Justice, Peace & Environment

A new group of 12 ecumenical accompaniers was deployed on 17 April to serve in South Hebron Hills, Jordan Valley, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. During the recent term of the outgoing accompaniers, a series of alarming developments were observed in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The accompaniers noted with deep concern a growing pattern of coordination between Israeli settlers and the Israeli Security Fo... Read More

A local charity is calling for urgent action to be taken as new research it has carried out shows a significant increase in child poverty within Catholic schools in Greater Manchester and Lancashire over the last three years. More than 95 per cent of headteachers and school leaders who contributed to the research cited that the number of children living in poverty has risen, with 35 per cent stati... Read More

Pax Christi England and Wales joined groups from different faiths on Wednesday this week for a peace vigil at the gates of Lakenheath airbase in Suffolk. The vigil was one of the events in a fortnight of protest running alongside a peace camp organised by the Lakenheath Alliance for Peace. Though officially an RAF base, Lakenheath is operated by the US Air Force and is home to their 'Liberty Wing... Read More

Dozens of members of the UK's largest formal Jewish body have condemned Israel's new offensive on Gaza, warned that "Israel's soul is being ripped out". In an open letter, published in the Financial Times yesterday, 36 members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews said they could not "turn a blind eye or remain silent at this renewed loss of life and livelihoods". They also condemned violence a... Read More

It seems hard to believe that 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the groundbreaking and influential Papal encyclical letter, Laudato Si' - On Care for Our Common Home. This will be marked by an interactive webinar on Wednesday 23 April from 7.30-9pm, with speakers including Lorna Gold, Executive Director of Laudato Si' Movement. Pope Francis, then entering the third year since being elected Pope, ... Read More

In Holy Week our thoughts and prayers are very much on the Holy Land and particularly on the last days of Jesus, as he approached Jerusalem. In an act of deep symbolism and solidarity a number of Catholic and Anglican Dioceses have again chosen Palestinian Olive Oil as the base for their Holy Oils. These include the Catholic Dioceses of Arundel and Brighton, Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham, Sout... Read More

Pat Gaffney, Vice-President of Pax Christi England and Wales writes: In my many years of peacemaking, and especially in organising and participating in vigils, acts of witness and protests, people often say: 'what is the point?' Good question. We rarely stop the war or the arms sales. So what are we doing? By way of example here is what I think we were 'doing' at the fast and vigil held outsid... Read More

'When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die' (The Cost of Discipleship 1937) It's hard to imagine that when Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote these words he could have foreseen that his Christian calling would lead him, some eight years later, to a similar fate as his master or, indeed, that because of his martyrdom in 1945 (just three weeks before the end of the war) at the hands of the Nazi regim... Read More

This Friday, 11 March, Pax Christ members and supporters will be gathering to fast and pray opposite Downing Street, in remembrance of the murdered children of Gaza, and in solidarity with Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, 80, who is currently on a 40 day fast. "I just am absolutely shocked by what is happening in Gaza since the war and the policies of the Israeli government are total... Read More

The National Justice and Peace Network (NJPN) has joined Bishop Paul McAleenan, the lead bishop for migrants and refugees in England and Wales, and the Jesuit Refugee Service UK in calling for "a fair and humane asylum system" in the UK. Speaking on Monday evening at an NJPN meeting, Bishop McAleenan said he hoped Labour government would have had a different attitude to refugees than the former go... Read More

JPIC Links Conference 4-6 April 2025 - 'Pilgrims of Hope' - Journeying with Jesus in Jubilee "Commitment to be a disciple of Jesus comes from the heart and needs to run deep," said Columban, Fr Ray Collier, at the concluding Eucharist celebration of JPIC Links (Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation) conference led by David McLoughlin, Emeritus Fellow of Christian Thought at Newman University... Read More

Dr Ian Linden is giving this year's Anthony Storey lecture, on 'The History and Spirituality of the Option for the Poor'. Presented by Middlesbrough Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission, the online lecture will take place on Thursday, 8 May at 7pm. Professor Ian Linden is Visiting Professor at St Mary's University, Strawberry Hill, London. A past director of the Catholic Institute for Internatio... Read More

A film screening of the powerful new documentary: From the Nakba to Camp David: 1947-1949, followed by a panel discussion takes place this Tuesday, 8 April at the Frontline Club 13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ from 6:30pm Hosted by The British Palestine Project (formerly the Balfour Project)the film explores pivotal moments from the British mandate to the Camp David Accords - featuring rare archiv... Read More

Today more than 100 refugee charities have signed an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for united communities and an end to 'hostile politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past'. The letter has been coordinated by campaign coalition Together With Refugees in response to the Organised Immigration Crime Summit on targeting smuggling gangs and the Prime Minister's comments a... Read More