Peace Sunday marked across England and Wales

Catholic parishes across England and Wales have celebrating Peace Sunday this weekend, sharing the 2015 peace message of Pope Francis: 'Slaves no more, but brothers and sisters'.

The Pope describes slavery as "an open wound on the body of the human family – a running sore on the flesh of Christ".

The Catholic peace organisation Pax Christi has been promoting the annual World Peace Day message since it began in 1968, helping parishes explore each message for our own time and place.

The 2015 message invites participants to explore the links between slavery, violence and war.

In his letter to parishes, read out in many of them on 18 January 2015, Archbishop Malcolm McMahon, National President of Pax Christi wrote: " In Pax Christi we see slavery as being linked to issues of poverty, indebtedness and conflict – as many are forced by the violence of war to leave everything behind and seek refuge elsewhere.

Parishes have been exploring these themes through the range of liturgical materials, proposals for action, and storytelling resources that have been prepared by Pax Christi.

* More information and resources: http://paxchristi.org.uk/news-and-events/peace-sunday/