from Pax Christi International
“We are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and needed, all of us called to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other. On this boat… are all of us. Just like those disciples … so we too have realized that we cannot go on thinking of ourselves, but only together can we do this. ~Pope Francis, 27 March 2020
Pax Christi International fully endorses UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ call on 23 March for a ceasefire to warring partners around the globe. The secretary general calls on all governments, groups and people with influence “to urge and pressure combatants around the world to put down their arms.” He repeated his call on 3 April stating: “There should be only one fight in our world today: our shared battle against COVID-19.”
We join His Holiness Pope Francis in support of this plea which, as of 4 April, has been endorsed by 70 member states, civil society networks and organisations, religious leaders and more than one million people in an online appeal. Warring parties in several countries have responded positively to this request, but much more need to be done.
Several of Pax Christi’s 120 member organisations directly suffer from the impact of violence, abuse and war. Other members are facing daily an assault on democratic principles with lockdowns on civic space and increasing attacks on fundamental freedoms and human rights…
That has been my life’s dream. We were created in love. We were created for love. We are ONE. Let us love one another.