Catholics urged to choose peace amid ‘normalisation of war’

Launching the 2026 Support Life Sunday theme, “Living Peace”, Wellington Archbishop Paul Martin SM said the proliferation of conflicts around the world made the Christian commitment to peace more urgent.

“While we recall and take hope from Jesus’ promise that he came to bring life and life in abundance (John 10:10), we are, sadly, only too aware of the increased prevalence of wars around the world,” Archbishop Martin said.

This year’s campaign draws on Pope Leo’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, and its warning about the growing “normalisation of war” and expansion of military power.

Pope Leo emphasises that war “should remain a last resort, subject to strict ethical and legal limits and always oriented towards a political vision of peace”.

Dr John Kleinsman, director of the New Zealand Catholic Bioethics Centre – the Nathaniel Centre, said the normalisation of warfare risked changing the way people viewed violence itself.

“A disturbing side-effect of what is a discernible shift to a violent culture of war is the way in which people are becoming conditioned to accepting the violence of war as inevitable,” Dr Kleinsman said.

Persistent exposure to conflict, coupled with feelings of helplessness, could also create increasing indifference to the human tragedy of war, he said.

“This will only blunt the active role all Catholics can play through prayer, protest and charitable actions,” Dr Kleinsman explained.

Archbishop Martin said the Christian response to war could not be confined to seeking political or institutional change. Drawing on Pope Leo’s 11th World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, he said lasting transformation must also begin within individuals and communities.

“The Church’s distinctive vision of peace starts within each of us,” he said. “Transformation begins with prayer because prayer can help us imagine a world in which the energies currently invested in war are directed toward human development, to overcoming poverty and reconciling divided peoples.”

The Support Life Sunday 2026 campaign highlights the consequences of war on the dignity of God’s creation, including the deaths of innocent people, particularly women, children and older people; the displacement of communities and separation of families; and the destruction and poisoning of the earth and fragile ecosystems.

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Catholics urged to choose peace amid ‘normalisation of war’ (New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference)

Resources for Support Life Sunday 2026