As American policymakers debated military intervention in Syria, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl joined Pope Francis and Catholics around the world in calling for peace and a just solution to the violence that has wracked the country and other parts of the world. "Today we pray for those who are a part of our human family and who endure terrible acts of violence. We also invoke God's blessings on those who strive to contain violence around the world," Cardinal Wuerl said during a special Mass September 7 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. "We ask God to give all of us the strength to walk in the light of God's love and that we might be true agents of human solidarity, justice and true peace." The Mass was one of dozens of liturgies and prayer services across the U.S. in response to Pope Francis' call for a day of prayer and fasting for peace in Syria, the Middle East and throughout the world. "As an expression of solidarity with all the victims who suffer, especially the children, particularly in Syria but throughout the Middle East, we raise our voices in supplication for peace and reconciliation," Cardinal Wuerl said during his homily.