European bishops call for peace in Ukraine and around the world
The Council of European Bishops’ Conferences called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and other regions affected by war, warning that Europe faces its largest military conflict since World War II. The bishops said peace begins in the human heart and is built through prayer, forgiveness, and concrete acts of reconciliation, following the example of Saint Francis of Assisi. The CCEE joined Pope Leo XIV’s call for an “unarmed and disarming peace” and urged people of good will to take part in peacebuilding. The assembly reconfirmed Archbishop Gintaras Grušas as CCEE president for 2026–2031 and elected Archbishop Eamon Martin and Archbishop Dražen Kutleša as vice-presidents; discussions also focused on evangelization, synodality, and the mission of priests in Europe.
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European bishops meeting in Salzburg called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and other conflict zones, urging prayer, reconciliation and practical peacebuilding. Their assembly also addressed the mission of priests and the role of local churches in the synodal process.
At its October 27–30 plenary assembly, the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) said Europe is facing its largest military conflict since World War II and condemned the violations and atrocities taking place in Ukraine. The bishops expressed solidarity with people affected by war, violence and displacement, including those facing an uncertain future.
The appeal said peace cannot simply be imposed or negotiated as a deal, but must begin in the human heart. It called for peace to be built through forgiveness, prayer and concrete acts of reconciliation, and urged people of good will to take part in peacebuilding.
The bishops connected their message to the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, whom they described as a model of peace and reconciliation. They also joined Pope Leo XIV’s call for an “unarmed and disarming peace” and recalled his statement that “there is no such thing as a holy war: only peace is holy!”
The assembly reconfirmed Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius as CCEE president for 2026–2031. Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh and Archbishop Dražen Kutleša of Zagreb were elected vice-presidents.
The plenary’s theme was “Evangelization and Synodality: The Mission of Priests in Europe Today.” Grušas described evangelization as the reason for the Church’s mission and synodality as the way it is carried out—through communion, listening and shared discernment. He also emphasized continuing formation for priests, closeness to families and the renewal of pastoral relationships and structures.
Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, said each diocese is a living expression of the Church and contributes gifts and experience that enrich the wider ecclesial community. Looking toward the Vatican’s Ecclesial Assembly planned for October 2028, he encouraged European churches to see themselves both as recipients of gifts and as contributors to the whole Church.
Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, highlighted priests’ responsibilities to accompany people with mercy, serve the poor and build bridges through dialogue. He also stressed priestly fraternity, describing the presbyterate as a family in which no one should be left alone.
Christian peacebuilding joins conversion, reconciliation, and justice
Christian peacebuilding is not simply the end of violence or a political agreement. It joins conversion of hearts, reconciliation between people, and justice in social life because Christian peace rests on restored relationships—with God and with one another. These dimensions belong together: conversion without concern for harmed neighbors is incomplete; reconciliation without truth can conceal injustice; and justice without mercy can leave hostility intact.
Christian teaching locates the roots of division not only in institutions or disputes but also in sin. In Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, John Paul II therefore links reconciliation to conversion: because sin lies beneath human divisions, reconciliation must include liberation from sin, and social harmony requires an inward change in persons. Conversion is more than regret or a private religious feeling; it means turning back to God in a way that changes how one treats others.
This does not mean that peacebuilding can be reduced to individual morality. Benedict XVI says that political efforts for peace become effective when grounded in justice and when they confront the sin that produces division. The Church accordingly supports peace initiatives and legal frameworks that help sustain peace, while recognizing peace ultimately as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Christian peacebuilding thus works at more than one level: it calls people to conversion while also addressing public conditions that perpetuate conflict.
Reconciliation is not merely a temporary truce or the absence of open hostility. The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church describes Christ’s peace as involving reconciliation with God and reconciliation with one’s brothers and sisters. Forgiveness received from God is bound up with the forgiveness Christians extend to others; this twofold reconciliation is what enables them to become peacemakers.
The priority of reconciliation is not a claim that political peace can be achieved by goodwill alone. It names the relational aim of peacebuilding: people and communities divided by wrongdoing must be able, as far as possible, to live together without hatred and renewed violence. Benedict XVI says that authentic reconciliation can restore unity and help societies rebuild after war, civil conflict, or genocide.
Christian reconciliation is not a demand that victims forget, stay silent, or abandon their claims. Africae Munus states that effective reconciliation must be accompanied by a courageous pursuit of those responsible and a determination of their responsibility; victims have a right to truth and justice.
“Victims have a right to truth and justice.”
That principle guards against confusing forgiveness with impunity. Forgiveness can open a path away from vengeance, but it does not make wrongdoing unreal or remove the need to establish what happened and address responsibility. Likewise, reconciliation cannot be made durable by ignoring the conditions that caused or sustained violence. A scholarly account of just peacemaking in the supplied material emphasizes acknowledging guilt, addressing underlying causes of conflict, and pursuing justice for the powerless without double standards.
Justice, in this Christian vision, is also wider than punishment alone. A scholarly account of biblical justice argues that it includes restoring what is broken and right relationships, while not necessarily rejecting rights or criminal punishment. The point is not to choose between accountability and reconciliation as though one must exclude the other. Properly understood, accountability can help restore dignity, protect victims, and make a reconciled future more credible.
The link among conversion, reconciliation, and justice reflects the Christian understanding of peace as a right relationship grounded in God. Benedict XVI identifies conversion to God and forgiveness of those nearby and in the wider community as part of the path to peace, while insisting that political peace must rest on justice. Pius XI similarly describes Christ’s peace as more than rigid justice: it must be accompanied by charity and a sincere desire for reconciliation.
In practice, Christian peacebuilding therefore resists three distortions:
This does not imply that every conflict has an easy resolution, or that forgiveness can be commanded on a timetable. The sources establish the direction of Christian peacebuilding—conversion, forgiveness, truth, justice, and restored relationships—without supplying a universal political formula for every case.
The central claim is therefore that Christian peacebuilding seeks a just reconciliation: a peace rooted in conversion, truthful about wrongdoing, attentive to victims, and directed toward restoring relationships and preventing further harm.