A global Christian declaration: An urgent call for equality, peace, and justice, and the future of Christianity in the Middle East
St. Francis of Assisi sought to be an instrument of peace in a world marked by conflict and division. Today, the friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe continue to see peacemaking as a Gospel calling: to defend human dignity, stand with those who suffer and work toward justice and peace for all.
In the spirit of St. Francis, Minister Provincial Br. Michael Perry, OFM, joined more than 200 bishops and partners-in-ministry in signing “A Global Christian Declaration: An Urgent Call for Equality, Peace, and Justice, and the Future of Christianity in the Middle East.” Issued from Assisi, Italy, in commemoration of the Global Day of Prayer for Peace on Oct. 29, 2026, the signers call on Christians, governments and people of goodwill to reject violence and dehumanization and pursue a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. A copy of the letter was also sent to President Donald Trump.
The letter is available below. A complete list of signers can be found on the website of Churches for Middle East Peace.
A global Christian declaration: An urgent call for equality, peace, and justice, and the future of Christianity in the Middle East
To governments, to all people of goodwill, and to the faithful entrusted to our care:
On this 40th anniversary of the Global Day of Prayer for Peace, we join Pope Leo XIV and Christians around the world in renewing the call offered by St. John Paul II at Assisi in 1986 and reaffirmed by Pope Francis in 2023: to reject violence, uphold human dignity, and pursue a just and lasting peace.
We affirm every person’s right to worship freely, practice their faith without fear, and live according to their own conscience. Religious freedom, human dignity, peace, and justice are inseparable. As bishops and Christian leaders from around the world, we issue this declaration because Christianity in the Holy Land and Middle East has reached a critical moment. We speak as Christians, but our care and concern are for all who call this sacred region home.
Our Christian faith teaches that every person is created in the image of God (imago Dei). All of creation is sacred. Every community deserves security, freedom, and dignity. Where religious communities are persecuted, displaced, or denied equal rights, peace cannot flourish. Where people of different faiths live with mutual respect and equal protection, societies are strengthened and reconciliation becomes possible.
We condemn antisemitism, Islamophobia, Christian persecution, Christian Zionism, and every ideology and theology that privileges or excludes any group of people or denies the God-given worth of any human being. Every person, regardless of faith, race, culture, or nationality is to be treated with dignity, and receive the protection and preservation of all their human rights including religious freedom and equal protection under the law.
Across the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East, we witness immense suffering. Wars and crises in Israel and Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Iraq, and the wider region have claimed countless lives, displaced millions, devastated communities, and deepened fear and division. Innocent civilians continue to bear the greatest burden of war.
We are particularly alarmed by the rapid decline of Christian communities throughout the region. Ancient churches that have borne witness to Christ for nearly two thousand years are shrinking as families emigrate in search of safety, stability, and a less uncertain future. If these trends continue, the birthplace of Christianity risks becoming a place where Christians remain only as visitors rather than living communities rooted in their historic homeland. We must act now, or Christians may all but disappear from the Middle East.
We are concerned by the continued challenges facing our Christian brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. We support a shared Jerusalem with freedom of worship for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and all who call the city holy. In Palestine, Christians - like their Muslim neighbors - face growing uncertainty as violence, movement restrictions, economic hardship, and displacement by the policies of the Israeli government and the actions of settlers drive families from their homes. In the illegally occupied West Bank, including the historic Christian town of Taybeh, escalating settler attacks - enabled and supported by the Israeli military - against communities, homes, farms, and places of worship are alarming. An absence of protection or accountability further undermines confidence in the rule of law and threatens the future of Palestinian life, including for Palestinian Christians.
In Gaza, the Christian community now numbers around 500 out of the overall population of more than 2 million Palestinians. Families have suffered alongside their Muslim neighbors through immense loss, displacement, hunger, and destruction resulting from Israel’s three-year military campaign that has not ended. We call for the recognition of human dignity and due process for all those detained, and protection of every civilian without distinction.
Lebanon continues to endure overlapping political, economic, and security crises, compounded by Israel’s ongoing military operations and occupation in parts of southern Lebanon. These pressures have accelerated Christian emigration and displacement. Syria’s ancient Christian communities continue to struggle after more than a decade of devastating war and unilateral U.S. economic sanctions. Armenia, the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion, also faces profound security challenges. Armenia’s stability and the preservation of its ancient Christian heritage remain matters of concern for the global Church. Throughout the region, escalating violence threatens broader wars that would endanger all peoples and faith communities.
The diminishing presence of Christians in the Middle East is not simply a Christian concern. It signals that justice, equality, security, and hope are failing for everyone. The Church does not seek privilege for Christians; we seek societies where Christians, Muslims, Jews, Druze, Yazidis, and all people can flourish together with equal rights, dignity, and protection under the law.
We therefore call upon governments and the international community to pursue a just peace with renewed courage. We urge leaders to end violence through proactive, sustained diplomacy; ensure unhindered humanitarian assistance and access to daily needs; protect places of worship and vulnerable communities; and uphold human rights and international humanitarian law without exception.
We also call upon Christians throughout the world to respond faithfully. Pray without ceasing for peace with justice. Stand in solidarity with the churches and people of the Middle East. Support diaconal and humanitarian ministries that serve all people, regardless of religion, belief, or no belief. Welcome those displaced by conflict and advocate for their safe right to return to their homes and communities if desired. Promote reconstruction and/or compensation for damaged and destroyed communities, medical and educational institutions, and other properties. . Ensure that those state and non-state actors responsible for violations of international law are held accountable for the loss of life, suffering, damage and destruction that they have caused. Reject hatred and dehumanization. Raise your voices with elected leaders, urging policies that advance peace, protect human dignity, uphold international law, and preserve the religious diversity of the Middle East.
The future of Christianity in the Holy Land will not be secured by walls, weapons, or war. It will be secured when justice, equality, diplomacy, and peace prevail for all who live there.
May we renew our common commitment to become peacemakers in word and deed. Together with the global church, churches of the Holy Land, and people of goodwill around the world, we pray and work for the day when collectively we beat our swords into plowshares, every family lives without fear under their own fig tree, and lands made holy by God become places where people of every faith live together in freedom, dignity, and peace.
May God go before us and make straight the path toward peace.