Peace is Possible A newsletter for friends of Pax Christi International

Lent 2021: Journey to Nonviolence  We invite you to embark on a Lenten journey to nonviolence with us. Starting on Ash Wednesday, 17 February, we will be sharing on our social media channels and website simple actions that will encourage you in your life of nonviolence. Every action will be accompanied by a verse from scripture for your meditation. On Sundays, we will reflect on an excerpt from Pope Francis’ recent encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, which envisions a new way forward to a more just, peaceful, and nonviolent future.  Make a special Lenten gift

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Pax Christi International in Africa, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific

Africa

Nonviolence Training in Burundi and DR Congo Our members in the Great Lakes region of Africa have been very active in the last few months launching new training programmes and activities as part of our work in the region. In January in Goma (DR Congo) a meeting of youth representatives from various active peace clubs was held in collaboration with our member organisation Africa Reconciled. As part of the training project on active nonviolence and peacebuilding our member Nduwamahoro Non-Violent Active organised a three-day training for young people from St Michel Parish in Bujumbura (Burundi) in January 2021. In May 2018, Pax Christi International launched a new programme in the Great Lakes region of Africa designed to empower new generations through active nonviolence and entrepreneurship. Our work in Africa gives particular attention to youth. We seek to educate young people about the culture of peace and active nonviolence; to empower them to become nonviolent change makers in their own community; to enrich them with opportunities to earn a living through small joint income generating activities. We've recently designed a new brochure to introduce people to our work in the region. Please take a moment to enjoy! Click here to learn more about our work in the Great Lakes region of Africa

Latin America & the Caribbean

Photo by Wilson Loo Kok Wee via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Haiti A deepening political crisis in Haiti is exacerbating decades of political, economic, and social instability. The Catholic community there has spoken out about the growing chaos and the need to address root causes. The Jesuits issued a statement calling for attention to extreme inequality and the need for strong public policies. The episcopal conference of Haiti also issued a statement on the situation of "extreme distress." They called on all their Haitian brothers and sisters to show discipline, reason, and a sense of responsibility and wisdom in the pursuit of the best interests of the nation.

Rights, Resource Extraction, and Recovery In Latin America, already marginalised Afro-descendant and Indigenous peoples have been hit harder than the rest of society during the pandemic. Over 600,000 people have died in the region. Pax Christi International Latin American and Caribbean partners continue advocating for governmental policies to protect the most vulnerable, who are in dire need of healthcare, food security, and protection. Extractive industry activities continue with risk of contagion in communities resisting this model, mostly on Indigenous peoples' territories. Indigenous peoples are dying and are at risk of whole communities or nations dying out because of the pandemic virus. Pax Christi International supports partners' advocacy for respect of collective territorial rights. Our partners have also warned of the differentiated impact of the pandemic and the widening gap between women and men. They have advocated for mitigation and recovery programs that take gender equality into perspective. The region is heavily affected by contexts of conflict. Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Haiti, Perú, Chile, Mexico and El Salvador have serious human rights violations and repression. PCI partners and accompanying communities ask for solidarity and support at the international level in these states with fragile democracy. Pax Christi International recently published a booklet on the challenges many Latin American and Caribbean communities are facing as a direct result of resource extraction and the pandemic.

Asia-Pacific

Crisis in Myanmar Pax Christi International members and partners in Asia-Pacific have reacted with concern to the recent coup in Myanmar and its impact on the people there. They urge prayer and action throughout the region and world in response to the coup. Please click here for the full text of the message from the Asia-Pacific facilitation team. Photo: Christopher Michel via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

World Day of Prayer The 2021 World Day of Prayer materials have been prepared by the people of Vanuatu. The theme this year - Build on a Strong Foundation - invites reflection on the Bible story of Matthew 7:24-27. Here, Jesus tells a story about the kingdom of heaven using the image of a house and the land on which the house is built. Choosing the land on which to build the house is an important decision for people in Vanuatu. The combination of considering the terrain and the climate is crucial in a tropical archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean prone to earthquakes, cyclones, volcanic eruptions and rising sea levels. (Text from World Day of Prayer website) Pax Christi International recently honoured the Pacific Climate Warriors with the 2020 Peace Award in recognition of their fight against climate change in the region. Global Inter-religious Conference on Article 9 The 7th Global Inter-Religious Conference on Article 9 of the Japanese Peace Constitution Article 9 will be held from March 1 to 6 online. The conference booklet has been published online in English, Japanese, and Korean. For more information, please visit the website of the National Christian Council of Japan.

Advocacy

Catholic Organisations Welcome EU Supply Chain Proposal Pax Christi International has joined forces with three other Catholic organisations to respond a European Union public consultation on future legislation relating to supply chains. The organisations welcome proposed EU legislation that would legally require companies to protect internationally recognised human rights and the environment in the development, production, and distribution of commodities. READ MORE >>> Catholic Leaders Celebrate: UN Ban on Nuclear Weapons Enters into Force On 22 January 2021, the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force. Pax Christi International has been a dedicated contributor to this process and continues to support the full implementation of the treaty. To mark the entry into force we initiated a joint Catholic leaders statement in support of the treaty. READ MORE >>>

Deepening Catholic Thought on Nonviolence

Short Videos on Nonviolence The Catholic Nonviolence Initiative has released a series of short videos on nonviolence. Each of the four videos presents interviews with peace practitioners from around the world on a different aspect of nonviolence. Please share widely. Defining Nonviolence Understanding Nonviolence Planning for Nonviolence Nonviolence in Action

Advent Retreat On 18 and19 December, Pax Christi International, in cooperation with the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, offered a three-hour online retreat focused on nonviolence for approximately 500 people from around the world. Watch the videos from the retreat here.

Available now! Order your copy of Advancing Nonviolence and Just Peace, 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. Order your copy of Advancing Nonviolence and Just Peace

Pax Christi International Recommends

The Third Harmony To be nonviolent is be an artist of your humanity,” says Palestinian nonviolence leader and founder of the Taygheer Movement, Ali Abu Awwad, in a new documentary about the power of nonviolence and a new vision of human nature. Drawing on interviews with veteran activists like Civil Rights leader Bernard Lafayette, scientists like behaviorist Frans de Waal and neuroscientist Marco Iacoboni, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, political scientist Erica Chenoweth, futurist Elisabet Sahtouris, and others, this 44-minute documentary will help the general public, often at a loss to understand the protests occurring in many cities, to better grasp just what nonviolence is and how it works. (Text from The Third Harmony website)

Almighty On a tranquil summer night in July 2012, a trio of peace activists infiltrated the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Nicknamed the “Fort Knox of Uranium,” Y-12 was supposedly one of the most secure sites in the world, a bastion of warhead parts and hundreds of tons of highly enriched uranium—enough to power thousands of nuclear bombs. The three activists—a house painter, a Vietnam War veteran, and an 82-year-old Catholic nun—penetrated the complex’s exterior with alarming ease; their strongest tools were two pairs of bolt cutters and three hammers. Once inside, these pacifists hung protest banners, spray-painted biblical messages, and streaked the walls with human blood. Then they waited to be arrested. (Text from Penguin/Random House website).

Religious Action for Peace and Justice A dialogue between religious activists in the movement against the American war in Vietnam and interfaith leaders in contemporary struggles for economic and racial justice The peace movement to stop the US war in Vietnam was composed of numerous sectors of civil society, including religious and interfaith organizations. The Vietnam Peace Commemoration Committee invites you to an online webinar to discuss how religious groups were organized during the war and how faith-based organizations are confronting today’s challenges, exploring what can be learned from a dialogue across the decades. Featuring contributions from Rev. Dick Fernandez,  Rev. Carol A. Jensen, Rabbi David Saperstein, Dr. Rosalyn Nichols, Marie Dennis and Doug Hostetter.

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