ROME — While Pope Francis has repeatedly decried what he calls a “Third World War” being fought piecemeal in the early 21st century, he also described some rays of hope on Tuesday, including a global agreement on climate change, interreligious dialogue, and his own Jubilee Year of Mercy.

“Sadly, war and terrorism, accompanied by kidnapping, ethnic or religious persecution, and the misuse of power marked the past year from start to finish,” Francis said. Yet, he added, some events of 2015 inspire him “to encourage everyone not to lose hope in our human ability to conquer evil and to combat resignation and indifference.”

The pope’s words came in his annual message for the Church-sponsored World Day of Peace, which will be celebrated Jan. 1.

Titled “Overcome Indifference and Win Peace,” the eight-page document is a call not to lose faith in mankind because “God does not abandon us,” while appealing to civil society to take care of its most vulnerable members: prisoners, migrants, the unemployed, the infirm, and the unborn.

“Peace is both God’s gift and a human achievement,” Francis wrote.

The document is divided into eight sections that alternate between describing Francis’ perception of the current situation, such as a “globalization of indifference,” and examples of actions or gestures that give reason to hope for a more just world.

Quoting his predecessor Benedict XVI, something he did six times throughout the document, Francis wrote that “the glorification of God and human peace on earth are closely linked,” because without openness to God, humans become easy prey of relativism, “and find it difficult to act justly and to work for peace.”

“The denial of God,” Francis wrote, “has produced untold cruelty and violence.”

According to Francis, indifference toward one’s neighbor has similar results: “When people witness the denial of their elementary rights, such as the right to food, water, health care, or employment, they are tempted to obtain them by force.”

When the natural environment is ignored, “by countenancing deforestation, pollution and natural catastrophes,” it leads to poverty and injustice.

Yet according to Pope Francis, there are many “positive initiatives” amidst the “globalization of indifference.”

He listed examples of those who choose “not to close our eyes to our neighbor:” non-governmental organizations and charities, both within and outside the Church, whose members, amidst disasters and armed conflicts, brave dangers to provide aid.

“I think also of the journalists and photographers who shape public opinion on difficult situations which trouble our consciences, and all those devoted to the defense of human rights,” Francis wrote. “Among them are also many priests and missionaries who, as good pastors, remain at the side of their flock and support them, heedless of danger and hardship.”

The pope also included families who offer a “‘counter-cultural’ education in the values of solidarity, compassion and fraternity,” by opening their hearts and homes to those in need.

Throughout the document, he cites events from 2015 as reasons for hope.

He underlined the result of the Paris COP21 summit and the “search for new ways to confront climate change and to protect the earth, our common home,” as well as the Addis Ababa Summit for sustainable development worldwide and the adoption of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

For the Church, Francis noted, “2015 was a special year,” as it marked the 50th anniversary of two documents of the Second Vatican Council “which eloquently expressed her sense of solidarity with the world.”

He cited Nostra Aetate, on the dialogue of the Catholic Church with non-Christian religions, and Gaudium et Spes, “with which the Church proposed to enter into dialogue with the entire human family about the problems of our world, as a sign of solidarity, respect and affection.”

Referring to the Jubilee of Mercy, which he opened on Dec. 8, the pontiff invited the Church to pray and work so that every Christian will have a compassionate heart, “capable of proclaiming and witnessing to mercy.”

Before closing with a prayer, Francis appealed to world leaders, asking them to refrain from drawing others into conflicts or wars, to forgive or manage the debt of poor nations, and to adopt policies of cooperation that respect the values of local populations and, in any case, not prove detrimental to the right to life of the unborn.