Pax Christi - Peace Sunday 18 January 2015

Catholic parishes around England and Wales will celebrate Peace Sunday on 18 January , sharing the 2015 peace message of Pope Francis, "Slaves no more, but brothers and sisters". Pope Francis describes slavery as 'an open wound on the body of the human family - a running sore on the flesh of Christ".

Pax Christ has promoted the annual World Peace Day message since it began in 1968, helping parishes explore each message for our own time and place. The 2015 message invites us to explore the links between slavery, violence and war. In his letter to parishes Archbishop Malcolm McMahon, National President of Pax Christi wrote, " In Pax Christi we see slavery as being linked to issues of poverty, indebtedness and conflict - as many are forced by the violence of war to leave everything behind and seek refuge elsewhere. We explore these themes through liturgy, action and story resources that have been prepared by Pax Christi" The resources also promote the newly established Human Trifficking Project of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

The Pax Christi office report that they have received hundreds of orders for publications and resources for Peace Sunday,
the most popular being a prayer card of Pope Francis praying for peace at the separation wall in Bethlehem during his 2014 visit to the Holy Land. The on-going conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Israel and Palestine are a reminder of our need to work tirelessly for just solutions to the problems of our world.

Peace Sunday is an important opportunity for Pax Christi to seek financial support for its work, encouraging parishes to take a collection or make a donation to Pax Christi.

*In England and Wales it is celebrated on the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Internationally it is celebrated on 1st January.

Resource materials can be found here: http://paxchristi.org.uk/news-and-events/peace-sunday/