"The CPN is a much-needed way to support the courageous and mostly unheralded efforts of the Church to build peace in war-torn countries from Central Africa to Southern Asia."

Bishop John Ricard
Chairman, U.S. Bishops' International Policy Committee

"The CPN is a space of exchange, encounter and discovery where we help each other understand our peace-work, generated in faith and actualized in history."

Andrea Bartoli
Community of Sant' Egidio,
USA

"CPN is another concrete way of building solidarity among peacebuilders around the world. The energy that it will bring will help us in facing the many difficult challenges of peacebuilding work in our different contexts. My hope is that we are able to bring the same energy eventually to the communities directly affected by war, violence and conflict - creating not only a network of peacebuilders but more imoprtantly a network of communities all over the world."

Myla Leguro
Peace & Reconciliation
Program Manager
CRS-Phillippines

Home > Events> 2008 Conference

Conference on the Future of Catholic Peacebuilding

April 13-15, 2008
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN

CPN in the News:

Nigerian Archbishop Calls for End to Weapons of Mass Destruction
By Gene Stowe, Catholic News Service

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) -- Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria, called for an end to weapons of mass destruction and held out hope for world peace at a Mass in the University of Notre Dame's Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

The April 13 Mass opened the Catholic Peacebuilding Network's Conference on the Future of Catholic Peace-building, the capstone of a five-year project to develop a systematic theology of peace.

"I believe it is true to say that humanity is at a crossroad on the crucial issue of peace," Archbishop Onaiyekan said in his homily. "On the one hand, our planet is sitting on a dangerous time bomb of huge stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction sufficient to blow ourselves up many times over.

"It is no longer enough to insist on nonproliferation and breathing hot air on the necks of those some decide to consider not responsible enough to keep these weapons," he said. "It is necessary, if we are to be consistent and effective, to be serious about total elimination of such weapons.

"On the other hand, there is the good news that humanity has devised technological ways and means to make our planet a peaceful and prosperous home for all. The possibility for peace in our world is available. A lot is being said at many levels about how to save the planet, resolve conflicts and establish world peace," he added.

In an interview after the Mass, Archbishop Onaiyekan, who attended peace-building conferences in Burundi in 2006 and Bogota, Colombia, in 2007, said the meetings provide support for those working in violent societies.

"If you are a bishop in a situation of conflict, tension, you are bound to be involved," he said. "When it comes to actually exchanging ideas with other people in similar circumstances far away from you, you don't generally have that opportunity.

"We learn from one another. It's a good opportunity," he added.

The archbishop noted the conferences provides the chance to see how Catholic social teaching and Vatican pronouncements "take flesh in the real lives of people."

Strategies for applying the teachings vary depending on social and political circumstances, he said. For example, the strong Catholic identity of many in the Philippines helped bring about a nonviolent change in government.

Although Archbishop Onaiyekan said, "I can't do that in Nigeria," he noted that he can still learn "there is the power of getting people to move together.

"In Africa, we have found that interreligious teams have succeeded very much where political and diplomatic attempts have failed," he said. "In our country, we often speak of the 'men of God,'" those whose reputation for right, regardless of religious differences, have won respect.

Dialogue with others stems from a common hope for human reconciliation, he said.

"There's a lot of common ground in these areas," he said. "There are places where the less overtly Catholic you present yourself, the better. There are people who have their own ingrained prejudice against anything Catholic.

"What is the specific contribution of our specific Catholic tradition of peace-building?" he asked. "We offer it in such a way that other people can identify with it. They love peace as much as we do."

Identifying the Catholic tradition of peace-building is an important academic project, Archbishop Onaiyekan said, adding that it is also a key part of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network's effort.

In his homily, Archbishop Onaiyekan said the church would "continue to deliver the message of peace which is God's gift to his world: a peace built upon truth, justice and love."

"Every member of the church is challenged to be part of this project, not only as a member of the church, but also in collaboration with other men and women of good will," said the archbishop.

"It is highly encouraging to know that we are not alone in this holy enterprise. There are many out there who also love peace and are working toward it," he said.

Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service, www.catholicnews.com
Reprinted with permission of CNS

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