“Peace is not built by vaunting the power of the victor over the vanquished” and “is consolidated when nations can discuss matters on equal terms”. These are the two “lessons” that can be learned from World War I, which, “sad to say, humanity did not immediately grasp, leading within the space of twenty years to a new and even more devastating conflict”. Pope Francis mentioned the Great War, whose centenary is celebrated this year, in his fifth address to the Diplomatic Corps, stressing that “victory never means humiliating a defeated foe”. “Future acts of aggression are not deterred by the law of fear, but rather by the power of calm reason that encourages dialogue and mutual understanding as a means of resolving differences” – this is the first lesson of the Great War, which leads to the second: “Peace is consolidated when nations can discuss matters on equal terms”. “This was grasped a hundred years ago – on this very date – by the then President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, who proposed the establishment of a general league of nations with the aim of promoting for all states, great and small alike, mutual guarantees of independence and territorial integrity”, Pope Francis remarked. This, he went on to say, “laid the theoretical basis for that multilateral diplomacy which has gradually acquired over time an increased role and influence in the international community as a whole”. “Relations between nations, like all human relationships, must likewise be harmonized in accordance with the dictates of truth, justice, willing cooperation, and freedom”, the Pope pointed out: this entails “the principle that all states are by nature equal in dignity, as well as the acknowledgement of one another’s rights and the fulfilment of their respective duties”. At the beginning of his speech, Pope Francis listed the international trips he had made over the past year: to Egypt, Portugal, Colombia, Myanmar and Bangladesh.