"They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4)... Vatican announces theme for 2026 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation - traditionally SEPTEMBER 1

 

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• Pope Leo XIV
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Vatican announces theme for 2026 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development announces the theme chosen by Pope Leo XIV for the 2026 celebration of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, held on September 1, as "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4).

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Pope Leo XIV has chosen “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4) as the theme for the 2026 edition of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, traditionally celebrated on September 1.

In the statement from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development making the announcement, the Dicastery states that the Holy Father’s Message for the Day highlights the connection between armed conflict and environmental degradation. 

Such degradation, it underscored, constitutes both a serious violation of our duty to care for creation, as well as a long-term threat to the lives of hundreds of millions of people. 

Moreover, it said "the now widespread awareness of the impact of war on natural resources has not led to the creation of adequate institutions or to responsible decisions aimed at preventing conflicts and resolving disputes peacefully."  

Finally, the statement concluded that the title, the passage in which the Prophet Isaiah prophesies the transformation of weapons into agricultural tools, "is an explicit invitation to prioritize development and sustainability over violence and destruction."

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2026-06/vatican-theme-2026-world-day-of-prayer-for-the-care-of-creation.html 

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Baby Jesus born in Bethehem Palestine

 

CHRISTMAS 2024: From DC to the Vatican, baby Jesus is wearing a keffiyeh — The pro-Palestinian creche is intended to point out the disconnect between the idealized Bethlehem of most representations and the reality in present-day Gaza and the West Bank.

 

Vatican seeks Mideast Christians' right of return

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http://news.yahoo.com/vatican-seeks-mideast-christians-return-133603970.html

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is demanding that Christians and other religious minorities have the right to return to their homes in Iraq and Syria that have been emptied by Islamic militants.

Pope Francis summoned Vatican ambassadors from across the region for three days of meetings. At the conclusion Saturday, they reaffirmed that military force was justified to stop the Islamic State group and that Muslim and Christian religious leaders must denounce the "instrumentalization of religion to justify violence."

The ambassadors said the Iraqi and Syrian governments, backed by the international community, must eventually ensure that Christians and other minorities can return to their homelands in safety and freedom.

Noting the 2,000-year presence of Christians there, the ambassadors said: "One cannot resign oneself to conceiving the Middle East without Christians."

Vatican Urges Muslim Leaders To Condemn The Islamic State Formerly Known As ISIS

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/12/vatican-condemns-isis-muslim-leaders_n_5671497.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

The Huffington Post  | By Yasmine Hafiz

Posted: 08/12/2014 

The unspeakable crimes committed by the Islamic State, a self-identified Sunni militant group formerly known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham) or ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) get worse every day. Beheadings, stonings, live burials, and crucifixions are all tactics used by the extremists as they attempt to wipe out Iraq and Syria's minority religious groups, like the Yazidis and the Shiites.

As the Islamic State claims to be waging war in the name of Islam, with the end goal of restoring the Islamic Caliphate, it is up to Muslim leaders to denounce their actions and reject any sort of religious justification for the horrors they have wrought in Iraq and Syria.

Many have already done that. Iyad Ameen Madani, the Secretary General for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation called the actions of the Islamic State a "crime that cannot be tolerated" in July. Sunni and Shiite Muslim leaders from the UK made a video to condemn the Islamic State in July, and professors from the ancient and influential al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, have also publicly rejected the Caliphate. Most recently, the Grand Mufti Shawqi Allam, Egypt's top Muslim scholar, denounced the Islamic State as an "extremist and bloody group" on Tuesday.

The Vatican is encouraging more Muslim leaders to speak out against the Islamic State. A statement released Tuesday by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue said in part:

The dramatic plight of Christians, Yezidis and other religious communities and ethnic minorities in Iraq requires a clear and courageous stance on the part of religious leaders, especially Muslims, as well as those engaged in interreligious dialogue and all people of good will.

All must be unanimous in condemning unequivocally these crimes and in denouncing the use of religion to justify them. If not, what credibility will religions, their followers and their leaders have? What credibility can the interreligious dialogue that we have patiently pursued over recent years have?

Religious leaders are also called to exercise their influence with the authorities to end these crimes, to punish those who commit them and to reestablish the rule of law throughout the land, ensuring the return home of those who have been displaced. While recalling the need for an ethical management of human societies, these same religious leaders must not fail to stress that the support, funding and arming of terrorism is morally reprehensible.

In the statement, the Vatican noted that, "the majority of religious institutions and Muslim politicians" oppose the "Restoration of the Caliphate" proposed by the Islamic State.

As coexistence is the basis on which healthy relationships between religions are founded, the current atrocities perpetrated by ISIS against minority groups are a threat to interreligious dialogue, the statement implied. "No cause, and certainly no religion, can justify such barbarity," it said.

Jordan Times Editorial: Message of peace and tolerance

JORDAN TIMES April 9 2014: Her Majesty Queen Rania meets with nuns at the Rosary Sisters Visitation Home on Wednesday (Photos courtesy of Royal Court ) Queen Rania commends Rosary Sisters’ humanitarian work: The order, which has been offering educational and health services to the community since 1949, has established six schools. It has been working to empower local communities through the launch of vocational training centres to teach girls skills that help them become financially independent members of society. The Rosary Sisters also aim to help the disadvantaged by establishing hospitals as well as elderly and orphan care centres.

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http://jordantimes.com/message-of-peace-and-tolerance

His Majesty King Abdullah’s visit to the Vatican for talks with His Holiness Pope Francis is timely and propitious for more than one reason.

To start with, both Jordan and the Vatican are championing inter-faith dialogue, not only to promote positive exchanges of ideas and tolerance, but also to use the common message of the three Abrahamic faiths to end conflicts in the region and elsewhere in the world and promote peace everywhere.

As the King pointed out, the Vatican and the Kingdom are partners in promoting the values of peace, tolerance and coexistence between Islam and Christianity.

At the same time, Jordan is working with all stakeholders to establish a culture of dialogue among members of all faiths to counter violence, extremism and religious fanaticism.

True faith could be a maker of peace, particularly in this part of the world, plagued by numerous conflicts and disputes.

Unfortunately, some misguided religious extremists could also use religion to spread hatred and create discord, and that is unacceptable.

Jordan has always been a tolerant country where Muslims and Christians lived together in harmony. And there is no reason to believe that things will change, even if developments in some neighbouring countries may raise fears.

The upcoming visit of the Pope to the holy lands, including Jordan, could serve the cause of the dialogue advocated by the King and the Pope, and may articulate concrete ideas and mechanisms to make it possible and effective.

During his visit to the Vatican, His Majesty also discussed the right path for peace in Palestine and Syria. Both leaders believe in the urgent need for a comprehensive political solution to both Syrian and Palestinian conflicts, solution that is fair and based on international law.

Jordan’s and the Vatican’s message about the need for interfaith dialogue that is put to practical use for mankind must also be put in the service of peace, in the region and globally.

UNWRA ... a crucial lifeline for Palestinian refugees

THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE AT THE UNITED NATIONS

 The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is observed by the United Nations on or around 29 November each year, in accordance with mandates given by the General Assembly in its resolutions 32/40 B of 2 December 1977, 34/65 D of 12 December 1979, and subsequent resolutions adopted by the General Assembly on the question of Palestine. This year's observance at United Nations Headquarters in New York will take place on Monday, 25 November 2013. Observance at the United Nations Offices at Geneva and Vienna will take place on 29 November 2013.

 The date of 29 November was chosen because of its meaning and significance to the Palestinian people. On that day in 1947, the General Assembly adopted resolution 181 (II), which came to be known as the Partition Resolution. That resolution provided for the establishment in Palestine of a “Jewish State” and an “Arab State”, with Jerusalem as a corpus separatum under a special international regime. Of the two States to be created under this resolution, only one, Israel, has so far come into being.

The Solidarity Day has traditionally provided an opportunity for the international community to focus its attention on the fact that the question of Palestine is still unresolved and that the Palestinian people is yet to attain their inalienable rights as defined by the General Assembly, namely, the right to self-determination without external interference, the right to national independence and sovereignty, and the right to return to their homes and property from which they had been displaced.

In response to the call of the United Nations, various activities are undertaken annually by Governments and civil society in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. These activities include, among other things, the issuance of special messages of solidarity with the Palestinian people, the organization of meetings, the dissemination of publications and other information material, and the screening of films.

At United Nations Headquarters in New York, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People each year holds a special meeting to observe the Solidarity Day. Invited speakers include the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly, the President of the Security Council, and representatives of relevant United Nations bodies, intergovernmental organizations and Palestine. NGOs are invited to attend and a representative of the international community of NGOs accredited to the Committee addresses the meeting. The special meeting is webcast live.

A special bulletin containing the statements delivered and messages received on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity is published annually by the Division for Palestinian Rights of the United Nations Secretariat.

Other activities organized in New York in connection with the observance of the Day of Solidarity include a Palestinian exhibit or a cultural event sponsored by the Committee and presented by the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, and the screening of a documentary film.

Meetings in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People are also held at the United Nations Offices at Geneva (ungeneva.ngoliaison@unog.ch) and Vienna (protocol@unvienna.org).

The United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) worldwide are available to assist Governments, NGOs and others wishing to organize special activities in connection with the observance by providing information and documentation.

2011 Observance
2010 Observance
2009 Observance

• Past events – 2008  2007  2006  2005  2004
• Special Bulletins (contain texts of statements made and messages received in connection with past observances)

• Brochure: Regular | Folded
  
  

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Palestinian children from UNRWA school

Photo Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation 

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November 2013 Vatican's UN spokesman: spare no effort to re-start Israeli-Palestinian talks

Speaking on November 7 to a UN session in New York, the Vatican’s permanent observer said that international leaders should “spare no effort in facilitating negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis.”

The goal of such talks, said Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, should be “to to secure through negotiation and reasonable compromise two viable and stable states which give each of the parties independent and secure states for their peoples.”

Archbishop Chullikatt made his remarks in an address to a session on the UN’s Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). He pointed out that the Catholic Church has a special interest in the plight of Palestinians because of the “ever- shrinking presence of traditional Christian communities in the very birthplace of Christianity.”

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Who We Are

UNWRA

We provide assistance and protection for some 5 million registered Palestine refugees to help them achieve their full potential in human development.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN Member States. UNRWA also receives some funding from the Regular Budget of the United Nations, which is used mostly for international staffing costs.
The Agency’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance, including in times of armed conflict.

Establishment

Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, UNRWA was established by United Nations General Assembly resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949 to carry out direct relief and works programmes for Palestine refugees. The Agency began operations on 1 May 1950.

In the absence of a solution to the Palestine refugee problem, the General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate, most recently extending it until 30 June 2014.
> Read the UN Resolution

Palestine refugees

UNRWA is unique in terms of its long-standing commitment to one group of refugees. It has contributed to the welfare and human development of four generations of Palestine refugees, defined as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.” The descendants of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children, are also eligible for registration.

UNRWA services are available to all those living in its areas of operations who meet this definition, who are registered with the Agency and who need assistance. When the Agency began operations in 1950, it was responding to the needs of about 750,000 Palestine refugees. Today, some 5 million Palestine refugees are eligible for UNRWA services.
> More on Palestine refugees

Arab-Israeli War

1940s

April - August 1948: More than 700,000 Palestine refugees are displaced as a result of the Arab-Israeli War.

Resolution 194

11th December 1948

The United Nations General Assembly adopts resolution 194 (III), resolving that “refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.”

Back to 1940s decade

Resolution 302

1940s

UNRWA is created by General Assembly resolution 302 (IV), with the initial mandate to provide “direct relief and works programmes” to Palestine refugees, in order to “prevent conditions of starvation and distress… and to further conditions of peace and stability”. UNRWA takes over from the United Nations Relief for Palestine Refugees (UNRPR), established in 1948.

READ MORE re Mandate:
In response to developments in the region, the General Assembly repeatedly extends and expands the UNRWA mandate, requiring the Agency to engage in a wide variety of humanitarian, development and protection activities based on the needs of beneficiaries.

General Assembly resolution 614 (VII), in 1952, notes a need for “increased relief expenditures” in the UNRWA budget. In 1955, resolution 916 (X) notes the "serious need of other claimants for relief […] namely, the frontier villagers in Jordan, the non-refugee population of the Gaza Strip, a number of refugees in Egypt, and certain of the Bedouin”. General Assembly resolutions in 1958 and 1959 recommend that the Agency increase programmes relating to education, vocational training and self-support, an emphasis that will become an important blueprint for the Agency.

Following the hostilities of June 1967, in which 300,000 people, including some 120,000 Palestine refugees, are rendered homeless or leave their homes, resolution 2252 (ES-V) asks UNRWA to “continue to provide humanitarian assistance… on an emergency basis, and as a temporary measure, to persons in the area who are currently displaced and in serious need of continued assistance”. In later years, the General Assembly repeatedly restates the Agency’s mandate for those displaced in 1967, and, after the invasion of Lebanon by Israel in 1982, extends it to encompass those displaced by “subsequent hostilities.” In the same year, resolution 37/120 (J) explicitly adds protection to the list of UNRWA responsibilities, urging the Agency to “undertake effective measures to guarantee the safety and security and the legal and human rights of the Palestinian refugees in the occupied territories.”

From 1992 to 2002, UNRWA collaborates with the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) and other specialized agencies of the United Nations system to contribute to the development of economic and social stability in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). In 1993, after Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) sign the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, UNRWA begins developing its Peace Implementation Programme, which works “to meet Palestinian requests for assistance and priorities” during the interim period; General Assembly resolution 49/35 (1994) notes its “significant success.”

While other agencies and actors have the central role in arriving at a resolution of the Palestine refugee issue, UNRWA is mandated to work with governments on interim measures and to provide relief and assistance to Palestine refugees “pending the just resolution” of the Palestine refugee question.  The role UNRWA plays in the region has evolved to reflect the needs and pressures of the times, but the Agency’s central mandate remains largely unchanged: UNRWA protects and assists Palestine refugees, seeking to help them achieve their full potential in human development.

Back to 1940s decade

The Vatican welcomes with favour the decision of the General Assembly by which Palestine has become a Non- member Observer State of the United Nations.

The Vatican: On  the  altar  wall  is  a  magnificent  Michelangelo painting,   the   Last   Judgment

http://www.news.va/en/news/communique-of-the-holy-see
2012-11-30 L’Osservatore Romano

 Today the General Assembly has given majority approval to the Resolution by which Palestine has become a Non-member Observer State of the United Nations.

 1.  The Holy See has followed actively the steps which have led to this important decision, while striving to remain neutral between the Parties, and to act in accordance with its particular religious nature and universal mission, and in consideration also of its specific attention to the ethical dimension of international problems.

 2.  The Holy See considers, moreover, that today’s vote should be placed within the context of the efforts of giving a definitive solution, with the support of the international community, to the question already dealt with by Resolution 181 of the General Assembly of the United Nations of 29 November 1947. That document is the juridical basis for the existence of two States, one of which has not been constituted in the successive sixty-five years, while the other has already seen the light.

 3.  On 15 May 2009, while departing from “Ben Gurion” International Airport, Tel Aviv, at the conclusion of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Pope Benedict XVI expressed the following: No more bloodshed! No more fighting! No more terrorism! No more war! Instead let us break the vicious circle of violence. Let there be lasting peace based on justice, let there be genuine reconciliation and healing. Let it be universally recognized that the State of Israel has the right to exist, and to enjoy peace and security within internationally agreed borders. Let it be likewise acknowledged that the Palestinian people have a right to a sovereign independent homeland, to live with dignity and to travel freely. Let the two-state solution become a reality, not remain a dream.

 4.  In the wake of that appeal, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, speaking before the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2011, expressed the hope that the competent Bodies of the United Nations would adopt a decision which would help give concrete implementation to that goal.

 5.  Today’s vote manifests the sentiment of the majority of the international community and recognises a more significant presence to Palestinians within the United Nations.  At the same time, it is the conviction of the Holy See that this result does not constitute, per se, a sufficient solution to the existing problems in the Region: which, in fact, can only find an adequate response through the effective commitment to building peace and stability, in justice and in the respect for legitimate aspirations, both of the Israelis and of the Palestinians.

 6.  Therefore, the Holy See, at various times, has invited the leaders of the two Peoples to restart the negotiations in good faith and to avoid actions, or the placing of conditions, which would contradict the declarations of goodwill and the sincere search for solutions which could become secure foundations for a lasting peace. Moreover, the Holy See has made a pressing appeal to the International Community to increase its commitment and to encourage its creativity, through the adoption of suitable initiatives which may help to achieve a lasting peace, that respects the rights of Israelis and of Palestinians. Peace needs courageous decisions!

 7.  Considering the outcome of today’s vote of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and to encourage the International Community, and in particular the Parties directly concerned, towards concrete action in view of the aforementioned objectives – the Holy See welcomes with favour the decision of the General Assembly by which Palestine has become a Non- member Observer State of the United Nations. It is a propitious occasion to recall also the common position that the Holy See and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation expressed in the Basic Agreement of 15 February 2000, intended to support the recognition of a internationally guaranteed special statute for the City of Jerusalem,  and aimed, in particular, to safeguarding the freedom of religion and of conscience, the identity and sacred character of Jerusalem as a Holy City, respect for and freedom of access to its Holy Places.