Lost for Words When a compatriot of mine killed fifty people at worship in mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand on 15 March 2019, I had no words for the horror, the anger, the grief, the sadness. No words for the shame that one of us could do such a thing,… Read More »Violence Will Not Have the Last Word
A War Fought Piecemeal Pope Francis says that we are engaged in “a horrifying world war fought piecemeal”. More violence cannot fix it, but will only cause further suffering, and even the physical and spiritual death of many people. The answer, Francis says in his Message for the 50th World… Read More »World Day of Peace 2017: A Call for Active Nonviolence
The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns offers a reflection guide for Advent 2016. The theme is Gospel nonviolence. The guide contains reflections, questions, prayers, and actions based on each week’s Gospel reading and the discussions by Catholic peacemakers who attended the landmark Nonviolence and Just Peace conference in Rome in… Read More »Gospel Nonviolence Reflection Guide Advent 2016
Archbishop Denis Hart, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference offered condolences and deep sympathy for the victims of terror attacks in France. He called for unity among cultures and expressed special concern that Australians of Middle Eastern backgrounds should not be vilified as a result of the attacks. He… Read More »Australian Bishops Call for Unity
The United Nations has designated 21 September the International Day of Peace. In this CatholicCare reflection I look at ways in which we can cultivate a culture of peace.
Sometimes it seems that the whole world has gone crazy: passenger planes shot out of the sky; schools and hospitals shelled; people expelled from their home countries because of their religion; intentionally cruel policies towards people in need, including children. We can feel overwhelmed and helpless. We may be tempted to succumb to what Pope Francis has called a ‘culture of indifference’ -blocking out the pain of it all and avoiding any sense of responsibility to respond.Read More »Cultivating a Culture of Peace
The Catholic Bishops of the Kachin and Shan states in Myanmar have called all parties to the conflict there to resume talks for peace. The principle of subsidiarity suggests that matters should be dealt with as close as possible to the grassroots and that more overarching bodies should only get… Read More »Call for Peace