Pax Christi Seminars on 'The Power of Active Nonviolence'

Pat Gaffney and Marie Dennis

The third seminar in a series supporting the General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality, takes place on Friday 18 October at 12.30 to 2pm UK-time from the new Catholic Institute for Nonviolence in Rome. It will be available live online to an international audience.

'The Power of Active Nonviolence' series is based around the Synod Synthesis document from October 2023 which called for, "more reflection and formation in order that we can manage conflicts in a nonviolent way" and "careful consideration of nonviolence and legitimate self-defence." The series is offered every Friday in October and is a contribution to the Synodal assembly and the appointed working group on these questions, which are critical to the future of the Church and the world.

For those who are unable to attend in person, the seminars are being livestreamed on Pax Christi International's YouTube channel and recorded for later viewing.

On October 11, the theme was 'Managing Conflict Nonviolently', and one panel speaker was Pat Gaffney, a vice president of Pax Christi England and Wales.

Coming up:

October 18: Nonviolent Defence: Beyond War and Cycles of Violence
Kanini Kimau (Kenya), founder of Horn of Africa Grassroots Peace Forum and longtime grassroots peace builder in Northern Kenya and South Sudan

Eli McCarthy, PhD, Faculty Member, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Georgetown University, author of A Just Peace Ethic Primer: Building Sustainable Peace and Breaking Cycles of Violence

Hardy Merriman, President of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council

October 25: The Role of the Church in Nurturing a Global Nonviolent Shift

Pietro Ameglio, Gandhian civil rights and peace activist. a leading theorist and practitioner of nonviolent social movements in Mexico, professor at La Salle University, author of Gandhi y la desobediencia civil, México hoy

Anna Blackman, PhD, Lecturer, in Catholic Religious Education, University of Glasgow

Leo Guardado, PhD, Assistant Professor of Theology at Fordham University and a fellow of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California

Ken Butigan, PhD, Professor of Practice in the Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies Program at DePaul University, Executive Committee of Pax Christi's Catholic Nonviolence Initiative

Recordings available for:

October 4. Nonviolence: Faithful and Effective

Maria Clara Bingemer, PhD, Professor of Theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, consultant to the General Secretariat of the Synod

David Cochran, PhD, Professor of Politics and Co-director of the Peace and Justice minor at Loras College, author of The Catholic Case Against War: A Brief Guide

Marie Dennis, Senior Director of Pax Christi International's Catholic Nonviolence Initiative; past Co-President of Pax Christi International (2007-2019).

Wolfgang Palaver, PhD, Professor (retired) and Dean from 2013 to 2017 of Catholic Social Thought at the School of Catholic Theology at the University of Innsbruck

October 11. Managing Conflict Nonviolently

Pat Gaffney, peace educator, past General Secretary, Pax Christi England and Wales

Sister Sheila Kinsey, FCJM, former Executive Co-Secretary for the USG and UISG JPIC Commission, developer of the Integrity for Nonviolence Program, Catholic Nonviolence Initiative representative in Rome

Edgar Antonio Lopez, PhD, Professor of Theology, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia

Nicolás Paz, Civil Mediator, Faculty Member at Pontifical University of Salamanca, Programme Officer of Pax Christi's Catholic Nonviolence Initiative

Pax Christi International says: "Nonviolence is a spirituality, a way of life, a positive reverence for dignity and life, a potentially global ethic and a spectrum of diverse strategies for preventing or interrupting violence, for protecting vulnerable people and for promoting just peace. Rooted in the Word and witness of Jesus, nonviolence is increasingly proven to be a powerful and effective alternative to many expressions of violence - from war to environmental destruction, from gender violence to gangs and militias."

LINK

Pax Christi Seminars: https://paxchristi.net/seminars-synod-on-synodality/#

Watch the 11th October talk here: https://fb.watch/vh1tC6nvsP/