THE VINCENTIAN CONFRATERNITIES united in the love of God to defend rights and justice, to practice loyalty and humility before God (cf. Mi 6:8) and committed to their Vincentian spirituality with charity exercised in their everyday life and as a response to the great challenges of our times through integral solutions cemented and generated from the believing, professional and Vincentian experience, solemnly PROCLAIM that the peoples of our planet have the sacred right to peace; THEREFORE
- WE DECLARE that men and women are children of God and are intended to live in peace and love. Peace is God’s desire that humanity must make real: they shall beat swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again but are to walk in the light of the Lord (cf. Is 2:4-5)
- WE EMPHASIZE that charity and peace lead us to pray and accompany our brothers and sisters in the most difficult moments of their history trusting God and acting with Samaritan love that sees the wounded, commiserates, heals the wounds, helps with the burden, takes care of them, and takes them to safety (cf. Lk 10:33-35)
- WE DENOUNCE the fact that the cries of the peoples for peace is ignored, while the arms business occupies the centrality of the government agendas of the potentates of this world. Blessed are the peacemakers, said the Lord, for they will be called children of God (Mt 5:9). May the cry of Ukraine be heard and may peace among them become a reality!
- WE CALL ON the leaders of both sides to promote dialogue as the only way to understanding and coexistence among all peoples. Communion among brothers and sisters is pleasing to God … it is a dew like that of Hermon which comes down upon the mountains of God and there the Lord has decreed his blessing; life forever (Ps 133:3).
- WE ENCOURAGE all members of the Vincentian Family to continue to pray for the peace of our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Pray without ceasing, Paul tells us, this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus (cf. 1Thes 5:17-18) and that is what we will do in the name of the Father.
- WE EXPRESS as Vincentian Confraternities our solidarity with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters and with all people suffering the scourges of war; and to the question, where are your brothers and your sisters? (Gen 4: 9) We respond: Here, together with us and we live in solidarity with their pain, their sadness and their thirst for peace and justice.
- WE RECOGNIZE the urgent need to be united in the love of God in order to be missionaries of peace: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one bringing good news (Is 52:7), run, then, our hasty Vincentian feet, run and proclaim peace and the need to work for it.
- We VALUE every human life. Every person has a unique dignity and deserves respect. At the same time, everyone has the right to live in peace and freedom. Indeed, the Lord said: Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God (Mt 5:9).
- WE REAFFIRM as Vincentian Confraternities, our professional commitment to support those most in need, constantly working to realize our objectives united with God’s project to establish his Kingdom, teaching the whole world to fulfill all that He has commanded us (cf. Mt 28:20).
- We pledge to pray and work and at the same time, to encourage others to pray daily for the people of Ukraine and the end of the war and to seek ways to help the people of Ukraine in their personal and family needs, always compassionate as the Father is compassionate (cf. Lk 6:36).
This post originally appeared on famvin.org