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Forbidden: Receiving Pope Francis's Condemnation of Nuclear Weapons
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At a 2017 Vatican conference, Pope Francis condemned nuclear weapons. This volume, which coincides with the 60th anniversary of Pacem in Terris and the 40th anniversary of the U.S. bishops' The Challenge of Peace, is part of CPN's Project on Revitalizing Catholic Engagement on Nuclear Disarmament. With essays from moral theologians, defense analysts, conflict transformation scholars, diplomats, and nuclear arms control experts, it explores the policy and pastoral implications of the Church's evolving teaching on the ethics of nuclear weapons. Chapters cover a wide range of topics, from the ethical and policy challenges of deterrence and disarmament to the moral responsibilities of politicians, military personnel, scientists, defense workers, investors, educators, and lay movements.
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Forbidden: Receiving Pope Francis's Condemnation of Nuclear Weapons prepares military professionals, policymakers, everyday citizens, and the pastoral workers who guide them, to make decisions that will lead to disarmament. This book, edited by the late Rev. Drew Christiansen, S.J., and Carole Sargent, was published by Georgetown University Press in February 2023. It is a companion volume to the 2020 book also edited by Christiansen and Sargent A World Free from Nuclear Weapons: The Vatican Conference on Disarmament.
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Cardinal Robert McElroy on New and Old Wars, New and Old Challenges to Peace
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Ukraine and a new Cold War, a new nuclear arms race, “forever wars” in Afghanistan and Iraq, and forgotten wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Yemen. As foreign policies are being rethought in light of these new and old wars, the need for a moral compass is as great as ever. At the height of the Cold War, two seminal documents, Pacem in terris (1963) and The Challenge of Peace (1983), provided that moral compass. In a similar way, Pope Francis’ encyclicals and statements have ignited a new debate about the ethics of nonviolence, nuclear deterrence, and war. Are nonviolence and nuclear disarmament the new moral and policy imperatives or do today’s new and old challenges to peace reinforce the need for the just war tradition and strengthened nuclear deterrence?
Join CPN for a panel discussion on these questions with Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, Major General (ret.) Robert Latiff, Mary Ellen O'Connell, A. Rashied Omar, and Gerard F. Powers.
This event is part of the University of Notre Dame's 2022-23 Forum on War and Peace.
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Peacebuilding: Catholic Theology, Ethics, and Praxis translated to Korean
The Catholic Northeast Asia Peace Research Institute recently published a Korean translation of CPN's 2010 book Peacebuilding: Catholic Theology, Ethics, and Praxis. In the Institute's announcement of the translation, they described the book as examining "the task of peace building as a vocation of the Catholic Church through an interdisciplinary approach that connects learning and practice, and explores the unique resources, concepts, and practices that the church has contributed to the peace building process."
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DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: Pope Francis brings powerful messages on his Apostolic Journey
During his Apostolic Journey to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pope Francis delivered several pointed and powerful messages in support of the country's poor and vulnerable. He criticized ongoing economic colonialism by which more powerful countries exploit the DRC for its resources. He urged youth to resist the pull of ethnic violence. And he criticized politicians and national leaders for perpetuating corruption and injustice. The National Episcopal Conference of the Congo expressed "deep gratitude" for the pope's visit and for his ongoing solidarity with the country in the midst of its challenges.
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SOUTH SUDAN: Ecumenical Peace Pilgrimage bears fruit
Days before Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, and Moderator of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields made their Ecumenical Peace Pilgrimage to South Sudan, the country's government announced that it was resuming peace talks with the Non-Signatory South Sudan Opposition Groups. South Sudan’s Minister for Presidential Affairs, Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, said, “The arrival of the Pope and two other global Church leaders is very important. That's why the President had to change his mind to resume the peace talks.” The Community of Sant'Egidio has been closely involved in these peace talks. For more on Pope Francis's impact in South Sudan, see Archbishop of Juba Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla's address at the close of the papal visit.
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CAMEROON: Government rejects Canadian peace mediation
In late January, the government of Canada announced that it would enter into a process to mediate peace between the government of Cameroon and separatist groups. Days later, Cameroon's government announced that it was rejecting the mediation. Religious leaders in the Anglophone parts of the country where much of the violence has taken place had issued a statement welcoming Canada's involvement. In early February, new waves of violence erupted as the government's rejection of the peace talks sparked increased tensions between the conflicting sides.
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AFRICAN GREAT LAKES: Empowering new generations for peace
Pax Christi International has released a new documentary outlining the work of its members in Burundi, DRCongo, and Rwanda, who have been training young people, as well as religious sisters, in active nonviolence and peacebuilding over the past four years. The documentary brings together the testimonies of trainers, youth, and religious sisters. It shows the power of active nonviolence and the impact of Pax Christi's work in the region.
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NICARAGUA: Bishop Rolando Álvarez sentenced to 26 years in prison
Last August, Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa was arrested and held on charges of sedition. Álvarez has been an outspoken advocate for mediated and peaceful solutions to the country's political and social problems. On February 10, he was sentenced to 26 years in prison. 222 other detainees of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega were deported to the United States for charges of treason, but Álvarez refused to leave because he wanted to remain in Nicaragua out of solidarity with those suffering repression under Ortega's regime.
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Resources and Announcements
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CfP: From Violent Conflict to Beloved Communities: Pathbreaking Pan-African Peace Leadership
The Africa Peace and Development Network invites chapter submissions for the proposed book From Violent Conflict to Beloved Communities: Pathbreaking Pan-African Peace Leadership. It is being edited by Elavie Ndura, Matt Meyer, Angelina Mattijo Bazugba, and George Mutalemwa, with a Foreword by the Hon. Betty Achan Ogwaro, and an Introduction by Moses Monday John. The deadline for submission is March 31, 2023. See the call for papers for guidelines and submission instructions.
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"Our common home: A guide to caring for our living planet”
This new booklet is the product of collaboration between the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Stockholm Environment Institute. It connects the science of climate change, biodiversity, and sustainable resource use with the messages of Pope Francis’s Encyclical Laudato Si’. The booklet is available in English, Italian, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. A launch event was held on February 14, and a recording of the event is available. It included: Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Andrés Jato, Sweden's Ambassador to the Holy See; Måns Nilsson, SEI Executive Director; John Mundell, Director of the Laudato Si’ Action Platform; and Molly Burd, Digital Coordinator at SEI, and project lead of the booklet.
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Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations' internship program
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The internship program at the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York provides the opportunity for bright, Catholic, college graduates or graduate students to gain invaluable experience assisting the work of the Holy See in its multilateral work at the UN, seeking to bring the light of Catholic Social Teaching to the debates of the international community.
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Interns receive a special orientation on the history of the diplomatic work of the Holy See at the United Nations, attend a wide variety of UN meetings, conferences and debates, file reports to be sent to the Holy See’s central offices in the Vatican, assist in running the Mission’s many conferences, regularly attend receptions and cultural events held by the Holy See and other Missions, and many other activities.
Applications for the fall internship term are due April 15. See the Permanent Observer's website for additional internship details and application information.
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New book on women's political participation in Africa
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A Christian and African Ethic of Women's Political Participation, by Léocadie W. Lushombo, surveys a broad panorama of Christian and African traditions to discover and assess the components that will illuminate and motivate a Christian and African ethic of women’s political participation. It argues that the existential reality of African women must be addressed as an essential element in the development of a Christian socio-political ethic. The author draws on the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, postcolonial theorists, inculturation theology, and Jon Sobrino's liberation theology to present an innovative Christian ethic that will radically affect the lives of African women and inform feminist theology.
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The Changing Geopolitics of Critical Minerals and the Future of the Clean Energy Transition
Political support for renewable energy has undoubtedly increased over the past ten years, but this has yet to translate into concrete political solutions—not only because of technological limitations in switching to renewables, but also due to increasing conflicts around critical minerals. Not only are geopolitics and securitization of minerals obstacles, there are also issues of ecological justice and equitable distribution of environmental burdens that hamper cooperation between mineral producers and consumers.
Join the Wilson Center on March 9th to examine the challenges, policy options, and strategic diplomatic alliances needed to minimize confrontation in order to realize individual national commitments and climate emission reduction targets. The discussion will also focus on ways shifting geopolitical alliances are likely to impact prospects for cooperation and specific national initiatives to embrace clean energy.
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Please send information on Catholic peacebuilding to cpn@nd.edu.
The Catholic Peacebuilding Network (CPN) is a voluntary network of practitioners, academics, clergy and laity from around the world which seeks to enhance the study and practice of Catholic peacebuilding, especially at the local level. CPN aims to deepen bonds of solidarity among Catholic peacebuilders, share and analyze “best practices,” expand the peacebuilding capacity of the Church in areas of conflict, and encourage the further development of a theology of a just peace. While it is a Catholic network, CPN believes that authentic and effective Catholic peacebuilding involves dialogue and collaboration with those of other religious traditions and all those committed to building a more just and peaceful world.
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Secretariat Staff:
Gerard Powers, Coordinator
Caesar Montevecchio, Assistant Director
Rev. William Headley, CSSp, Adjunct Faculty
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