic responsibility.
A Bridge Between Two Eras
Pope Leone and Benedetto XV share not only a vision — they share a mission.
Both speak with the strength of the Word, not of weapons.Both believe that peace is not a luxury but a duty. Both know that war is never inevitable: it is always a choice.
Benedetto XV could not stop the war of his time. Pope Leone XIV, today, tries to stop the wars of ours.
And he does so with a language the world recognizes as authentic:peace is not achieved by arming hands, but by disarming hearts.
Why Rotary Looks to Pope Leone XIV
For Rotary — which for more than a century has promoted peace through service — Pope Leone represents something rare:a spiritual leader who speaks the same language as global humanitarianism.
His idea of “disarmed peace” aligns perfectly with Rotary’s values:
• human dignity• dialogue• international cooperation• concrete action• moral responsibility
For this reason, his figure naturally lends itself to a special recognition:the Honorary Paul Harris Fellow, the highest moral distinction Rotary can bestow.
Not as a prize, but as the acknowledgment of a shared mission.
In a world that risks becoming accustomed to war as if it were a natural phenomenon, Pope Leone reminds us that peace is a choice.
A difficult choice, certainly.But also the only one capable of saving humanity from itself.
A Pope born in Chicago, cradle of Rotary. A Pope who speaks of disarmed peace.A Pope who continues the mission of Benedetto XV, the Pope of Peace.
History may not repeat itself.But sometimes — when we are fortunate — it fulfills itself.
And that is our hope.
