"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

Overview of Colombian Conflict -- The Catholic Church's Role in Peacebuilding --               Internal Displacement -- Human Rights -- Social and Economic Development --   

Peace Processes -- Education for Peace -- Reconciliation -- International Solidarity

International Solidarity

International Catholic organizations work to promote awareness of the Colombian situation among the international community and to advocate for just and peaceful solutions to the conflict that are grounded in respect for human life.

Caritas Internationalis advocacy campaign 'Peace is Possible in Colombia' reaffirms its support for the position of the Colombian Episcopal Conference that peace in Colombia is possible, that peace can only be obtained through negotiations, and that peace can only be sustained through social justice.

Catholic Relief Services has an In Solidarity with Colombia program that expands and strengthens their focus on projects in the areas of humanitarian response, justice, peace education and peacebuilding, and ventures into new programming activities in the United States that emphasize education and awareness-raising of the American public on issues of importance to Colombia.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops collaborates with the Colombian Catholic Bishops and provides regular updates and reports to the U.S. Catholic community on Colombia through its Social Development and World Peace program.  The Catholic Church insists that U.S. aid to Colombia should strike an essential balance between assistance to the armed forces and aid that more directly addresses the root causes of the conflict and assists the victims.  The USCCB also has an agreement with FICONPAZ to provide techincal and financial support to peace education initiatives in Colombia.

The Jesuits (The Society of Jesus) Oregon Province and Colombia Province have a twinning agreement.  This partnership promotes interprovincial cooperation for the priorities of the Society and also encourages U.S. Jesuits to increase awareness of the conflict and the impact of U.S. policy in Colombia as well as the possibilities for peace and sustainable development.