Pax Christi is the amazing, international peace movement in the Catholic Church. The words Pax Christi mean the ‘Peace of Christ’. Our Pax Christi section works for peace based on justice, reconciliation and nonviolence. We do our part to try and build the kingdom of God – where there is no war, violence or threat of violence, everyone’s human dignity is respected and all of creation can flourish. To respond to Jesus’ call to love our enemies, we campaign against nuclear weapons, for a just peace in Palestine and Israel, and against the arms trade. Our peace education officer works in schools, by invitation, to encourage young people who are often already concerned about peace issues and to share with them the stories of inspiring peacemakers. We provide resources, events and liturgy materials to help those working for peace where they are, and we speak and act in solidarity with those for whom a just peace seems unattainable. We understand that these issues are complex but we persevere in the struggle to be peacemakers nevertheless. Through Pax Christi International, we are part of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, working with the Vatican to deepen and share our understanding of gospel nonviolence.
We work with a range of ecumenical and interfaith partners where we share common ground. One of our longstanding partners is the Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. On Saturday 26th October, Christian CND has a conference at Brentwood Cathedral. Theresa Alessandro, the Director of Pax Christi, will be speaking about the organisation and our work campaigning against nuclear weapons. Pope Francis reminds us that ‘their very possession is to be firmly condemned.’
If you would like to know more about Pax Christi, find us on social media, or give us a call. It would be good to hear from you and perhaps to have your support. Please consider coming to our beautiful, annual Advent Peace Service on the evening of 9th December at St Aloysius Church, Euston, too. Details are on the website.
Stories “from the Field”
Pax Christi members and friends protested about the huge arms fair in the Docklands area in September. In particular, we supported the No Faith in War day, beginning with a procession from a nearby church and pausing en route for an adapted Stations of the Cross liturgy. We reflected that ‘The arms trade condemns to death all those who will be killed by the weapons made and sold for profit. Pope Francis reminds us that the money made from the sale of arms is ‘drenched in blood’. The arms trade condemns to death our vision of a world of beauty, care for creation, peace built on justice and respect for the human dignity of all.’
We also attended the candle-lit vigil on the eve of the arms fair. We stood in silence with more than 100 people of goodwill, witnessing to our belief that selling weapons for profit leads us away from peace.
