With a call to move from speeches to action, the Catholic Church inaugurated the 39th Week for Peace in Colombia with a Eucharist presided over by Monsignor Juan Carlos Barreto Barreto, director of the National Secretariat for Social Pastoral of the Episcopal Conference.
With the motto “Peace calls us, peace moves us, peace unites us”, the Church proposed fraternal correction and community prayer as concrete ways to confront violence, overcome polarization, and regain the ability to recognize each other as brothers.
In the face of a society that faces deep divisions, Monsignor Barreto insisted on the obligation to care for one another and not to point out or humiliate. “Fraternal correction and community prayer are paths to peace. They are part of the pedagogy to achieve peace”, he observed.
A peace that mobilizes
He, who is also the bishop of Soacha, insisted that the commitment to peace must go beyond words and translate into concrete actions that involve the communities. “It is important to realize that the Lord truly calls us to work for that peace, not just to give speeches about peace. And that is why peace moves us, mobilizes us,” he asserted.
"Peace Week," he said, "will bring this call to communities through opportunities for prayer, reflection, culture, scholarship, and sports, designed as chances to come together and engage in dialogue. In a Colombia marked by polarization, these initiatives seek to restore our ability to recognize one another, listen to one another, and build together."
Changing the way we relate to one another was another of Monsignor Barreto’s calls during the celebration. “Peace comes to unite us,” he said, noting that building peace requires stopping viewing others as enemies and moving beyond words that fuel confrontation: “We must abandon the language of hate and adopt a language of brotherhood.”
Peace, Brotherhood, and Social Challenges
According to Monsignor Barreto, peacebuilding cannot be separated from the major challenges facing contemporary societies. For this reason, during the homily he resumed the message from Pope Leo XIV about war, migration, inequality, the care of our common home and the challenges associated with artificial intelligence.
Speaking about war, Monsignor Barreto recalled that Pope Leo XIV called for the rejection of violence as a response to conflicts and noted that “one cannot believe in Jesus and promote war.” He also highlighted his proposal for an “unarmed and disarming peace” and his questioning of those who uphold confrontation scenarios.
Regarding migration, the prelate pointed out the risk of dehumanizing those who arrive in the country seeking refuge. “Christ is in the migrants. They are not numbers, they are people with dreams who should not receive inhumane treatment”, he expressed, calling on Colombia to respond to this reality with dignity and solidarity.
Finally, he noted that peace is also at stake in the fight against poverty, inequality, and exclusion, as well as in the defense of territories and nature. “Destroying nature disproportionately affects the poor, the marginalized, and the indigenous”, he said, warning about the impact that the environmental crisis has on the most vulnerable populations.
A celebration that was born in the Church
Born in 1980, the Week for Peace was promoted by the Catholic Church through the National Secretariat of Social Pastoral–Caritas Colombiana, in partnership with social and community organizations that accompanied victims and peasant, indigenous, and Afro-descendant communities.
The Week for Peace progressively expanded its participation until it became a national expression of civic culture and commitment to peace. In 1998, the Congress of the Republic officially designated September 9 as National Human Rights Day, in tribute to Saint Peter Claver, whose life was marked by the defense and service to enslaved people.
A subsidy to build peace from communities
In the framework of the XXXIX Week for Peace, which will be held from September 6 to 13, the National Secretariat of Social Pastoral–Caritas Colombiana, makes available a pastoral and methodological subsidy for parishes, communities, educational centers, and social organizations.
The material offers guidelines to develop participatory meetings, read the realities of the territory in light of faith, and move from reflection to concrete actions, with defined responsibilities and mechanisms to follow up on commitments.
Colombia-CARTILLA-SEMANA-POR-LA-PAZ-39_compressed.pdf
Documento oficial en formato PDF
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