Author: Daniel Darmanin

The situation in Ukraine

After the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops on 24 February 2022,

  • we condemn the Russian aggression as a serious violation to international law and as a threat to peace in Europe,
  • we express our support and solidarity with Ukraine and its suffering people,
  • we request all European governments to support the neighbouring countries of Ukraine in their efforts to welcome and accommodate refugees,
  • we ask the European Union, its member states and all European governments to stay united and to put in place an even harsher sanctions regime against the Russian authorities,
  • we admire the courage of Russian citizens who despite all sorts of repressions bravely take to the streets to protest against their government in the name of peace,
  • we implore His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and all Orthodox authorities in Russia to intervene with the political leadership in order to obtain an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of all Russian troops from the Ukraine territory,
  • we support the call of Pope Francis for a day of fast and prayer for peace in Ukraine on Ash Wednesday (2 March),
  • we hope and work for a new culture of peace in Europe, remembering in our prayers all civilian and military victims and their families…

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‘Dying To Live – Stories From Refugees On The Road To Freedom’

“No one wants to leave home, but life forces you.” These were the poignant words by one of the refugees whose experience features in the book ‘Dying to Live’ by Danielle Vella, journalist and director of the International Reconciliation Program for the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). The book was launched during an event hosted by Archbishop Charles Scicluna at the Curia in Floriana, during which the author herself as well Daniel Jude Okoeguale, an asylum seeker residing in Malta, were interviewed… Read more »

The war in Israel – a story of injustice and terror

“I’m Dina, I am proud to have lived through these hardships, I am proud to be Palestinian”

The world watches as fighting continues to escalate between Israel and Hamas, the militant group that runs the Gaza strip. This war, which has been raging for eight days, has already killed 192 people, including 58 innocent children.

Tension between Israel and Gaza has been escalating for months… Read more »

Justice and Faith

André P. DeBattista

One of Pope John Paul II’s most impressive speeches  was in Agrigento, Sicily when on May 9, 1993 he categorically condemned the mafia and all associations related to the mafia. He described the Sicilians as a people who love and cherish life and who, therefore, cannot live in the shadow of an organization that promotes the culture of death… Read more »

The Future of Europe

A call for dialogue as a key to just transitions

“Life, for all its confrontations, is the art of encounter”

Fratelli Tutti, 215

1) Context: Over the coming years, European Union citizens are called to contribute to the Conference on the Future of Europe. This initiative, a joint project of the European

Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (EU), 

will open a wide-ranging debate on the coming decade for the EU and beyond… Read more »

Authorities asked to drop terrorism charges against the El Hiblu teenagers

The Migrants Commission, JRS Malta and the Justice and Peace Commission urge the authorities to drop the charges brought against three youths who are being prosecuted for terrorism.

Then aged 15, 16, and 19, the three youths were part of a group of over 100 men, women and children who were rescued by cargo ship El Hiblu 1 on 26 March 2019. The rescue was coordinated by an EU naval operation that ordered the ship to take the rescued persons back to Libya… Read more »

Peace is possible. Peace is the only way.

The peaceful elections of November 2020 in Myanmar were widely acknowledged as free and fair and they gave the new government a mandate and obligation to pursue the inclusive economic and social goals for which it was elected.

However, one month ago today, on 1 February, Myanmar’s military seized power, after detaining its democratically elected leaders from the governing National League for Democracy (NLD) party… Read more »

Returning to Pre-Covid-19 times?

The vaccine rollout can be regarded as the great hope which has heralded the New Year.  It is a crucial tool which can help humanity overcome, or learn to live with, the virus.  The muted Christmas and New Year celebrations, and the usual gatherings which a number of health-abiding persons have chosen to forgo, have increased the yearning to a normal life.  A pre-Covid life which included gatherings, more physical contact and so on, a life which many of us might have taken for granted… Read more »

Responsibility for the whole supply chain

Brussels, 10 February 2021

The International Family of Catholic Social Justice Organizations (CIDSE), Pax Christi International and Justice & Peace Europe, with the support of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), welcome the initiative of the European Commission to prepare new EU legislation on supply chains.

The proposed legislation would legally require companies to protect internationally recognised human rights and the environment in the development, production and distribution of commodities… Read more »

‘A world without fraternity is a world of enemies’

On World Day of Human Fraternity (4th of February), Pope Francis joined Grand Imam of Al Azhar – Ahmad Al-Tayyeb on a virtual event hosted in Abu Dhabi. This event marked the culmination of a joint effort by the Pope and the Grand Imam to foster fraternity, solidarity, respect and mutual understanding between people of different beliefs.

According to Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot MCCJ, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, “This celebration responds to a clear call that Pope Francis has been making to all humanity to build a present of peace in the encounter with the other.”

Pope Francis has also encouraged the Holy See to join in the celebration of International Human Fraternity Day under the leadership of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue… Read more »