Pax Christi head speaks on commitment "to active nonviolence"

Martha Inés Romero and Andrew Jackson ICN/JS

"Be active as citizens. We do not have political or economic power but we do have ethical power."

Pax Christi International's Secretary General, Colombian Martha Inés Romero, was addressing an event in London with Pax Christi members and friends on 27 February. Around 50 people heard her speak in person and online from the FCJ Spirituality Centre near Euston. Pax Christi activists from as far afield as Merseyside and Coventry were joined by representatives of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, National Justice and Peace Network, London Catholic Worker and Fellowship of Reconciliation. Andrew Jackson of Pax Christi England and Wales chaired the meeting.

Martha explained that Pax Christi, the international Catholic peace movement, is primarily "committed to active nonviolence." The first element of this is 'Empowering Communities' through training and highlighting the valuable experience of nonviolence that local communities offer. The second is the 'Catholic Nonviolence Initiative', which makes nonviolence research, resources and experience more accessible to Church leaders, communities and institutions. The third element is 'Impacting Public Policies', with campaigning priorities being Nuclear Weapons and Disarmament, Just Peace in Israel and Palestine, and Ecological Justice. The last means looking at the devastating impact of large-scale extractive industries on communities and on the environment and possible responses.

At the heart of all Martha Inés's work is the emphasis on nonviolence. She has wide-ranging experience of tackling violence in her native Colombia, where she is based. And, more broadly, throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly with communities affected by mineral and fossil fuel mining, and with women and indigenous peoples affected by injustice and violence. She has promoted a culture of peace and nonviolence in the Catholic world, with Catholic Relief Services, contributing to the Caritas Internationalis network, and then with Pax Christi International; and through her participation in synodal processes and the Laudato Si' Action Platform. She has been influenced by "the inspiration of liberation theology" and "fantastic grassroots communities."

Martha Inés was appointed Secretary General of Pax Christi International in January 2023. She works alongside co- presidents Kenyan Sr Teresia Wamuyu Wachira, IBVM and Emeritus Bishop Marc Stenger of Troyes in France. And this is an important year - when Pax Christi celebrates its 80th anniversary. As World War ll was ending in Europe in 1945, another Martha - Marthe Dortel-Claudet - co-founded Pax Christi with Pierre Marie Théas, Bishop of Montauban, to work towards reconciliation and peace. Today, it works in over 50 countries.

In addition, Pax Christi International has special consultative status with the United Nations (New York, Geneva, Vienna) and UNESCO (Paris). There is participation in Council of Europe meetings (Strasbourg) and consultations with EU institutions (Brussels). And all this is coordinated from small offices in Brussels, Spain, the US and Colombia. Last week, for example, Pax Christi took part in an interfaith appeal at the United Nations for banning nuclear weapons. Last October, Martha Ines attended the COP16 UN Biodiversity Conference in Colombia, which had the theme, 'Peace with Nature.' She commented at the time: "The social and environmental crisis that the planet is going through can only be effectively addressed from an integral ecological vision of the relationships between all human beings and the Nature that cohabit on Earth."

Martha Inés is now on her way to spend a week with Pax Christi Scotland. Next Monday she will speak at Glasgow University on the importance of Peace Education and Adult Faith Formation. On Tuesday she will deliver the Time for Reflection at the Scottish Parliament. On Ash Wednesday, she will join the annual vigil at Faslane's naval base. Faslane is the home of Britain's nuclear weapons, and the Scottish Catholic Bishops Conference have made a number of statements against weapons of mass destruction since the 1980s.

Andrew Jackson thanked Martha Ines at the end of her London talk with, "what comes across is your passion for peace."

LINKS

Pax Christi England and Wales: https://paxchristi.org.uk/

Pax Christi Scotland: www.paxchristiscotland.org/

Pax Christi International: https://paxchristi.net/