EU Catholic Leaders Urge Global Peace Amid Ongoing Conflicts
(Photo: COMECE)
In a resounding call for peace, the Catholic Church’s representatives in the European Union have implored global leaders to bring an end to ongoing wars. This appeal was made during the recent gathering of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) in Nicosia, Cyprus.
Echoing the words of Pope Leo XIV, the bishops released a communique urging, “Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!”
The choice of Nicosia as the meeting venue also highlighted Cyprus’ presidency of the EU Council, which rotates annually. During their stay, the bishops met with Vasiliki Kassianidou, Cyprus’ deputy minister of culture, to discuss the island’s longstanding division.
In 1974, Cyprus was split into the Turkish-aligned north and the southern region following a Turkish military intervention aimed at countering a coup that sought to unify Cyprus with Greece. This event marked one of the closest instances of potential conflict between two NATO members.
The bishops used the meeting in Cyprus to emphasize the necessity for the EU to focus on mending the island’s division. Despite the improbability of renewed armed conflict there, the separation imposes significant challenges, particularly for communities attempting to access their places of worship.
Additionally, the bishops addressed the plight of Christians in the Holy Land, with insights from Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who participated via video link. This discussion follows recent remarks by a Benedictine abbot who warned that the diminishing Christian presence in the Holy Land could reduce the area to a “Christian Disneyland”.
This article was originally written by www.christiantoday.com
