World Peace Forum: Bishop William Morris

Bishop William Morris has been the Catholic Bishop of Toowoomba for ten years. His huge diocese covers most of south-western Queensland, extending from the Darling Downs to the South Australian border. Bishop Morris also has national responsibilities in his Church. He is a member, and Secretary, of the Bishops' Committee for Justice, Development, Ecology and Peace. And he is the Chairman of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council - the Catholic Church's national justice and peace agency. It is in this capacity as the Council's leader that he will speak top the World Peace Forum.

Bishop Morris's address will draw on the teaching of two famous Popes - the late Pope John XXIII (1958-63) and the present Holy Father, Pope John Paul II (elected in 1978).

Less than three months before he died, the much loved John XXIII wrote the encyclical letter Pacem in Terris ("Peace on Earth"). It was virtually his last will and testament. Addressed not only to Catholics but (unlike any previous papal encyclical) to all people of good will, it appeared on 11 April 1963, just forty years ago. Its 40th anniversary was marked this year by Pope John Paul II in his annual New Year's Day Peace message, titled Pacem in Terris: A Permanent Commitment.

Peace on Earth teaches that peace must have a four-fold basis. It must be "founded on truth, built according to justice, vivified and integrated by charity, and put into practice in freedom".

The themes of Peace on Earth have been developed by Pope John Paul II. He has applied them to the many challenges in these early years of the millennium, including the damage being done to the earth's ecology, the growing gap between rich and poor people, fear of terrorism, racism and the tragedy of war.

Bishop Morris considers that the persuasive maxim of the environmental movement - think globally, act locally - lends itself to many of these challenges. Its aim is to convert the overwhelming and seemingly inevitable into matters of personal commitment and social change.

In Peace on Earth Pope John too promoted the concept of thinking globally and acting locally. Written during the cold war, it called for a new ordering of international affairs that recognised the growing interdependence of nations and promoted the universal common good. It spoke as no previous Catholic document had in support of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The challenge to think beyond the fear of global war and to cultivate a culture of peace was directed not only to world leaders and international authorities but to all people of good will - to address the causes of conflict, to ensure basic living conditions, to promote human rights and respect for life.

In his Message for the World Day of Peace (1 January 2003), Pope John Paul II has echoed this call to work for peace among individuals, within families, in communities, between nations and throughout the world. He emphasises that peace is not essentially about structures but about people.

The call for peace is concerned with weighty and often overwhelming world issues. But it is based in hope and springs from the hearts of individuals and local communities. We are called to start where we can. This will be the message that Bishop Morris will offer to the World Peace Forum.