Peace is Possible
A newsletter for friends of Pax Christi International
75 Years for Peace
We have received many special greetings from around the world in honour of our 75th anniversary. We have posted a few online, showing the impact of the Pax Christi International movement. You will be inspired!
Follow Pax Christi International
Seventy-five years ago, while the world still simmered from war, Pax Christi International was born out of the extraordinary hope of Marthe Dortel-Claudot and Bishop Pierre-Marie Théas. In the years and decades since, together as a global movement, we have built peace from the grassroots all the way to the global level. Watch this special video and celebrate with us as we look forward to the future of our movement!
Justice and Solidarity: Pax Christi International in Africa, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific
Africa
Great Lakes Region:

Our priority in the Great Lakes region of Africa is empowering new generations in active nonviolence and entrepreneurship. We have been running the program for several years in DR Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda and the impact is astounding.

Through training of trainers we have reached thousands of young women and men, encouraging them on a path of nonviolence and peacebuilding.

Recognising the attraction that extremist armed movements present to young people by providing them with the means to sustain themselves, it was also determined that entrepreneurship needed to be a core component of the programme, offering young people a pathway to economic sustenance. 

Here are a few testimonials directly from the beneficiaries of this groundbreaking programme. We send a heartfelt thank you to the young women and men who make this work possible.
Latin America
Latin America: New Publication

Extractivist processes in Latin America and the Caribbean are the continuity of a process of dispossession starting more than 500 years ago. The former colonies were plundered of resources and transformed into nations equally plundered by multinational corporations. Through the project Latin America, between Violence and Hope, we accompany communities and organisations resisting extractivist practices in seven countries. A new resource sheds light on this situation, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, and provides recommendations for a hope-filled, nonviolent way forward. Below are links to the publications and short videos in English and Spanish previewing the content of the resources.



Asia-Pacific
Peace Webinars: Korea
Together with Pax Christi Korea we hosted a dialogue about important peacebuilding issues for Korea, featuring colleagues from the region and even the other side of the world. The presentations and discussion shed light on some of the biggest concerns for peace on the peninsula.
Why Women?
Pax Christi International is very pleased to organise an online event in cooperation with Pax Christi-Pilipinas, Center for Peace Education-Miriam College, Women Peacekeepers Pilipinas, and #WomenInspiringWomen. 

Why Women? Peacekeeping, Peacemaking, and Peacebuilding in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. More details in the attached poster. 

Tuesday, October 27
15:00 (Manila) GMT+8

Registration in advance is required.
Advocacy
Pax Christi International Responds to Fratelli Tutti: A foundation for advancing nonviolence in a violent world

We are grateful for Pope Francis’ new encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship.” This timely document grapples with the realities of a polarized, violent and unjust world amid the worldwide crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and envisions a new way forward to a more just, peaceful, equal, hopeful and nonviolent future.
As COVID-19 Spreads, Global Peacebuilders Call on Governments to Re-Commit to Peace

Pax Christi International joined over 170 international and domestic peacebuilding organisations in an urgent call to action for peace. The statement points out that responses to crisis that increase violence, injustice and exclusion will worsen development losses and increase human suffering. A focus on peace, justice and inclusion must be at the heart of the response to COVID-19.

World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel

Every year, Pax Christi International and several of its members participate in the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, organised by the World Council of Churches (WCC). People of faith all over the world are encouraged to demonstrate the power of prayer with action for peace in Palestine and Israel. We have organised on our website material that can be educational and inspiring throughout the year as we work for a just and lasting peace.

Support for Belarusians and their Peaceful Protests

Following worrying developments in Belarus, Msgr. Marc Stenger (Co-President of Pax Christi International) has sent a letter to Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk, expressing deep concern over escalating tensions in Belarus.
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People
To honour the rights of Indigenous people and encourage further action in upholding these rights throughout the world, we made a short video for the anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.
Celebrating the life of
Sr. Ardeth Platte
Pax Christi International mourns but also rejoices as we remember Sr. Ardeth Platte, a Dominican sister, Plowshares activist and nuclear disarmament advocate. Through her exemplary life she modelled for all of us what it is to be a follower of the nonviolent Jesus. Sr. Ardeth’s life, similar to that of Jesus, who called her to religious life (to be with Him and to be sent out), was one of total sacrifice that fulfilled God’s plan for her. She not only advocated against the use of weapons of mass destruction but also was ready to go to prison for her opposition to their manufacturing and utilisation. Her determined spirit will be kept alive in the knowledge that one day her dream of a nuclear free world will become a reality.
Deepening Catholic Thought on Nonviolence
Available now! Order your copy of Advancing Nonviolence, the new book from Catholic Nonviolence Initiative. The book is the culmination of a three-year global conversation among church leaders, community organisers, activists, social scientists and theologians about how the Catholic Church might return to its Gospel nonviolence roots and transform the world.
Appeal to Pope Francis
The Catholic Nonviolence Initiative has launched an appeal to Pope Francis. The message encourages ecological conversion and expresses a desire for a companion reflection to Laudato Si'. This would deepen Catholic commitment to nonviolence as a crucial pillar in a Laudato Si' future.
Catholic Nonviolent Days of Action
2020 was the first year for the Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action, which took place from 21 September to 2 October. Thank you to everyone who organised or participated in an event. Please visit the CNI website to learn more about how you can make every day a day of nonviolence.

Annual Report: Now available in French and Spanish
Pax Christi Recommends
"Well before Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke out against nuclear weapons, African Americans were protesting the Bomb. Historians have generally ignored African Americans when studying the anti-nuclear movement, yet they were some of the first citizens to protest Truman's decision to drop atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Now for the first time, African Americans Against the Bomb tells the compelling story of those black activists who fought for nuclear disarmament by connecting the nuclear issue with the fight for racial equality."

Photo and text from Stanford University Press.

An online event hosted by the Center for Nonviolent Solutions and Nonviolent Peace force.

Whether we are thinking about our schools, communities, or countries, all of us want to feel safe in the places we inhabit. Security is a universal human need. Yet too often we use violent means to achieve it causing harm and a decrease in peace and security. Can security be achieved through nonviolent means? The event takes place on Friday, 29 October.
Modern society sits at the intersection of two crucial questions: What does it mean when artificial intelligence increasingly governs our liberties? And what are the consequences for the people AI is biased against? When MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini discovers that most facial-recognition software does not accurately identify darker-skinned faces and the faces of women, she delves into an investigation of widespread bias in algorithms. As it turns out, artificial intelligence is not neutral, and women are leading the charge to ensure our civil rights are protected.

Text and photo from the CODED BIAS website.



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