Our time demands a stronger commitment to peace and multilateral cooperation
It is quiet outside the church building. Christ has risen. The Pope has passed over. May he receive peace and the Lord’s blessing. Pope Francis walked together with the poor, the sick and the marginalized. He called for the welcome and inclusion of immigrants. He worked until the very end for peace in Israel and Palestine. He spoke about the climate crisis and called for a faster transition. We pray that the new Pope will continue this work.
The churches in the East and West celebrated Easter 2025 at the same time. “Let this coincidence serve as a sign,” said the Pope. The divisions that have existed need to be bridged. Our time demands it.
It is quiet outside the shopping center, but Trumps trade war with constantly new announcements about tariffs is underway, driving up both prices in the store and unemployment. The gaps between the poor and the rich have been growing for a long time and continue to do so. Many families with children have difficulty finding enough money for the most essential things. A holiday trip is a distant dream.
The Earth has a fever and we continue to use fossil fuels. The United Nations and its institutions such as the World Health Organization are needed more than ever, but are being forced to cut back when the United States withdraws its support. Nationalist forces are growing strong and want to once again benefit their own country at the expense of others. Bridge builders are so necessary. Pope Francis was one such person, but so were others before him.
One hundred years ago, delegates from Protestant and Orthodox churches gathered in Stockholm for peace. During the Great War of 1914-1918, they had seen how Europe was destroying itself. They promised each other to work for peace, even when things seemed hopeless. Over the years, cooperation between the churches grew stronger and in 1948 the World Council of Churches was formed. At the first general assembly in Amsterdam, which had recently been occupied, the church representatives declared that war was against the will of God.
It is quiet outside the mosque. It is quiet outside the synagogue. The buildings stand in the middle of the city as defiant hopes in times of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. For every bomb dropped in Donetsk, for every shot fired in Gaza, our conviction is strengthened. Just peace is the only way forward. The way lies in meeting across borders, not only geographical ones, but all borders, not least religious ones. We can never accept that religions are pitted against each other. The foundation is religious freedom and democracy. On it can we build a peaceful society, a just society, a society in harmony with God’s creation.
We stand as a society and as religious communities at a crossroad. Instead of putting our own country or our own faith first, we extend our hands and ask for dialogue, cooperation and respect for the dignity of every human being wherever it comes from.
The challenges are too great for us to overcome on our own. We reach out to individuals, organizations, religious communities, parties, unions, governments and international bodies. For peace, justice and for the sake of creation. Our time demands it.
The Executive Committee of ILRS
29th of April 2025