Search words

Text size: A A A

PEACE

Papal Teachings

Pacem in Terris
Issued in 1963 in the wake of the Cuban missile crisis, John XXIII’s last encyclical focused on building peace on earth. It is a pivotal document in the development of Catholic thinking on human rights and on the prerequisites for peace.

Gaudium et Spes
Vatican II’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World updated church teaching in the light of new developments such as nuclear weapons, the experience of total war, and the increasing importance of non state actors in conflict. It gave approval to conscientious objection.

Bishops Teachings

Archbishop Examines the ‘Grammar of Peace’
Archbishop Dennis Hart reflects in Kairos Magazine on the Pope’s World Day of Peace Message, drawing out what Benedict XVI means by a ‘grammar of peace’.

Japanese Bishops Oppose War
Considering imminent hostilities in Iraq in 2003, the Japanese Bishops declared their fundamental opposition to all war.

New Zealand Bishops Oppose Nuclear Weapons
This 1982 Pastoral Letter makes clear the opposition of the New Zealand Bishops to nuclear weapons and the arms race.