International Day of Non-Violence

“Just peace is the goal, nonviolence is the way. A sustainable culture of peace can only be established by nonviolence that absolutely respects human dignity. Rooted in the interconnectedness of God’s creation, it also opens the way to an ‘integral ecology’ , as expressed by Pope Francis in Laudato Si’. Violence undermines this interconnectedness. Nonviolence sustains it. Nonviolence teaches us to say ‘no’ to an inhuman social order and ‘yes’ to the fullness of life…

In every age, the Holy Spirit graces the Church with the wisdom to respond to the challenges of its time. In response to what is a global epidemic of violence, we are being called again and again to invoke, pray over, teach, and take decisive action in the spirit of Jesus’ nonviolence. Nonviolence is at the heart of the Gospel. It is the calling of the Church. It is not passive or naïve. It is a way of faith and action. It is an effective alternative. It is a constructive force to protect all people and our common home. It includes a broad spectrum of approaches and activities. It is the core of a new moral framework. It is essential to integral human development and at the heart of a culture of peace. It is at the core of the witness and action of Jesus and man who have come after him, including Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi, Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Dorothy Day, Beatus Franz Jagerstatter, Saint OScar Romero, Berta Caceres, Lanza del Vasto, Wangari Muta Maathai, and the many people involved in nonviolent social movements.”

Reflections from the Pax Christi International/Catholic Nonviolence Initiative workshop on Path of Nonviolence: Towards a Culture of Pace, 4-5 April 2019, Rome.