Comillas for peace

Before the situation in Ukraine, the Universidad Pontificia Comillas wishes to express its position of active non-violence and opposition to armed violence. The dean, Enrique Sanz Giménez-Rico, SJ will meet with Ukrainian students in the next few day to express the university community’s support and hospitality.

In this situation as well as in other conflicts, Comillas follows the Christian tradition of active non-violence. A position that the lecturer Julio Martínez, SJ, defended in his meeting which took place a few weeks ago with the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences (Comillas CIHS) and Jesuitas Maldonado. Martinez addressed the concepts of just war and self-defence from the Church's point of view, and made several references to the encyclical Fratelli tutti, which urges us not to return to the concept of just war and the abandonment of the term "justified war". “The aim is to declare war on war through peace”, he said. Martínez, like Pope Francis, defended the culture of encounter as one of the pillars of peace.

Prayer for peace

Along the same lines of active non-violence is the appeal made by Pope Francis, who on the eve of the Russian military attack had asked the political authorities to "examine their consciences seriously before God, who is the God of peace and not of war; who is the Father of all, not just of some, who wants us to be brothers and not enemies. I pray that all the parties involved refrain from any action that would cause even more suffering to the people, destabilising coexistence between nations and bringing international law into disrepute.”

In the same statement, the pope called for a day of fasting and prayer for peace on Ash Wednesday. “Jesus taught us that the diabolical senselessness of violence is answered with God's weapons, with prayer and fasting. I invite everyone to make next 2 March, Ash Wednesday, a Day of Fasting for Peace. I encourage believers in a special way to dedicate themselves intensely to prayer and fasting on that day. May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war.”

CRUE Communiqué

Spanish University deans have published a communiqué condemning the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian State. CRUE Universidades Españolas wishes to communicate its total support and solidarity to Ukraine’s academic institutions, its university communities and to the population as a whole during these difficult times.