Areas of Focus
Peace and Security for All Life
Peace, in effect, is the fruit of a great political project grounded in the mutual responsibility and interdependence of human beings. But it is also a challenge that demands to be taken up ever anew. It entails a conversion of heart and soul.
– Pope Francis, 2019
We extol the dignity of all life. We hold the joys and the hopes, the griefs, and the anxieties of all those threatened by war or gun violence, of prisoners, of the sick, of children in the womb, of mothers in crisis.
According to the World Health Organization, 1.4 million people lose their lives to violence each year and 2 billion people are living in countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence. Long lasting consequences include increased hunger and crop failure, threat to water supplies, environmental degradation, massive displacement and migration, escalation of crime and terrorism.
Some excerpts from our Corporate Stances on peace, non-violence, and the sanctity of life .…
- We believe that the life and dignity of the human person is fundamental to a just society. We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters, our neighbors in this interdependent world.
- We believe in the sanctity of life; we oppose the death penalty as a means of punishment.
- We support the permanent termination of military aid to El Salvador.
- We support the Call to Halt the Nuclear Arms Race.
- We support peaceful, rather than violent means to achieve regime changes; urge our government leaders to reject the use of violence in favor of diplomatic means to secure a lasting peace.
How do I see the face of God in the whole of life, embrace the tenets of nonviolence, and practice loving those that I see as “other”?
