March 2, 2022
We, theologians from different countries and continents, express our full solidarity with the appeals of the Christian Churches in Ukraine to stop the Russian military aggression against their country. We condemn this war against the sovereign state of Ukraine in the strongest possible terms. This unprovoked attack that has already cost thousands of lives can have no justification. It will cost many more human tragedies if continued. It is a crime against international law, against human rights, against freedom, and against humanity. The attack on Ukraine is an attack on the very foundations of a human civilization nourished by the moral guidance of Christianity and other world religions. All those responsible for this act of war must be named by name and brought to justice.
We stand with the people of Ukraine in this tragic moment of their history and ask people in the whole world to pray with us for Ukraine and Ukrainians. We also ask to pray for the people of Russia: both for those of them who have the courage to stand against evil, and for those who have been brainwashed by the vicious propaganda spread by the media machine of their state and turned into instruments of the criminal activity of their leader. We urge all world leaders who respect freedom, human dignity, and democratic principles to exert the toughest possible pressure on the Kremlin to stop this war immediately and to withdraw all its troops from Ukrainian territory. We urge all religious leaders in Russia to speak a clear word of condemnation of the unjust and criminal war and the suffering their state has brought to the neighboring country and to Europe. We call on all people of good will to support the victims of this aggression. We pray God for peace and justice for Ukraine, Russia, Europe, and the entire world.
We issue this brief and urgent appeal as theologians whose vocation it is to preach the Gospel of truth and justice. We pray that the God of mercy may grant peace and freedom to every human being created in God’s image and likeness, to every family, to every home, and to every nation.
We urge our sisters and brothers from every church, denomination, and religion to add their signature in support of our appeal.
Prof. Dr. Edward Alam
Consultor on the Pontifical Council for Culture
Notre Dame University-Louaize
Lebanon
Rev. Prof. Dr. Yury P. Avvakumov
University of Notre Dame
Indiana, USA
Rev. Prof. Dr Gabino Uríbarri Bilbao, SJ
Pontifical University Comillas
Madrid, Spain
Mons. Prof. Dr. Antonio Luiz Catelan Ferreira
Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of São Sebastião
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Prof. Dr. John C. Cavadini
University of Notre Dame
Indiana, USA
Prof. Dr. Robin Darling Young
The Catholic University of America
Washington DC, USA
Rev. Prof. Dr. Jorge José Ferrer , SJ
Pontifical Catholic University
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Rev. Prof. Dr. Simon Francis Gaine, OP
Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas “Angelicum”
Rome, Italy
Rev. Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Góźdź
John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
Lublin, Poland
Rev. Prof. Dr. Gaby Alfred Hachem
Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
Kaslik, Lebanon
Prof. Dr. Michael Hollerich
University of St. Thomas
Minnesota, USA
Very Rev. Prof. Cyril Hovorun
Loyola Marymount University
California, USA
Prof. Dr. Reinhard Huetter
The Catholic University of America
Washington DC, USA
Rev. Prof. Dr. Marek Jagodziński
John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
Lublin, Poland
Rev. Prof. Dr. Thomas Kollamparampil
Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram
Bangalore, India
Rev. Prof. Dr. Victor Ronald La Barrera Villareal
CEBITEPAL Biblical Theological Pastoral Center for Latin America of the Latin American Episcopal Council
Bogotá, Columbia
Very Rev. Prof. Dr. Mark Morozowich
Dean
The Catholic University of America
Washington DC, USA
Sr. Prof. Dr. Isabell Naumann, ISSM
Catholic Institute of Sydney
Sydney, Australia
Rev. Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Németh
University of Vienna
Vienna, Austria
Sr. Prof. Dr. Josée Ngalula
Catholic University of Congo in Kinshasa
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Prof. Dr. Thomas Prügl
University of Vienna
Vienna, Austria
Prof. Dr. Tracey Rowland
University of Notre Dame
Fremantle, Australia
Prof. Dr. Marianne Schlosser
University of Vienna
Vienna, Austria