Both Christianity and Islam share a common centrality of peace: Their principal teachings, founded in their sacred texts, place strong emphasis on “compassion and nonviolence”, the essential elements in achieving world peace. World peace is a multifaceted concept, referring not merely to the absence of war, but a universal ideal which values harmony, happiness, freedom and social justice through compassion, nonviolence, and a strong cooperation between all nations and religions. Through their respective teachings, Christianity and Islam provide guidance for adherents to contribute to world peace through “compassion and nonviolence”, however, that peace must first begin with the individual. Without a mental and spiritual peace with oneself,
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On the World Day of Peace in 2009, Pope Benedict XVI issued a statement titled “Fighting Poverty to build peace” which emphasised this interconnection between justice and peace. Benedict quoted Pope John Paul II in saying “Our world shows increasing evidence of another grave threat to peace: many individuals and indeed whole peoples are living today in conditions of extreme poverty”. He ended his statement with a plea for compassion towards the poor in order to ‘fight poverty and build world peace’: “I extend to every disciple of Christ and to every person of good will a warm invitation to expand their hearts to meet the needs of the poor and to take whatever practical steps are possible in order to help them. The truth of the axiom cannot be refuted: “to fight poverty is to build peace.”” Caritas Australia for example, literally meaning ‘love and compassion’ in Latin, is an international aid and development organisation of the Catholic Church in Australia which spans over 200 countries and territories. Project Compassion is their annual fundraising appeal, raising awareness for the world’s poor in order to “help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity”. The 2017 theme for Project Compassion is “Love your neighbour” …show more content…
As Pope Francis stated on the Fiftieth World Day of Peace “Every such response, however modest, helps to build a world free of violence, the first step towards justice and peace”. Even when provoked, Christians are taught to reject the idea of violence and do everything possible on their part to “live at peace with everyone”. Jesus carved the path of nonviolence, teaching his disciples to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” and “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also”. To be true followers of Jesus, adherents are called to live by this nonviolence approach. The Christian Church has also been active in its promotion of nonviolence and “has been involved in nonviolent peacebuilding strategies in many countries, engaging even the most violent parties in efforts to build a just and lasting peace”. Pax Christi, for example, is a Catholic entity that has pioneered peacemaking internationally and is where laypeople, bishops, and other religious members work as equals in pursuit of peace and
On the World Day of Peace in 2009, Pope Benedict XVI issued a statement titled “Fighting Poverty to build peace” which emphasised this interconnection between justice and peace. Benedict quoted Pope John Paul II in saying “Our world shows increasing evidence of another grave threat to peace: many individuals and indeed whole peoples are living today in conditions of extreme poverty”. He ended his statement with a plea for compassion towards the poor in order to ‘fight poverty and build world peace’: “I extend to every disciple of Christ and to every person of good will a warm invitation to expand their hearts to meet the needs of the poor and to take whatever practical steps are possible in order to help them. The truth of the axiom cannot be refuted: “to fight poverty is to build peace.”” Caritas Australia for example, literally meaning ‘love and compassion’ in Latin, is an international aid and development organisation of the Catholic Church in Australia which spans over 200 countries and territories. Project Compassion is their annual fundraising appeal, raising awareness for the world’s poor in order to “help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity”. The 2017 theme for Project Compassion is “Love your neighbour” …show more content…
As Pope Francis stated on the Fiftieth World Day of Peace “Every such response, however modest, helps to build a world free of violence, the first step towards justice and peace”. Even when provoked, Christians are taught to reject the idea of violence and do everything possible on their part to “live at peace with everyone”. Jesus carved the path of nonviolence, teaching his disciples to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” and “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also”. To be true followers of Jesus, adherents are called to live by this nonviolence approach. The Christian Church has also been active in its promotion of nonviolence and “has been involved in nonviolent peacebuilding strategies in many countries, engaging even the most violent parties in efforts to build a just and lasting peace”. Pax Christi, for example, is a Catholic entity that has pioneered peacemaking internationally and is where laypeople, bishops, and other religious members work as equals in pursuit of peace and