Efforts of the EoF youth to rebuild an economy rooted in peace
Today, a new economy, inspired by Francis of Assisi, can and must be an Earth-friendly economy and an economy of peace. Being economists and entrepreneurs “of Francis” necessarily means being women and men of peace: not being at peace for peace’s sake.
For this reason, we the young people of the world, who are called to give a soul to the economy, say, Enough! Stop the war, lay down your weapons, resume the path of dialogue. We also ask for everyone’s commitment so that the time prophesied by Isaiah will draw near: “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”(Isaiah 2:4).
As young people, we no longer tolerate resources being taken away from schools, from health care, from our present and future to build weapons and fuel the wars needed to sell them. We would like to tell our children that the world at war is gone forever.
For this reason, we share Pope Francis’ words, “Every war leaves our world worse than it was before. War is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil.”(Fratelli Tutti, 261).
STATEMENTS AND INITIATIVES
May 2026
Fraternity as the Path Toward an Economy of Peace and Justice
The Economy of Francesco Statement for Peace
As a global community of young economists, entrepreneurs, and changemakers within The Economy of Francesco, we raise our voices with a profound sense of urgency and responsibility. We do not merely witness the suffering of our time; we are deeply moved by the wounds of war, systemic violence, and the divisions that fracture our shared humanity.
The Reality We Face
We recognize that war not only destroys lives, homes, and ecosystems; it shatters the very foundations of justice and the common good. We believe this historical moment demands a radical change, a commitment inspired by the Gospel and Saint Francis of Assisi’s vision and way of living: to recognize the”other” as a brother or a sister, especially in the midst of conflict.
This is not only a call for peace today, but a collective claim to our right to a future, one that rightfully belongs to the youth and children of the world, and that we refuse to see taken away.
Beyond visible conflict, we also recognize more subtle yet pervasive forms of violence: individualism and indifference. We refuse this logic. These attitudes erode the social fabric, weakening solidarity and responsibility, and ultimately deepening fragmentation rather than fostering genuine fraternity. In an era of rising indifference and polarization, we refuse this logic.
Fraternity: Our Response to Injustice
Our conviction is unwavering: there can be no just economy in a world at war. Violence represents the ultimate failure of human fraternity. Therefore, in solidarity with the courageous and prophetic voice of Pope Leo XIV, whose defense of peace we firmly champion, as expressed in his Urbi et Orbi message (2026), calling those with power to remember that “Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!”, we reaffirm that peace must be actively built through justice and mutual care.
As stated in our Pact for the Economy, signed with Pope Francis in Assisi in 2022, we commit ourselves to building:
“An economy of peace and not of war, an economy that opposes the proliferation of arms, especially the most destructive”
This commitment is not new. This commitment has been at the heart of our work from the start. As a community, we have already taken concrete steps toward dialogue and peace through shared initiatives, over 12 initiatives in the last years. These include the ‘What a Dilemma’ methodology (developed by an intercultural group of EoF members in 2021), ‘Money for Peace’ (2023), ‘Ask for Peace from Every Continent‘ (2024), ‘Reading Marathon: Ask for Peace‘ (2024) ‘Steps for Peace‘ (2024) which reached a total of 14,237,758 steps donated by members around the world and EoF Fraternity Index (2025). These intercultural projects and experiences reflect our personal and collective effort to transform active listening and dialogue into concrete actions, embodying care and fraternity in times of conflict.
With Care, Fraternity, and Common Good as our guiding values, we strive to:
– Repair what is broken: Healing the institutions and economic relationships fractured by the logic of conflict.
– Disarm the logic of greed: Moving toward an economy that rejects weaponization and honors the dignity of work.
– Cultivate Social Justice: Ensuring that lasting peace grows from equity, honest dialogue, and the protection of our Common Home.
An Invitation to Reconciling Action
An economy of peace is not an utopia; it is a living process we are already building through research, ethical entrepreneurship, and education “with a soul”. We choose to be artisans of reconciliation, transforming every economic decision into a step toward unity.
Will you join us in building this Economy of Peace?
We invite you to join this collective effort at our upcoming encounter, where we will seek concrete solutions for a world yearning for justice and universal fraternity.
Date & Time: May 26th, 4 PM to 5.30 PM CEST.
Initiative: The Economy of Francesco Peace Encounter
Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/7f9r_CZXQV2-in-4hrrdQA#/registration
Rooted in Prayer, this encounter blends Formation with the raw power of Life Testimony. It’s a space where we strive for authentic Synodal Dialogue, exchanging the very ideas that will spark a purposeful Call to Action.
Today, we reaffirm our commitment: to transform an economy that kills into an economy that gives life. We anchor fraternity as our bridge toward universal justice, standing together to build—now and for the future—an Economy of Peace.
August 2025
Against the economy of extermination. For justice in Palestine
The Economy of Francesco Statement for Peace
We, young members of the global community of The Economy of Francesco, come together to strongly denounce what is happening in Palestine: a human and collective tragedy that unfolds day after day, fueled by an economic system that turns suffering into profit, destruction into opportunities for financial growth, and injustice into normality. We cannot remain silent in the face of an economy that:
- uses Gaza as a testing ground for weapons and military technologies, which are then sold around the world as “battle-tested”;
- invests in the demolition of homes, schools, hospitals, destroying the foundations of any future;
- controls access to vital resources such as water and energy, using them as tools of domination;
- mobilizes universities, tech companies, tourism platforms, and investment funds to support occupation, segregation, and permanent surveillance.
This economy is not an accident of history. It is the consequence of a model that places power and profit above human dignity, that considers some lives expendable, that fuels inequalities instead of healing them. As young economists, entrepreneurs, researchers, activists, and people of faith, united under the sign of fraternity, we say: enough.
We call for:
- the immediate halt to the massacre of the Palestinian people and a permanent ceasefire;
- the end of economic and political complicity that makes violence possible and profitable;
- the suspension of trade, technological, and military agreements with those who fuel oppression;
- full transparency and the concrete commitment of our institutions, universities, and businesses not to support—directly or indirectly—a system of apartheid, colonization, and destruction.
We stand for justice, freedom, and dignity. We stand with the Palestinian people, and with all victims of injustice and violence, including hostages, Israeli civilians, and the victims of every form of terrorism, including economic terrorism.
Because every life matters.
Because peace is justice.
Because fraternity is the only possible economy.
STEPS FOR PEACE
The young people of the Economy of Francesco responded to Pope Francis’ invitation to make concrete gestures of peace with a symbolic pilgrimage from Jerusalem to Assisi, equal to 8 million steps. Through a global relay and a pedometer app, many took part by donating their own steps.
Discover the project
MONEY FOR PEACE
The Money for Peace campaign, promoted by the EoF community, aims to raise awareness about the role of financial investments in armed conflicts and to promote ethical and responsible choices by consumers and institutions.
Want to be a peacemaker? Join us and go to the dedicated page
In the spirit of Advent, a season of hope and reflection, EoF proposes a series of regional events under the central theme of “Peace”. These gatherings will spotlight the vital work and progress of our Community working in areas experiencing conflict, instability, and poverty.
We would like to make a stand and ask for peace, from our different spaces, with our words and the words of those who have worked for it in their time. A time will come in which the future generations will ask “How could this happen?”, or “What did you do when this was happening?”
Watch our call for peace: between people, in the society we live in, between states. We need peace achieved by peaceful means: dialogue, understanding of the other’s perspectives, critical thinking, rejection of violence.
The course of the war in Ukraine has become so serious, devastating and threatening, as to cause great concern.
Intervista a Martina Pignatti, direttrice della ONG “Un ponte per” che da oltre trent’anni agisce per dare uno spazio alla non violenza.
RIFLESSIONE – Note di un cristiano ingenuo in margine al conflitto riacceso dall’invasione russa dell’Ucraina
We are young economists, entrepreneurs and change-makers in the world, we call to give spirit to the economy, and the need to stop the war, leave the weapons and return to the path of dialogue.
Bishop Sorrentino reminds us how St. Francis not only lived through war, but also suffered it firsthand and now traces for us a path to peace.
It seems that the time has come for Europe to grow up and start to be responsible for its own destiny.
A video from Domenico Sorrentino, Bishop of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino and president of EoF Organizing Committee. A call to pray, stop the war and rebuild a fraternal economy.
We orginized the webinair “The Better Kind of Politics” in the context of crisis in Ukraine, in light of #FratelliTutti encyclical letter.
We all want to do something concrete against the war. This is the campaign created by the youth of EOF, called “Less gas for more peace”.
It is with great shock, sadness and sorrow to witness the acts of war in the very heart of Europe. How can it be that, in the 21st century, nations are still using force to solve their geopolitical and geoeconomic goals, neglecting human wellbeing?
