Action Alert: The Franciscan Call to Be Courageous Peacemakers

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On June 17, 2026, the provincials of the First Order Franciscans and the Atonement Friars sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio asking for the U.S. Government to intervene to help stop the violence against Christian and Muslim Palestinians in the Holy Land. This violence is being perpetrated with impunity by Israeli settlers living in illegal settlements throughout the occupied West Bank. Since then, the violence and terror have only gotten worse.

Over the last few years, Franciscans in the U.S. have taken a prophetic stance in response to the horrific violations of human dignity in Gaza; praying for peace while also endorsing specific legislative measures, e.g., supporting a ceasefire and halting military aid to Israel.

As we mark the 800th anniversary of the Transitus of St. Franics of Assisi, let us proudly carry on his prophetic tradition as courageous peacemakers. May we respond to the Gospel challenge of our brother, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, who said: "Christ is not absent from Gaza. He is there, crucified in the wounded, buried under the rubble."

For this reason, we are reaching out to you for help.

Together, let us call on members of Congress to help end settler brutality, state-sponsored violence and impunity.

Send this action alert from Churches for Middle East Peace* to help protect Palestinians of all faiths in the West Bank.

What else can you do?

1. Share this message.
2. Include prayers for an end to the genocide in Gaza and settler’s terror in the West Bank in your private and communal prayers. Consider using the Sabeel Waves of Prayers as a resource. Here are a few prayers used by the friars at the recent Provincial Chapter:
   • For immigrants living in fear of ICE and those being deported; for Palestinian Christians and Muslims in the West Bank as they face settler violence and ethnic cleansing; for the poor and marginalized at home and abroad who are hungry and deprived of necessities of life, we pray. Lord, hear our prayers.
   • For moral courage not to remain silent in the face of the evil that wounds the world, including the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the uprooting of the Palestinian Christian presence in the Holy Land and the impunity with which human life and dignity of the most vulnerable are being violated in our country and across the world, we pray. Lord, hear our prayers.
3. Sign-up to receive updates from Churches for Middle East Peace. CMEP provides information on what is happening in the Middle East as well as educational resources, including resources for preaching, to help us be more effective in our call to be peacemakers.
4. Read and pray over Kairos Palestine II: A Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide.
5. If you or someone you know is a nurse or doctor, get involved in Doctors Against Genocide. Find out what you can do to help save the life of Dr. Abu Safiya and many other medical professionals abducted and tortured.

* The Franciscans in the U.S. have been active members of Churches for Middle East Peace for many years. They have helped us to be more effective at being peacemakers in the Holy Land and the Middle East.