Decalogue of Peace

On January 24th 2002 the Holy Father Pope John Paul II and other leaders of the World Religions

came together in Assisi to pray for Peace.

Inspired by the ideal of St. Francis to seek solidarity toward Peace,

this spiritual gathering created ten statements of commitment to Peace.

The Conventual Franciscans have embraced wholeheartedly this Decalogue of Peace,

making them into a personal commitment for each friar and community.

We carry the charism of St. Francis around the world.

1. We commit ourselves to proclaiming our firm conviction that violence and terrorism are incompatible with the authentic spirit of religion. As we condemn every recourse to violence and war in the name of God or of religion, we commit ourselves to doing everything possible to eliminate the root causes of terrorism.

2. We commit ourselves to educating people to mutual respect and esteem, in order to help bring a peaceful and fraternal coexistence between people of different ethnic groups, cultures and religion.

3. We commit ourselves to fostering the culture of dialogue, so that there will be an increase of understanding and mutual trust between individuals and among peoples, for these are the premise of authentic peace.

4. We commit ourselves to defending the right of everyone to live a decent life in accordance with their own cultural identity and to form freely a family of his own.

5. We commit ourselves to frank and patient dialogue, refusing to consider our difference as an insurmountable barrier, but recognising instead that to encounter the diversity of others can become an opportunity for greater reciprocal understanding.

6. We commit ourselves to forgiving one another in a common effort both to overcome selfishness and arrogance, hatred and violence, and to learn from the past that justice is the way to true peace.

7. We commit ourselves to taking the side of the poor and the helpless, to speaking out for those who have no voice and to working effectively to change these situations, out of the conviction that no one can be happy alone.

8. We commit ourselves to encouraging all efforts to promote friendship between people, for we are convinced that in the absence of solidarity and understanding between peoples, technological progress exposes the world to a growing risk of destruction and death.

9. We commit ourselves to taking up the cry of those who refuse to be resigned to violence and evil, and we desire to make every effort possible to offer the men and women of our time real hope for justice and peace.

10. We commit ourselves to be urging leaders of nations to make every effort to create and consolidate, on the national and international levels, a world of solidarity and peace based on justice.