Catholics In Coalition for Justice and Peace

Reflections for International Day of Peace

Reflections for International Day of Peace, 21st September

Justice, right reason and humanity urgently demand that the arms race should cease; that the stockpiles that exist in various countries should be reduced equally and simultaneously by the parties concerned; that nuclear weapons should be banned; and that a general agreement should eventually be reached about progressive disarmament and an effective method of control.
- Pacem in Terris. Pope John xxiii 1963. #112

Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities or of extensive areas along with their population is a crime against God and humanity. It merits unequivocal and unhesitating condemnation.
- Gaudium et Spes. Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World. 1965. #80

The arms race is an utterly treacherous trap for humanity and one which injures the poor to an intolerable degree.
- Ibid #81

Peace cannot be limited to a mere absence of war….No, peace is something that is built up day after day in pursuit of an order intended by God which implies a more perfect form of justice among people.
- Populorum Progressio –the Development of Peoples. Pope Paul vi 1967 #