In a dramatic appeal for global unity, Father Harry Bury, the renowned Catholic priest and lifelong peace activist, has called upon the world to adopt the “Oasis Peace Plan”—a visionary framework for achieving peace through economic development. The initiative, announced to the International Peace Coalition on October 3, 2025, seeks to address the escalating crises in Gaza and across Southwest Asia by tackling the root causes of conflict: poverty and inequality.
A Lifelong Commitment to Peace
Father Bury is no stranger to putting his body on the line for his beliefs. In 1971, he famously chained himself to the U.S. Embassy gate in Saigon in protest of the Vietnam War. Decades later, in 2005, he was abducted in Gaza while serving as a human shield between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian citizens. His latest campaign, however, shifts the focus from direct intervention to systemic change, advocating for a collaborative international development strategy.
The Oasis Plan: Peace Through Development
At the heart of Father Bury’s appeal is the Oasis Peace Plan, a concept championed by the Schiller Institute, with which he has partnered. The plan’s core principle is succinctly captured by a quote from Pope Paul VI that Bury invoked: “Development, the New Name for Peace.”
The Oasis Plan argues that true, lasting peace cannot be achieved through military means or political agreements alone. Instead, it must be built by eradicating the conditions that fuel conflict. The plan calls for developed nations to cease competing and begin cooperating to uplift underdeveloped nations, with the ultimate goal of achieving equity among all nations.
“The mission for this plan of development is for the developed nations of the planet to stop competing and to cooperate in contributing to the underdeveloped nations so that every nation be equal to every other nation,” Bury stated.
BRICS as a Blueprint for a New World Order
Father Bury pointed to the expanding coalition of BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—as a de facto implementation of this principle. With over 14 other nations, predominantly from the Global South, joining the bloc, he noted that this coalition now represents “about three-quarters of the population of the world.”
“Amazing,” he remarked, framing the BRICS expansion not as a geopolitical bloc, but as a model for a new, more equitable global financial and development architecture.
From Local Action to Global Vision
The initiative is grounded in local action. Through his association, Twin Cities Nonviolent, Father Bury has been working to make St. Paul and Minneapolis “actively nonviolent cities.” This involves both international advocacy and hyper-local programs, such as assisting ex-gang members in north Minneapolis to secure living-wage jobs or start their own businesses.
This local success, Bury explained, is a microcosm of the Oasis Plan’s global potential. The model of providing development and opportunity to those on the margins is one he intends to replicate, with future plans to offer similar training to “young warriors in Africa.”
An Appeal to the Vatican and the World
In a move to garner the highest levels of moral support, Father Bury announced an appeal to Pope Leo XIV, urging him to lend the weight of the papacy to the Oasis Plan. By enlisting the Pope’s endorsement, Bury hopes to mobilize congregations, synagogues, and mosques worldwide, transforming the plan from a political proposal into a global moral imperative.
“We are also considering writing to Pope Leo and asking him to encourage the Oasis Peace Plan through development throughout the world, to get as many people involved as we can,” Bury told the Coalition. “The Oasis Peace Plan through development is creating hope for the hopeless.”
As world peace hangs by what he describes as a “very thin thread,” Father Harry Bury’s latest campaign presents a stark choice: continue on the path of cyclical conflict or embrace a radical new strategy where development becomes the ultimate instrument of peace.#
