The October issue of the NW NJPN E BULLETIN opens with a statement from Bishop John Arnold, Lead Bishop for Environmental Issues for the Bishops’ Conference, for the Season of Creation highlighting how the world’s violent conflicts are impacting on our common home. He refers to Pope Leo’s message for the World Day of Prayer for Creation which ask us to work unremittingly for peace and to end the cycle of violence that destroys our common home.

Earlier this year Pope Leo released his first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, addressing the rise of Artificial Intelligence and the need for technology to serve human dignity and the common good rather than driving inequality or replacing human conscience. The Catholic Union will be holding a webinar on Monday 19 October to explore how AI can enhance human experience rather than lessen it. See page 3.

Embrace the Middle East, a founding member of the Just Peace Coalition, has released a statement in response to UK sanctions on Israeli settlements. Embrace’s Patron, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester, has visited Israel-Palestine on several occasions, to show solidarity with the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and to continue listening deeply to the voices of people in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. In a lengthy article, Oranges and Lemons, which some may find harrowing, she shares her thoughts after a visit in January 2026, and reflects on her “deep disturbance at our inability to hold different things together in tension at the same time – things that might seemingly be different, even opposite.” She asks, “why is it that we have become a people of ‘either-or’ and rejected the ethos of ‘both-and’? Why can we not condemn the actions of this government of Israel regarding Palestine, and at the same time condemn antisemitism in the UK?” See pages 4-7.

Rabbis for Human Rights are mobilising staff, internationals, and Israeli volunteers to pick olives to support Palestinian families in many places across the Occupied West Bank as “a testament, first and foremost, to the failure of the Israeli state to uphold its commitments to democracy, justice, and security for all under its rule.” Read more on pages 7-8.

“The cry of displaced children rises to God today,” Pope Leo said in his Message for the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which the Church observed on September 27^th.  The Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, echoed this theme, calling for greater protection of refugee and asylum-seeking children in the inaugural Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) UK Annual Lecture. See pages 8-10.

This year, churches across the UK were invited to celebrate Disability Awareness Sunday on 27 September under the theme “One Body, Many Parts”, drawing on 1 Corinthians 12:12–27. Our Christian response asks us to be mindful of the needs of others at all times, not just on a designated day. Bishop Paul Hendricks, Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark, reminds us of Pope Francis’ words a few years ago, that “the Church must be for everyone, or else it’s for no one” in a reflection on page 10.

Regular contributor Jon Kuhrt asks, in this age of consumerism are we “stuck in receive mode” in our faith. He says, “Jesus does not call us to be religious consumers but calls us to build authentic community.” This theme will be explored in an online gathering on 29 September – details on how to join on page 11. Poet and priest Rev’d Jon Swales, founder of the Lighthouse Church in Leeds, will read his powerful poem The Gospel of the Wild Messiah at the event – we publish it on page 12 with a link to a recording by Jon.

The Catholic Union is holding a webinar on 15 October for young Catholics focusing on loneliness as spiritual crisis and political failure – see page 13 for details and please pass on to others who may find this helpful.

September 26 was the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.  Find out more on pages 13-16, plus the latest news from CAFOD, Housing Justice, PACT (the Catholic charity supporting prisoners, people with convictions, and their children and families), Church Action on Poverty and Remembrance Sunday and a diary of regional and national events.

Apologies if you receive this bulletin from more than one mailing list.

Best wishes
Anne O’Connor

NW NJPN Justice and Peace E Bulletin October 2026