International Appeal: Truce in Ukraine over Christmas!

British and German troops meeting in No-Mans' Land during the unofficial 1914 truce. Wiki image

Pax Christi is calling for support of the 'Christmas Peace Appeal' with the International Peace Bureau.

The appeal in full:

Let us call for a ceasefire in Ukraine for this year's Christmas and New Year 2022/23, from December 25th to January 7th - as a sign of humanity, reconciliation and peace.

The Christmas truce of 1914 in the midst of World War I was a symbol of hope and courage. It was agreed arbitrarily by the peoples of the warring countries and led to a spontaneous reconciliation. This is proof that even in the most violent conflicts, in the words of Pope Benedict XV, "at least on the night when the angels sing, the cannons can be silent".

We appeal to the governments of the warring parties: silence the guns. Gives people a moment of peace and opens the way to negotiations.

We call on the international community to do everything in its power to support a Christmas truce and to restart negotiations between the two sides.

Our vision and our goal is a new peace architecture for Europe, which includes security for all European countries based on the policy of "common security".

Peace, reconciliation, and a shared understanding of humanity can triumph over the hatred, violence, and guilt that currently reign at war. Let us remember that we are all human and in contrast, war and mutual destruction is meaningless.

A peace at Christmas is an opportunity to recognize our compassion and charity for and for one another.
Together - we are convinced - the cycle of destruction, suffering and death can be broken.

Click here to sign the petition.