The Cry for Peace: from 23 to 25 October in Rome, the International Meeting of Dialogue and Prayer for Peace in the Spirit of Assisi

On the International Day of Peace, instituted by the United Nations in 1981, the Community of Sant’Egidio joins in the appeal launched by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and his alarmed words in the face of the international scenario and the cry of the people suffering from the many ongoing conflicts. An ‘immense task’ is indeed placed before the heads of state gathered for the UN General Assembly in the face of the risk – unfortunately, less remote than in the recent past – of a nuclear catastrophe, the worsening war in Ukraine, part of that ‘third world war in pieces, the tragic consequences of which Pope Francis has long denounced on the lives of millions of people. But also in the face of climate change, a veritable war of man against the Earth, it is crucial to give new impetus to multilateral dialogue and collaboration between peoples, putting aside the particular interests of groups or nations. As Pope Francis recently said, ‘only dialogue is the necessary way forward and there is no turning back’.

The Community of Sant’Egidio, which has been involved in mediation and reconciliation processes for years, reaffirms its commitment to the victims of conflicts, working to welcome refugees and migrants, and fostering dialogue between nations and religions, as it will do from 23 to 25 October in Rome at the International Prayer Meeting for Peace of the World’s Religions, which will be entitled “The Cry for Peace”.