A Christmas Message from ACBC President, Archbishop Philip Wilson

On Christmas Day in 1939, King George VI reminded the world that it was facing a terrible war.

Although we’re not in exactly the same position now, the fact of the matter is we are at war, and there are Australians confronting the seemingly insurmountable challenges of conflict.

There is war all over the world, and it is in such times that we do need, as the King said, a message of hope.

The celebration of Christmas is about real hope. We hope that the Lord will be true to his promises and will grant us the gift of peace.

We have to work with all our strength towards that and choose to find peaceful ways to settle our problems rather than using violence.

What the King said was quite correct then and still is today, that if we go out into the darkness and put our hand into the hand of God, “that shall be better to you than light, and safer than a known way”.