ICN: Catholic Priests write to PM urging his government to take decisive action on Palestine
Source: Priests Against Genocide UK and Ireland
A group of Catholic priests ministering across the United Kingdom and Ireland, writing on behalf of the international network Priests Against Genocide – which includes three Cardinals, 28 Bishops and more than 2,500 Catholic priests and deacons in 67 countries – has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging his government to take decisive action on Palestine.
The letter welcomes the Prime Minister’s own description of events in Gaza as “a scar on our collective conscience,” and acknowledges steps the government has already taken, including the partial suspension of arms licences, the pause in trade talks, and sanctions on individuals linked to settler violence. But the priests argue that, measured against what the United Nations has now formally called genocide, these measures remain insufficient.
The letter cites the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which concluded in June 2026 that Israeli security forces and authorities have deliberately targeted Palestinian children, amounting to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza, and war crimes in the West Bank. It also notes findings from Save the Children UK that at least 265 children have been killed in Gaza since the October 2025 ceasefire, and that Palestinian children remain among the most vulnerable to death and injury from explosive weapons anywhere in the world.
Echoing calls already made by CAFOD, Save the Children UK, other aid agencies, and a cross-party letter signed by 80 MPs and Peers, the priests ask the government to take three concrete steps:
Recognise the UN Commission of Inquiry’s finding of genocide, and implement the International Court of Justice’s ruling in full.
Ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements – as CAFOD’s current petition to Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds MP asks, following the lead already taken by Spain and Ireland – and suspend the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement.
Impose a full arms embargo, including the export of British-made components for F-35 fighter jets, and introduce comprehensive sanctions against those responsible for these violations.
The letter also expresses concern that the government has so far declined to act on any of these three demands, and notes that the Foreign Secretary’s first statement in office referred to “Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine” while describing events in Palestine only as “conflict in the Middle East.”
The priests frame their appeal not as a partisan intervention but as an expression of their vocation and of Catholic Social Teaching – a tradition they note has also shaped the Prime Minister’s own political formation. While affirming their total opposition to any form of antisemitism, the signatories write that they stand ready to support “any politician from any party” who acts in line with that same teaching, and pledge to keep Mr Burnham in their prayers.
The full letter text follows:
19 August 2026
The Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA
Dear Prime Minister,
We are Catholic priests who minister in different parts of the UK. We belong to an international group called Priests Against Genocide. It is a group which includes three Cardinals, 28 Bishops and over 2,500 Catholic Priests and Deacons present in 67 countries.
We were heartened to hear you describe what is happening in Gaza as “a scar on our collective conscience.”
The Bible tells us: “Mercy and truth have met each other; justice and peace have embraced. Truth has risen from the earth, and justice looks down from heaven” (Psalm 85:10-11).
We write to ask that this meeting of mercy and truth, of justice and peace, be reflected not only in your private faith but in the policy of your government.
We recognise, the steps the government has already taken: the partial suspension of arms licences, the pause in trade talks, the sanctions imposed on individuals linked to settler violence. These steps are so important
But we write because, set against the scale of what the UN has now formally called genocide, they
remain, in our judgement and that of many of your own backbenchers, insufficient.
In June 2026, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israeli
security forces and authorities have deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza, and war crimes in the West Bank. Save the Children
UK reports that at least 265 children have been killed in Gaza since the October 2025 ceasefire agreement and that Palestinian children remain among the most vulnerable to death and injury from explosive weapons anywhere in the world.
You yourself said, on taking office, that the UK must “do more to put pressure on the Israeli Government.” We ask that you now make good on those words. We echo the call made by CAFOD, Save the Children UK and other aid agencies, and we join the cross-party letter of 80 MPs and Peers, in asking your government to take three concrete steps:
1. Recognise the UN Commission of Inquiry’s finding of genocide, and implement the International Court of Justice’s ruling in full.
2. Ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements – as CAFOD’s current petition to Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds MP asks, following the lead already taken by Spain and Ireland – and suspend the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement.
3. Impose a full arms embargo, including the export of British-made components for F-35 fighter jets, and introduce comprehensive sanctions against those responsible for these violations.
We were troubled to learn that the government has so far declined to act on any of these demands and the Foreign Secretary’s first statement in office described, “Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine” while referring to events in Gaza only as “conflict in the Middle East.”
In writing to you now, our advocacy on behalf of the suffering people of Gaza is not simply a political appeal, but an expression of our vocation as priests and the Gospel call to stand alongside those whose rights and dignity have been so seriously violated by the state of Israel.
As priests we make our appeal in the context of our commitment to the Gospel and to the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. It goes without saying we are totally opposed to any form of antisemitism.
We are conscious too that Catholic Social Teaching has been an important influence on your own political outlook and your vision for a just world.
Given your value system you are uniquely placed at the head of this government, to close the gap between what Britain says it stands for and what it is currently willing to do.
We stand with you, a Prime Minister who has been formed in the same Catholic Social Teaching as ourselves. This issue is something over and beyond party politics and we want to support you and any politician from any party; in everything you try to do along the lines of that same teaching.
Please be assured, we are praying for you in our churches and individually as well.
Yours sincerely
On behalf of Priest Against Genocide – UK and Ireland
Father Denis Blackledge SJ., Dorset
Father Pat Browne, London
Father Gabriel Dolan SPS, Fermanagh
Father Anton Fernandopulle, Liverpool
Father Joseph McCullough SPS, Surrey
Father Ned Wall, Greater Manchester
LINK
Priests Against Genocide: https://forms.gle/WH66Tzqa6KgKzyra8 (For Catholic priests who wish to join this network)
Isn’t it that one should be against all genocide without being selective? This is what US commentator Bill Maher alluded to when interviewed about genocidal attacks on Christians in Nigeria, asking why no college students are protesting about it (51 secs). https://x.com/realMaalouf/status/2090277733515317280
A report on genocidal atrocities against Christians in Nigeria was aired by UK’s Channel 4 in April: “Is Nigeria Facing a Christian Genocide?” / “Village of widows”
(Short clip – 1min 50sec, full report – 15 mins).
https://x.com/Sean_ADFIntl/status/2046691693190172981
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p2I9hyEGYdM&pp=0gcJCXACo7VqN5tD
For some reason, there has been little or no mention of this in Ireland.
Bill Maher is just “drowning the fish”.
Another genocide / ethnic cleansing of Christians by Muslims, this time in Iraq since 2003. The post (from X) shows a video of a church full of Christian children praying in 2026 (unable to upload the accompanying picture/video). The post is followed by a question to Grok on its veracity.
The Post: In the last 25 years, Iraq’s Assyrian Christian population has fallen from over 2 million to only 100,000. A real genocide. Even after the horrors of the Islamic State, their faith remains unshaken.
The post features video footage of Assyrian Christian children praying in an Iraqi church, underscoring their continued devotion amid ongoing challenges.
It states that Iraq’s Assyrian Christian population has declined from over 2 million to around 100,000 in 25 years and labels this a genocide.
Estimates generally show a drop from 1-1.5 million Christians pre-2003 to 150,000-250,000 today, driven by wars, sectarian violence and the ISIS campaign.
Has there been ethnic cleansing of Christians from Iraq since 2003?
Yes. There has been widespread forced displacement and targeted persecution of Iraq’s Christian communities (primarily Assyrian, Chaldean and Syriac) since 2003 that meets common definitions of ethnic cleansing in key episodes, especially under ISIS, alongside a broader pattern of violence, intimidation and demographic change driving a catastrophic population collapse. Before the 2003 US-led invasion, estimates of Iraq’s Christian population ranged from roughly 1.2–1.5 million. By recent years it had fallen to fewer than 150,000–250,000 (some church and NGO estimates put it near or under 200,000), with the large majority of the decline due to flight from insecurity rather than natural demographic change.
Post-2003 period: After the fall of Saddam Hussein, the power vacuum and rise of sectarian conflict left Christians highly vulnerable. They faced church bombings, kidnappings for ransom, assassinations of clergy and civilians, threats and property seizures by various insurgent and militia groups. Many left Baghdad, Basra and other areas; by the early 2010s the community was already substantially reduced. Church leaders and reports document hundreds of Christian deaths in targeted incidents in this period, along with destruction of dozens of churches.
ISIS campaign (2014 onward): This phase is most clearly characterised as ethnic/religious cleansing and has been recognised as genocide and crimes against humanity by the US government and others. After seizing Mosul in June 2014, ISIS issued ultimatums to Christians: convert to Islam, pay jizya (a discriminatory tax), leave or face death. Christian homes were marked with the Arabic letter “N” (for Nasrani/Christian). Tens of thousands fled Mosul and the historic Christian heartland of the Nineveh Plains (including towns such as Qaraqosh, Bartella and Karamlesh). Estimates of those displaced from these areas alone run to 60,000–100,000 or more. Churches, monasteries and cultural heritage were systematically destroyed or desecrated; property was looted or appropriated. Amnesty International described ISIS’s actions against non-Sunni/non-Arab minorities (including Assyrian Christians, Yazidis and others) as “ethnic cleansing on a historic scale.” The US State Department (under Secretary John Kerry in 2016) determined that ISIS committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Yazidis, Christians and Shi’a Muslims, among others. UN investigative efforts (UNITAD) have documented reasonable grounds for war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Christian community, including forcible transfer, persecution, pillage and destruction of cultural heritage.
Ongoing challenges After ISIS’s territorial defeat, many Christians have not fully returned. Iran-backed militias (Popular Mobilisation Forces and related groups), property disputes, demographic engineering in formerly Christian areas of the Nineveh Plains, political marginalisation, economic hardship and residual insecurity continue to drive emigration. Reports describe ongoing pressure, land seizures and efforts that alter the character of Christian towns. In short, the combination of targeted violence, forced expulsions (especially 2014), destruction of religious and cultural sites, and sustained conditions that make return or continued residence untenable has produced a near-collapse of one of the Middle East’s oldest continuous Christian communities. While not every Christian departure was the direct result of a single organised campaign, the pattern since 2003 — particularly the ISIS phase — fits established criteria for ethnic cleansing and related international crimes.
African Catholic clergy invoke the continent’s history of war and apartheid to demand an end to the violence in the Holy Land.
https://www.religiondigital.org/mundo/curas-catolicos-africanos-apartheid-israel-gaza-genocidio_1_1464280.html
Catholic clergy from South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali and Uganda — including Cardinal Stephen Brislin of South Africa — have issued a joint statement declaring that the policies and actions of the Israeli government in Gaza constitute genocide.
The priests demand: an immediate end to the genocide in Gaza and the violence in the West Bank, with full humanitarian access; an end to forced displacement in the Holy Land; cooperation with international judicial mechanisms; a suspension of weapons and surveillance technology that could be misused; ethical scrutiny of related investments; support, accountability and reparations for victims; and a political future based on Palestinian self-determination, along with equality, security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians. They extend the same appeal to African governments, insisting that international law must be applied equally to the conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, eastern Congo, and Cape Delgado.