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A “Disarmed and Disarming” Peace. How Can It Be Promoted? A Dialogue to Bring Forces Together
Working for peace is urgent, as the Pope’s very first words also made clear. On Tuesday, 13 May 2025, a meeting on how to promote a culture of peace was held in Rome and streamed live. The discussion was coordinated by Eva Benelli and introduced by Fiorella Leone. Participants included Maurizio Bonati, physician and essayist; Angelo Stefanini, volunteer physician with the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund; and Claudio Tosi, trainer.
War is something we must never stop talking about. Even the Pope invoked peace in the very first words after his election. As Luca Carra noted in the Scienza in rete newsletter: “The ‘disarmed and disarming peace’ with which Leo XIV opened is a very sharp expression, because it evokes the ethics of non-violence: what disarms—and thus overcomes all resistance—is presenting oneself unarmed.”
We must not grow accustomed to war. Even though the terrible news and images of these days confirm that wars and conflicts are a constant and chronic presence in the world, with multiple and dramatic impacts on populations—especially on children.
Few people imagine that the duration of their consequences is measured in many years. Maurizio Bonati recently explained in Scienza in rete that after the acute phase of an armed conflict, it takes about fifteen years to restore, maintain, and resume the improving trend in child mortality levels compared with those prior to the conflict. Maurizio Bonati is also among the participants in the meeting “The Chronic Trauma of War,” a multi-voiced dialogue coordinated by Eva Benelli, journalist at Zadig, held in Rome at the Casa della Memoria e della Storia on Tuesday, 13 May, to reflect on the impact of war and on promoting a culture of peace.
War has a very profound impact on population health. It not only increases exposure to risks, but also weakens—sometimes to the point of destruction—protective factors such as community networks, access to safe water supplies, positive health-seeking behaviors, and social stability. The first victims are women and children.
Maurizio Bonati, author of The Chronic Trauma of War. Women and Children as the First Victims (Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore, 2024), an excerpt of which was published by Scienza in rete, discussed the impact of war and how to promote a culture of peace with Angelo Stefanini, a volunteer physician with the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, and Claudio Tosi, a trainer with the Cemea federation (Centres for Training in Active Education Methods). The discussion was coordinated by Eva Benelli, journalist at Scienza in rete, and introduced by Fiorella Leone of the Circolo Gianni Bosio.
The recording of the event is available online.
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