AMERICA - Bishops, religious, Caritas: united with the world to condemn war and call for peace

Monday, 28 February 2022 wars peace human rights pope francis episcopal conferences orders

AMERICA

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Rome (Agenzia Fides) - From Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, declarations of Episcopal Conferences, Bishops, religious and secular organizations, demonstrations and initiatives follow one another to condemn the war in Ukraine, join the prayer called by Pope Francis and ask for the return of dialogue and peace (see Fides, 25/2/2022).
The Executive Committee of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) condemns the escalation of violence in Ukraine: "In solidarity with the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, His Beatitude Svyatoslav Shevchuk, in unison with the Patriarch Bartholomeo, together with the Ukrainian people and with Canadians of Ukrainian origin and descent, we urge the faithful and all people of good will to pray for the immediate restoration of peace, dialogue and human fraternity. Aware of the deplorable lessons on violence that we have all learned throughout human history, we implore all parties involved to seek non-violent means to resolve disputes and disagreements".
The Archbishop of Los Angeles, Monsignor José H. Gomez President of the United States Bishops' Conference (USCCB), communicated: "On behalf of my brother bishops, I echo the Holy Father’s call for prayer and fasting to end the war in Ukraine. May our prayers, joined with those of people around the world, help guide those waging war to end the meaningless suffering and restore peace. Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us".
"The Caritas of our countries in Latin America and the Caribbean joins the thousands of voices around the world that condemn war and violence as a means of resolving conflicts or disputes", says Archbishop José Luis Azuaje, Archbishop of Maracaibo and President of Caritas Latin America and the Caribbean (Caritas LAC).
The Archbishop adds that "a conflict of war is always a very hard blow, which tears and injures in an irreparable and irreversible way thousands of communities, destroys innocent lives and traumatizes entire generations by creating wounds that have little chance to heal". Caritas LAC rejects these actions, because "it is a grave injustice to use force to validate a line of thought or to appropriate the property or culture of another people, transforming this action into a cruel attack on human dignity". He therefore calls "to be promoters of lasting Peace", joining the words of Pope Francis and the day of fasting and prayer on March 2, "we ratify that dialogue, respect and love must always prevail over the blindness that produces violence".
The Provincial Office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation of the Franciscans in Chile, in collaboration with the JUPIC Department of the Conference of Religious of Chile (CONFERRE), participates in the Day of Fasting and Prayer on March 2, which will take place at the temple of San Francisco de la Alameda in Santiago. After the 8 am Mass, the Blessed Sacrament will remain on display all day and different groups will follow for adoration. After the 7:30 p.m. mass, candles will be lit in front of the church to publicly express the rejection of violence and war, and to ask for peace. The invitation is "to witness, as consecrated men and women, to be witnesses and promoters of peace". The Augustinian Organization of Latin America and the Caribbean (OALA) joins "the various demonstrations of rejection of war, demonstrations organized by both Ukrainians and Russians, who directly reject this war out of respect for human life, as well as only for the family ties which exist between the citizens of the two countries". He added that "these are very difficult times, not only for the countries directly affected, but also for other countries, including Latin America, which will suffer clear signs of poverty, hunger, social disorder and of death; and unfortunately and as always, the first and most affected will be the poorest, the children and the families themselves". Faced with "the pain of the Ukrainian people, their anguish and their desolation", OALA promoted a day of prayer for peace, through its digital platforms, which took place on Saturday February 26 and Sunday February 27. (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 28/2/2022)