In a heartfelt message echoing from the heart of India’s Catholic leadership, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop Emeritus of Bombay, has urged India and Pakistan to chart a new course toward lasting peace—particularly over the long-disputed Kashmir region.
Following a fragile but holding ceasefire that came into effect on May 10, Cardinal Gracias joined Pope Leo XIV in welcoming the halt to hostilities. Just days earlier, the region was rocked by a brutal terrorist strike on April 22, which claimed 26 innocent lives and ignited four days of cross-border retaliatory action.
Speaking to the Vatican’s Fides news agency, Cardinal Gracias made an emotional plea to both nations: “The time has come to silence the guns and let the voice of reason and reconciliation be heard.”
“Our appeal,” he said, “comes not just from faith, but from the shared history and culture that binds India and Pakistan. We are not strangers—we are brothers, born of the same soil, molded by the same traditions. Dialogue must take precedence over division.”
Describing Kashmir as a wound that has festered since the subcontinent’s partition, the Cardinal stressed the dire need for a comprehensive and final resolution to the territorial discord—one that prioritizes humanity over geopolitics. “This is not only vital for our two nations, but also for global peace,” he added.
The Cardinal warned of the catastrophic consequences of renewed conflict between two nuclear-armed neighbors, emphasizing the high stakes for international stability. He called upon world leaders and global institutions to facilitate neutral and credible mediation efforts.
“Religious nationalism must give way to pragmatic peacemaking,” Cardinal Gracias concluded. “The responsibility lies with our leaders—to rise above rhetoric, embrace realism, and commit to a future that transcends historical animosity.”
His words serve as both a call to conscience and a reminder that even in a region shadowed by decades of bloodshed, the possibility of peace still flickers—awaiting the courage to ignite it.