The Day of Prayer for Justice & Peace is this Sunday (5 January).

Archbishop Bill Nolan, President of Justice & Peace Scotland, has written a pastoral letter that he has asked to be read at Mass this weekend (below).

Parishes have been asked to have a special collection for the work of Justice & Peace Scotland.

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My Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

If the Church cannot offer people hope then the Church has nothing to offer.

We live in a world where injustice is common place and peace is sadly lacking.

As we look at the many trouble spots around the globe, where there is war and conflict, death and destruction, misery inflicted on so many people, it is easy to lose hope.

Some conflicts never seem to go away, they may die down for a while but then they flare up again: some enemies never seem capable of making peace.

It is in this world that we have to offer people hope: hope that comes from Christ. For God alone is our hope and the hope of the world.

Forgiveness

That hope comes through forgiveness. God’s forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of others.

Popular wisdom says you should forgive and forget. No, we should not forget past hurts; for they should spur us on to seek justice; they should remind us of the need for compassion.

How many disputes in families go on for years, because the pain goes deep and the very thought of what happened is still too sensitive for forgiveness ever to be considered.

What is essential is that we forgive.

“Forgive us our trespasses”, we say in the Our Father, asking God to show compassion to us.

But we also say: “as we forgive those who trespass against us”.

That is the hard bit – the forgiving of others. But if we don’t forgive there can be no healing, no reconciliation, no peace.In our world we all suffer due to a lack of forgiveness.

How many disputes in families go on for years, because the pain goes deep and the very thought of what happened is still too sensitive for forgiveness ever to be considered.

No forgiveness means no reconciliation. No reconciliation means no peace.

And when it comes to the family of nations, past grievances influence today’s policies and actions, because the hurts of the past are not forgotten, nor forgiven.

I have listened, for example, to Palestinian politicians rhyming off every abuse they have suffered at the hands of the Israelis, I have heard Israeli officials similarly recall in detail all the abuse and discrimination that Jews have had to endure.

Each side so caught up in their own grief and pain that they seem insensitive to the other side.

The pain suffered is real, the injustices that have taken place are a reality, but if their memory is used to justify continuing the conflict, there is no hope and peace remains a distant dream.

Peace

Without forgiveness there can be no peace: whether peace in our family or peace among the family of nations.

Without forgiveness the ills of the past continue to dictate and taint the actions of today and the suffering continues. It is forgiveness that gives hope.

Without forgiveness the ills of the past continue to dictate and taint the actions of today and the suffering continues

It can be, of course, that forgiveness feels like a betrayal – betrayal of those who have suffered they seem insensitive to the other side.

The pain suffered is real, the injustices that have taken place are a reality, but if their memory is used to justify continuing the conflict, there is no hope and peace remains a distant dream.

Without forgiveness there can be no peace: whether peace in our family or peace among the family of nations.

It can be, of course, that forgiveness feels like a betrayal – betrayal of those who have suffered injustice - that it belittles the lives of those killed by acts of war and violence.

It is right that there should be anger at injustice. Righteous anger, though, leads to a desire for justice, it nurtures a feeling of compassion.

But beware of anger that causes bitterness and resentment, that seeks retribution and revenge, that hardens the heart and takes away our compassionate humanity.

The injustice of the past needs to stay in the past.

The remedy for past injustice is to work for justice today. It is a betrayal of those who suffered in the past if we continue the suffering today.

We live in an imperfect world full of imperfect people.

The failings of nations and of individuals mean we come constantly face to face with injustice.

Only if we forgive their failings can there be any hope of being at peace with others.

To bring the hope of Christ into the world is quite a challenge, for what we are seeking is a change of heart: a change of our own heart not just a change of other people’s hearts. It means bearing the pain of injustice with the same compassion with which Christ endured his own pain.

“Father forgive them” was his prayer from the cross.

May we, the Church, bring hope to the world by bringing it the forgiveness for which Christ prayed.

May I wish you God’s blessing and every peace in the year ahead.

+William Nolan
Archbishop of Glasgow
President of Justice & Peace Scotland

This Sunday is the Day of Prayer for Justice and Peace. Archbishop William Nolan, Bishop President of Justice and Peace Scotland, has shared this message for the day. Watch below or on YouTube.

My Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Astronauts share a unique experience, for they have been able to go into outer space and look down in awe and see the beauty of the earth.

The astronauts see the earth as God gave it to us, one earth, one world.

But for us, when we look at our maps, we see a world that is divided by lines, indicating the borders and the barriers that partition this one world into territories and countries.

We put up walls, we erect fences of barbed wire and we say to our fellow human beings "this is my land, this land and its resources are not yours but mine".

But God has given this one world to all of humanity, so that all human beings can live and flourish and grow, sharing its resources.

We have, of course, got to manage creation, and organise it.

We cannot have chaos.

But can we say to someone living where it is arid and barren, that they have no right to come here where the soil is good and the food is plentiful, because this is my territory?

Do migrants and refugees not have God-given rights to move to a better life?

And the borders we create are often the cause of friction. How many wars are fought over disputed territory, both sides claiming it as their land? How much conflict as people seek to claim for their own the oil, the gas or the mineral wealth that lies under the surface?

How many countries grow wealthy, keeping for themselves the riches of the earth and see no obligation to share with the poor? We are a long way from living in a world where all benefit from the gift of creation given by God to all.

We are a long way from peace when countries continue to fight for what they claim is theirs.

We are a long way from a united world where we work together for the good of all humanity. We are not the owners of God's earth, we are its stewards. The astronauts in space see a world that is beautiful and so it is.

It is also rich and plentiful, with resources given to us by God for the good of everyone.

Poverty will only disappear when the earth's resources are fairly shared. Only when we act as stewards and not as owners of creation will there be peace and justice on earth. May Jesus the Prince of Peace inspire us to work for justice and so establish a peaceful world.

+William Nolan Bishop President of Justice and Peace Scotland

Justice and Peace Scotland is a Commission of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland. 

The Bishops' Conference of Scotland (BCOS) has announced the appointment of Anne Marie Clements as the new Catholic Social Teaching Engagement Officer for the National Justice and Peace Commission.

Her remit will include raising the profile of Justice & Peace in schools, parishes and dioceses.

Archbishop William Nolan, President of the BCOS Justice and Peace Commission said: "I welcome Anne Marie Clements as our new Catholic Social Teaching Engagement Officer.

It will give me the opportunity to highlight the connections between the human rights and social justice issues of today and our Catholic faith.

"Her enthusiasm and passion for Justice and Peace is infectious and I look forward to the good work she will do raising awareness of Catholic Social Teaching and encouraging involvement in Justice and Peace in our schools, in our parishes and in our dioceses."

Ms Clements said: “I couldn't be happier about my new role at Justice & Peace Scotland.

"I was drawn to the post of Catholic Social Teaching Engagement Officer as it will give me the opportunity to highlight the connections between the human rights and social justice issues of today and our Catholic faith.

"This is something that I place great value on personally, inspired by Jesus' Gospel message of love.”