As leaders of Roman Catholic religious congregations of Brothers and Priests active in nearly all countries of the world, we wholeheartedly associate ourselves with the call of the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, to pray and to work for peace and mutual understanding among religions. In particular, we call on the members of our religious institutes to participate fully in the Day of Fasting on December 14 and the Day of Prayer on January 24, which have been proposed by the Holy Father.

We feel especially concerned by the increase in violence and war at the present time. We unequivocally condemn all recourse to terror, which can never be justified by any motivation. True religion promotes peace, mutual understanding, reconciliation, and non-violent resolution of difficulties. We condemn any use of God's name to justify violence.

We call on our own members, on ministers of all religions, on political and economic leaders, and on people of good will to join together in decisive and united efforts, much more intensive than before, to combat poverty, injustice, and marginalization in their root causes. We recognize that these situations often lead to desperation and irrational hatred.

We call on world leaders to take every means possible to avoid using war as the way to resolve differences. We urge them to avoid the rhetoric of revenge. We call for a concerted campaign to stop the proliferation of arms.

We express our condolence and our promise of prayers to the many victims of violence and war. We commit ourselves and our members to comfort the afflicted and to serve as agents of consolation and reconciliation.