Catholic groups marked the World Day of Peace on Dec. 31 by renewing calls for an “unarmed and disarming” peace, warning that peace remains fragile when it is reduced to rhetoric rather than lived realities.
Echoing a global Catholic appeal, Caritas Philippines issued a New Year statement linking peace in the country to social justice, ecological responsibility, and the daily struggles of the poor.
“This greeting is not a formality nor a distant hope,” the group said. “It is an invitation and a challenge—calling us to choose what kind of nation we will be in the year ahead.”
Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, president of Caritas Philippines, rejected security approaches rooted in force, stressing that the peace of Christ “is not sustained by fear, force, or weapons,” but is “unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering.”
The prelate said peace remains fragile when “livelihoods are denied,” “ancestral lands are threatened,” “human dignity is violated,” and “the poor are treated as expendable,” particularly in communities affected by “armed conflict, political violence, red-tagging, and the criminalization of dissent.”
“For countless Filipino families burdened by poverty, violence, displacement, and insecurity, peace is not an abstract ideal,” Alminaza said. “It is the difference between fear and hope, between exclusion and belonging.”
Caritas Philippines also linked peace to ecological justice, describing environmental destruction as “a silent but persistent form of violence against the poor,” and warning that “peace is broken long before a gun is fired.”
“Ecological justice, therefore, is not optional,” the group said. “It is essential to a just and lasting peace.”
The organization cautioned against the misuse of the language of “development,” “order,” and “security” to justify harm, silence communities, and normalize suffering, stressing that peace requires justice, solidarity, and the protection of human dignity.
The Philippine call mirrors a broader global appeal by Pax Christi International, which aligned its World Day of Peace message with Pope Leo XIV.
Quoting the pope’s Message for the 59th World Day of Peace, Pax Christi said peace must be “unarmed and disarming,” rejecting “the logic of violence, fear, and domination,” and fostering “trust, dialogue, and the renewal of hearts and minds.”
“‘Peace be with you!’ are not mere words of greeting; they are a call to transform our relationships, our communities, and our world,” the statement said, adding that peace “demands that we embody justice, mercy, and reconciliation in our daily lives.”
The message was signed by Pax Christi co-president Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo and Sister Wamuyu Teresia Wachira, who said the pope’s call addresses not only wars between nations but also “the structural and systemic violence that marginalizes the vulnerable and fuels mistrust among peoples.”
Pax Christi International also warned against a “growing temptation to weaponize even thoughts and words,” urging instead “the disarmament of heart, mind and life,” and renewed commitment to prayer, dialogue, and nonviolence as paths to peace.
“Peace begins with the disarmament of the heart and is sustained by solidarity,” Caritas Philippines said, committing to be communities “where justice is practiced, creation is respected, dignity is upheld, and hope is kept alive.”
