violence

Twenty-three incidences of violence against Christians in India were reported by the United Christian Forum (UCF) in the final week of 2023.

Reflection Date: November 23, 2023
After wiping our tears away, we pray and then do something, anything.

Let us pray that the international community may commit itself concretely to abolish torture, guaranteeing support to victims and their families.

“No more bloodshed, no more conflicts, no more violence and mutual recriminations about who is responsible for it, no more leaving your people athirst for peace. No more destruction: it is time to build! Leave the time of war behind and let a time of peace dawn!” the Pope insisted.

"It is time to raise our gaze and move towards encounter and reconciliation with justice. The country must not continue in anxiety, fear and uncertainty," the statement read.

Following his Sunday Angelus address, Pope Francis decried the violence in Ukraine, Peru, and Myanmar, where a Catholic church was destroyed.

Pope Francis is urging everyone to pray for the soul of a Nigerian priest who was murdered last Sunday, and to continue to remember and pray for the many Christians who suffer violence directly, especially for the suffering people of Ukraine.

The Haitian Bishops released a Christmas message calling on armed gangs to end the violence and local authorities to establish civic institutions for a brighter future. The message emphasizes the need to reform civic institutions, notably the legal system.

The Bishops of Peru stressed, in a statement published on December 12 on the recent deadly protest, that “Violence is not the solution to crisis or differences. No more violence, no more deaths! Peru must be our priority!”

Catholic clergy appeal for end to clashes after thousands of civilians flee to seek shelter in church compounds

Archbishop Petrus Canisius Mandagi of Merauke in Papua, Indonesia, condemned the attack on a man with disability by two Air Force personnel on July 26.