Justice, Peace & Environment

Mongolia is hosting the UN Convention to Combat Desertification for the first time, with nearly 77 percent of its land already degraded. Its theme is 'Restoring Land, Restoring Hope.' A World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation is in Ulaanbaatar for the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17). "We have still too much land degradation all over the world, from Africa to, yes, North Am... Read More

"They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks" (Is 2:4) is the theme of Pope Leo XIV's Message for the 11th World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, published by the Vatican today. The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation will be on 1 September - beginning the Ecumenical Season of Creation, which will conclude on 4 October, the liturgical feast of ... Read More

Leela Ramdeen, Consultant, CCSJ & Director, CREDI Today we observe the UN's International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. The UN rightly states that "Freedom of religion or belief, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to peaceful assembly and the right to freedom of association are interdependent, interrelated and mutually reinforcing. The... Read More

Catholic clergy from South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali and Uganda - including Cardinal Stephen Brislin of South Africa - have issued a joint statement declaring that the policies and actions of the Government of Israel in Gaza constitute genocide. The statement is issued on behalf of Priests Against Genocide - Africa (PAGA), the African chapter of the international Priests A... Read More

Laudato Si 'animator John Woodhouse has sent these short parish newsletter items for the Season of Creation (September 1 to October 4 2026) The banner is by Laudato Si' animator Martin Jarvis. The season of Creation begins on Sept 1 the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. The theme of the season is "Living water". We learn of a river growing deeper and restoring barren land with reviving... Read More

Aisha and the CAFOD Campaigns Team write: Following the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Leo once again called for an end "to the repeated acts of violence against the Palestinian population of the West Bank." One of the greatest obstacles to building peace is the ongoing expansion of illegal settlements across occupied Palestinian territory. As settlements expand, Palestinian families are driven from thei... Read More

Wednesday 19 August is World Humanitarian Day - a day to honour the people who are the first to help when disaster strikes, and keep helping long after the headlines have moved on. The vast majority of humanitarians are local experts and volunteers, stepping up to help their neighbours with the help they really need, when help is needed most. More than 240 million people around the world are in ne... Read More

A group of Catholic priests ministering across the United Kingdom and Ireland, writing on behalf of the international network Priests Against Genocide - which includes three Cardinals, 28 Bishops and more than 2,500 Catholic priests and deacons in 67 countries - has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging his government to take decisive action on Palestine. The letter welcomes th... Read More

More than one hundred people gathered at The Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick for the 48th National Justice and Peace Network (NJPN) Conference. The theme was deceptively simple: Just Talk. But over the course of the weekend, it became clear that these two words carried a challenge. At a time when public conversation can so easily become angry, polarised and unforgiving, how do we continue to t... Read More

On Sunday, 9th August, Pax Christi held their annual commemoration of the life and witness of Franz Jägerstätter in the church of Our Most Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More in Chelsea. Jagerstatter was executed in Berlin in 1943 for his refusal to fight for the Nazi regime. He was a conscientious objector who openly criticised the Nazi party and saw it as his religious duty to adhere to the princ... Read More

January 1, 2027 will mark the 60th World Day of Peace. To celebrate this day, Pope Leo XIV has chosen the theme: 'Disarming Technology, Serving Peace: Politics as Preventive Responsibility'. A press release from the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, states that Pope Leo wants to highlight the "moral responsibility of those called to act in the political sphere." The Pope is ... Read More

This year's service to commemorate the life and witness of Bl Franz Jagerstatter will take place at the Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer, Cheyne Row, London SW3 5HS at 4pm on Sunday, 9 August It has been organised by members of Pax Christi England and Wales. Bl Franz Jägerstätter, was an Austrian farmer and conscientious objector during World War II who refused to fight for Nazi Germany because ... Read More

Erin Tsutsui is a 16-year-old student at Henry M Gunn High School in California. She visited the World Council of Churches on 5 August with a group from the League of Creative Minds. She shared her grandfather's story of surviving the nuclear bomb in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. You've been growing up listening to your grandfather's stories. Could you tell me a little more? Tsutsui: My grandfather ... Read More

One of the greatest obstacles to building peace in the Holy Land is the ongoing expansion of illegal settlements which displace Palestinian families. As Palestinians are forced from their home, settlers are using this land to grow and export produce - such as dates and wine - across the world. We must stop the trading of all goods and services produced on land that has been illegally occupied. ... Read More