Justice and Peace News

The Annual Mass in honour of St Joseph the Worker, in support of Migrant workers in London will be celebrated by Archbishop Vincent Nichols on Monday 6th May

Catholics in England and Wales are being invited to pray for all victims of human trafficking on the Feast Day of St Bakhita, 8 February 2013.

'The Day of Prayer for the Victims of Trafficking is an opportunity to remember and pray for the thousands and thousands of victims of trafficking throughout the world,” said the Lead Bishop for Migration, Bishop Patrick Lynch.

A joint letter from Pax Christi and Westminster Justice and Peace was published on the Guardian website on 13 July 2012.

In the wake of the G4S security fiasco, the Justice and Peace Commission continues to express concern about the high profile of the military at the forthcoming London 2012 Games.

If the Olympic ideal of laying down weapons to take up friendly sporting competition is to be truly fulfilled we need to challenge the increasing militarisation of the Games.

The Pax Christi Icon has been travelling in relay between five Westminster parishes in the last month as part of the 100 Days of Peace initiative. The Icon was welcomed first to St Patrick's, Wapping, on 8th June 2012, 50 Days before the start of the Olympic Games, and progressed on to St John Vianney's, West Green Road, Our Lady's St John's Wood, St Joseph's and the English Martyrs, Bishop's Stortford, and finally the Catholic Churches of Welwyn Garden City.

The aim is to create a 'ring of prayer' around the capital to pray for a peaceful Games. The Icon is currently at Brentwood Cathedral and will travel to parishes in Brentwood and Southwark Dioceses until 50 days after the end of the Paralympic Games, finishing at Southwark Cathedral.

A final Mass will be held at St George's Cathedral, Southwark, on 28th October 2012, 3.00pm.

A beautiful Peace Garden was opened at Our Lady Queen of Apostles on 6th July 2012 following a Mass to mark the start of a week of prayer for peace and the visit of the Pax Christi Peace Icon. Parishioners attended from all three Catholic parishes in Welwyn Garden City as well as guests from other churches and peace organisations.

The garden has been carefully designed to include a host of peace symbols, including a flower bed planted in the colours of the rainbow, an olive tree and a fountain. This tranquil space will provide a haven of peace and reflection for parishioners for many years to come.

The proclamation of 100 Days of Peace to surround the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is underway. Events began with an all-night Peace Vigil at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, in the centre of London on 8/9 June 2012. Hundreds of people came to pray for peace. Sikhs, Buddhists and Muslims joined Christians of all denominations to reflect on the great need of the world for peace. The final hour was attended by the Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, and the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres. Everyone is now asking 'What can we do to make the Olympic Truce a reality?'

The care of God’s creation is the focus of a new leaflet about the Diocese of Westminster's environmental mission.

100 Days of Peace is a Justice and Peace initiative supported by the three dioceses of Brentwood, Southwark and Westminster. 

“Scandal and deeply unjust when ordinary workers and especially migrant workers are exploited” Bishop Thomas McMahon