A Statement from the Bishops Commission for Social Justice, Mission and Service:
In the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we are reminded we belong to one human family which is best nurtured by a world free of war and focused on peace building.
As Pope Leo XIV reminded us, the first words spoken by the risen Christ were: “Peace be with you all.”
The peace of Christ, as the Holy Father stated, is “a peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. A peace that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally”.
We join with the Holy Father in expressing our concern about the “worrying and painful” situation in Gaza.
We support his appeal to “allow the entry of dignified humanitarian aid and to put an end to the hostilities, whose heartbreaking price is paid by the children, elderly, and the sick”, as well as the safe return of hostages.
We encourage all people of good will to study the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s 2024 Social Justice Statement “Truth and Peace: A Gospel Word in a Violent World”.
In that statement, the bishops of Australia sought to offer a Gospel word to all who are committed to speaking the truth and working for peace and unity in a world scarred by violence, especially in Ukraine, the Middle East, Sudan and Myanmar.
The statement concluded “(it is) all the more urgent that all who believe in Jesus Christ work together with everyone of good will, all who love the truth, to show the world that there is a realistic way to peace, a genuine peace built upon speaking truth and building trust”.
We suggest three positive steps in building an ‘architecture of peace’: genuine dialogue, truth-telling and education.
But before anything else, we should – as our 2024 Social Justice Statement encouraged – invite God to nurture peace in our hearts and discern how we can share that peace with our troubled world.
We prayerfully recall the words of Pope Francis last year: “Stop! Stop because violence will never bring peace.”
(Signed by commission chair, Bishop Tim Harris)