"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> Catholic Peacemaking at Georgetown University

Georgetown University
Fall 2007

Catholic Peacemaking
CATH-145

. . . we must think of human society as being primarily a spiritual reality. By its means enlightened men can share their knowledge of the truth, can claim their rights and fulfill their duties, receive encouragement in their aspirations for the goods of the spirit, share their enjoyment of all the wholesome pleasures of the world, and strive continually to pass on to others all that is best in themselves and to make their own the spiritual riches of others. It is these spiritual values which exert a guiding influence on culture, economics, social institutions, political movements and forms, laws, and all the other components which go to make up the external community of men and its continual development. . . .
Pope John XXIII - Pacem in Terris

Dr. Andrea Bartoli
E-mail: ab203@columbia.edu

Tuesdays, from 6:15-8:45pm

I. Background

In our one and only world the situation of all peoples and communities, of all and nations and states is undergoing an historically unprecedented transformation. Of the almost two hundred and countries in the world today, only around twenty five have had the same political form over the last sixty years (and some of those are still colonies of Europe and the United States of America). In a word, a vast political experiment is in process. Of the almost seven billion people in our world today for the first time in history it is accepted and expected that all peoples will learn to read and write, will go to school. In a word, a vast cultural release of human creativity is in project. Quite familiar to us, yet again unprecedented, is the explosion of economic production and of communication technologies bringing us so much in immediate, unrelenting contact with each other. Moreover, previously—say, sixty years ago, in the days of our grandparents—world religions were pretty much each in its own sphere: now intermingling is constant.

The magnificence of human genius is being revealed to us, and the hope of making our world truly fit for human dignity is a surging, valid, wise and valuable dream. However, all these changes challenge and appear to undermine the old ways, the apparently solid and stable certainties of tradition from which we could take our identity as a community, a person, a state, a nation. That hope appears so fragile. And to this fragility is added fear. A sentiment of being alone and dislocated permeates all peoples. The history made by ancestors and grandparents is indeed past: the history we are making together is nebulous. Nonetheless, illuminated by these changes, seven factors are becoming clearer.

Every society is made by men and women: and each society remains incomplete, partial, a mixture of true attainment and violating foolishness. Every society is on the way, on a voyage, nothing is fixed, all is variable. Every society is an experimental project in learning how to be human together, making a history the children will delight, rather than lament, to inherit. No society is the complete, basic model for all others: humbly each is to learn from the others. As our society was made by us, so it can be remade by us, and made better—that’s the hope.

To carry forward this historical experiment, we—every person and every nation—need to co-operate: failure to do so will repeat the carnage of the last century—that’s the fear. This co-operating has its ground in the discoverable fact that we are each instances, incarnations, if you will, of a single humanity common to each and all: our unity and likeness far exceeds any differences among us—that’s the demand.

Violence, evil, sin show in their abominating and blasphemous consequences that violence only begets violence, war begets war, hatred begets hatred. Peace together is indispensable. But violence, evil, sin are our flight from and rejection of our own humanity. And violence, evil, sin are so sedimented in our culture, social order, and personalities that conversion, healing, liberation appears highly improbable. First the violator violates his own human being, and then he violates the community of others: until all are exhausted in death. The rampant presence of violating death and felt impotence before sedimented violence, and the political use of death, war, violence, fear —that’s the suffering.

Accordingly, there is a twofold need. To learn more profoundly who we are in our very selves, and then to deploy this methodical understanding to discern which elements of our heritage are wisely worth retaining, developing, and passing on to the next generation, and which elements, in their violation of being human, are to be sieved out and discarded, so that the life of each person is a gift to coming generations—that’s the project.

Prime among the gifts to be given to the children is peace. But how may we transcend our fears and hatreds, our sedimented violating cultural horizons: how may we come together in peace —that’s the question.
So, to the twofold need is added an integrating third need. Who will come to us—all humanity, each and every woman, child, man, each and every cultural group—as gift giver, healer, liberator, friend, bringer of peace, constant companion in making history, teacher of wisdom, artist of joyful play? In which manner will the friend come? And come as sublime gift? —that’s the crying out, lamentation and yearning surrounded and lifted up by hope courageous, by faith fearless, and love expectant.

A key discovery, or perhaps a re-discovery following our self-centered experiment of modernity and postmodernity, is that we humans and our humanism are not the ultimate horizon—we are and always already have been within the presence of God—that’s the source, gift giver and gift.
The yearning for peace is satisfied as this God gives to each and to all the gift of interior peace—a friendship intimate and profound. And this interior peace, this interior companionship overflows, flows out into community, so that the quest for peace among all peoples is the joint project of this friendship of God and each community of persons. In this questing for peace all religious traditions and all cultural traditions have their unique role, for each tradition is a partial realization of the Spirit of peace.

Now, when in 1986 Pope John Paul II gathered in Assisi leaders of many world religions, Communism was still ruling in Eastern Europe, Capitalism dominated and still dominates in the West, and the Soviet Union was the counterbalance to the American power in a long cold-war, and now America is the only hyperpower.

That Assisi gathering did not happen in a void. Rather it was the climax of a long journey guided by a longing for peace, which had become stronger and more articulate over the years of the twentieth century. Pope John Paul II was following the steps of his predecessor Benedict XV who famously defined the World War I “the useless slaughter”.
A crucial turning point of this understanding of the urgent quest for peace and of the futility of war and violence was the encyclical of Pope John XXIII Pacem in Terris. Proclaimed in 1963 in the midst of a threat of nuclear war, the document is an extra­ordinary invitation to peace, calling for understanding in manner far more comprehensive than usually considered.

Peace is not only a product of human making. Peace comes as a gift, a gift of friendship. Foremost, peace flows from accepting and responding to a ‘being called forth’ that each human person is able to discern moving in their life. Discernment of this ‘vocation to peace’ is a process involving the whole person always already in community and, if humbly accepted, inescapably it leads to very creative commitments. Through shared creativity peace among nations and peoples grows and flourishes.
Since 1968, on the initiative of Pope Paul VI, the Catholic Church has celebrated 01 January as World Day of Peace. Thus the first day of the yearly secular calendar is marked by a message on the theme of peace. John Paul II carried on this initiative, and the Message for the World Day of Peace 01 January 2006 from Benedict XVI was on the theme In Truth. Peace.

Pacem in Terris was very controversial in the United States. The US Catholic Bishops intervened in the debate in 1983 through their letter Challenge of Peace, and intervened again ten years later in their reflection The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace. They declare in the latter document:

At the heart of our faith lies “the God of peace” (Rom 15:33), who desires peace for all people far and near (Ps 85; Is 57:19). That desire has been fulfilled in Christ in whom humanity has been redeemed and reconciled. In our day, the Holy Spirit continues to call us to seek peace with one another, so that in our peacemaking we may prepare for the coming of the reign of God, a kingdom of true justice, love and peace. God created the human family as one and calls it to unity. The renewed unity we experience in Christ is to be lived out in every possible way. We are to do all we can to live at peace with everyone (Rom 12:18). Given the effects of sin, our efforts to live in peace with one another depend on our openness to God's healing grace and the unifying power of Christ's redemption.

The course, then, is an invitation to share with others the project of receiving the gift of peace and of implementing that gift in service of all, especially in serving the poor. The course is an invitation to explore the riches of Catholic contemporary understanding of peace by reading key texts, beginning with the Bible of God and the Pacem in Terris encyclical of John XXIII, moving towards a way to accompany, motivate and enrich the path of individual and collective discernment that peace entails. At the same time the course will encourage the participating students to reflect on contemporary challenges, especially through the prism of local, national and international responsibilities.

II. Objectives

The objectives of the course are to integrate the knowledge of four areas of exploration:

1. Catholic contributions to a contemporary understanding of peace
2. The appreciation of the changing context in which this understanding has evolved, especially through the encounter with relevant Catholic Peacemakers
3. The identification of peace as a relevant contemporary challenge that must be confronted by each Catholic and by the Church as a whole
4. Consistent with a contemporary Catholic understanding of peace. the elaboration of responses by the students, on one side, to the yearning for peace of poor and oppressed peoples, and on the other, to perceived threats to peace,

III. Course Methodology

The course will be open to both graduate and undergraduate students of different schools and departments. There are no pre-requisites for enrolment. Students should participate in all  3 hours sessions offered during the semester and actively participate in the discussion. Each class will be open by a brief written recollection of the readings and a comment to the critical papers prepared for that unit. After the lecture a discussion period should be expected. At the conclusion, students in turns will present their Catholic Peacemaker profile for which team-work is encouraged. If possible, students will participate in the construction of the course website. All materials will be available electronically. However, the final paper and its presentation to the class are probably the single most important element of the course pedagogy in so far they allow for a real deepening of the individual learning experience. The instructor will be available for guidance and feedback through the course.

Catholic peace-makers profile

Unit 2 - Francis of Assisi
Unit 3 – Chiara of Assisi
Unit 4 - Caterina da Siena
Unit 5 - Nicholas von Flue
Unit 6 - Erasmus
Unit 7 – Oscar Romero
Unit 8 - Dorothy Day
Unit 9 - Mother Teresa
Unit 10 - Thomas Merton
Unit 11 - John XXIII
Unit 12 - Paul VI
Unit 13 - John Paul II
Unit 14 - Benedict XVI

Course Requirements

One five-page critical review paper on the topic of an assigned week, to be presented in class.  Paper is due by email to Dr. Bartoli at 9:00 AM on the morning of the class session (20%).

One five-page “Catholic peace-maker profile,” to be presented in the final thirty minutes of a class session.  Paper is due by email to Dr. Bartoli at 9:00 AM on the morning of the class session (20%). 

Participation in discussion demonstrably informed by the reading and assigned short memos (20%).

Final paper of 15 pages on a topic of your choice.  During the last three weeks of the class, presentation of argument to the class (Presentation 10%; Final Paper 30%).

Class Sessions (Tuesdays, from 6:15-8:45 pm)

Week One - Introduction
(Tuesday, September 4th)

Week Two - Scriptural and Basic Theological Foundations             (Tuesday, September 11th)

Catholic Study Bible, Genesis 37-50, Matthew 5: 38-48, Luke 24:13-35, Luke 15: 11-32, John 21: 1-19, Acts 1: 6-11, Romans 13: 1-7, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2: 14-16.
            Andrea Bartoli, Christianity and Peacebuilding, pp. 194-220.
                       

Week Three - Peacebuilding and the Church’s Traditions of Thinking About War           
(Tuesday, September 18th)

            Lisa Sowle Cahill, Love Your Enemies, pp. 1-96, 149-246.

Week Four - Peace at Vatican II Ecumenical Council             (Tuesday, September 25th)

            Pacem in Terris, pp. 129-162.
            Dignitatis Humanae, pp. 799-812.

Week Five - Non-Violence
(Tuesday, October 2nd)

Dorothy Day, selections.
Martin Luther King, “Love Your Enemies,” pp. 49-57
John Paul II, “Dives in Misericordia,” entire.
John Paul II, “Message for the World Day of Peace, 1997,” entire.
John Paul II, “Message for the World Day of Peace, 2002,” entire.

Week Six - Forgiveness
(Tuesday, October 9th)

Gregory Jones, Embodying Forgiveness, pp. 3-33, 101-134, 175-204, 241-278.
Alan Torrance, “The Theological Grounds of Advocating Forgiveness and Reconciliation in the Socio-Political Realm,” entire.
International Theological Commission, “Memory and Reconciliation: The
 Church and the Faults of the Past,” entire.
                    

Week Seven - Reconciliation
(Tuesday, October 16th)

William Bole, et. al., Forgiveness in International Politics, pp. 1-88.
Mark Amstutz, The Healing of Nations, pp. 1-113.
Luigi Accatoli, When a Pope Asks For Forgiveness, pp. xv-xxiv, 3-9, 11-28, 45-79, 115-124, 145-150.
Scott Appleby, The Ambivalence of the Sacred, pp. 167-204.

Week Eight – The challenges of peacemaking (1)
(Tuesday, October 23rd)

Tom Bamat and Mary Ann Cejka, Artisans of Peace, pp. 1-66, 96-131.
Brian Cox and Daniel Philpott, “Faith-Based Diplomacy,” pp. 31-40.
John Paul Lederach, Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in
 Divided Societies, pp. 1-86.

Week Nine - The challenges of peacemaking (2)
(Tuesday, October 30st)
           
William Bole, et. al., Forgiveness in International Politics, pp. 89-186.Mark Amstutz, The Healing of Nations, pp. 114-233.
Stephen Pope, “The Convergence of Forgiveness and Justice: Lessons
 From El Salvador,” entire.
Ron Wells, “Northern Ireland: A Study of Friendship, Forgiveness and
 Reconciliation,” pp. 1-27.
A. James McAdams, “The Double Demands of Reconciliation in Unified
Germany,” pp. 1-28.

Week Ten - The challenges of peacemaking (3) 
(Tuesday, November 6th)

Morozzo della Rocca, “Achieving Peace in Africa”, pp. 1-55Bartoli, Andrea, “Forgiveness and Reconciliation in the Mozambique Peace Process,” pp. 351-71.

Week Eleven - Class Presentations
(Tuesday, November 13th)

Week Twelve - Class Presentations
(Tuesday, November 20th)

Week Thirteen - Class Presentations
(Tuesday, November 27th)

Week Fourteen - Class Presentations
(Tuesday, December 4th)

Final Paper Due December 4th, 2007