In news that probably hasn't been reported widely because it doesn't fit media narratives about organized religion being fixated on sex, last Sunday, Pope Francis made an appeal for peace:
I repeat forcefully: it is neither a culture of confrontation nor a culture of conflict which builds harmony within and between peoples, but rather a culture of encounter and a culture of dialogue; this is the only way to peace.
May the plea for peace rise up and touch the heart of everyone so that they may lay down their weapons and be let themselves be led by the desire for peace.
To this end, brothers and sisters, I have decided to proclaim for the whole Church on 7 September next, the vigil of the birth of Mary, Queen of Peace, a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, the Middle East, and throughout the world, and I also invite each person, including our fellow Christians, followers of other religions and all men of good will, to participate, in whatever way they can, in this initiative.
This has been followed by letters from Cardinal Dolan of New York, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines, chair of the USCCB's Comittee on International Justice and Peace to President Obama and Congress repeating the appeal of Pope Francis, who said:
"I exhort the international community to make every effort to promote clear proposals for peace in that country without further delay, a peace based on dialogue and negotiation, for the good of the entire Syrian people. May no effort be spared in guaranteeing humanitarian assistance to those wounded by this terrible conflict, in particular those forced to flee and the many refugees in nearby countries."
The popes of recent history have
consistently called for peace:
"War never again! Never again war!" [Pope Francis] tweeted earlier this week.
It's an anti-war exhortation that echoes those issued by popes past starting with Pope Pius XII in his 1951 Christmas radio message. Pope Paul VI uttered the same words at the United Nations in 1965 as the Vietnam War raged. Pope John Paul II repeated them in calls for peace in Bosnia and Iraq and Benedict XVI used the refrain during a 2011 peace meeting with religious leaders in the Umbrian hilltop town of Assisi.
This is how Catholics do things and, as a Catholic, I have ever been skeptical of those who try to mobilize Catholic opinion in politics without incorporating traditional methods such as prayer and fasting as part of that appeal. Thus, if you wanted to organize a specifically Catholic anti-war protest, I would recommend calling for a day of fasting or a period of abstaining from meat as part of the process.
I also think it would be interesting if people called Catholic members of Congress of both parties on either side of the issue to see which Catholic politicians are aware of this day of fasting and whether or not they plan on participating.
For those who wish to participate in the pope's call, I remind you that the Catholic method of fasting (at least, in the United States during Lent) takes the form of reducing your intake to one full meal, accompanied by two smaller meals/snacks.