Art Laffin of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in Washington, D.C. recently designed a prayer service to end the use of lethal drones. The prayer service is posted on the Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore website ad can be used by Pax Christi local groups and regions.
Compiled by Johnny Zokovitch
Each month, “On The Line” features news items and announcements from around the nation featuring Pax Christi members, local groups, regions and partners. These are gleaned from articles in local newspapers, websites, magazines, and elsewhere.
PAX CHRISTI MICHIGAN COORDINATOR FEATURED IN YOUTUBE VIDEO: Joan Tirak, coordinator for Pax Christi Michigan, was a featured speaker at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Lansing Peace Community. The event was videotaped and uploaded to YouTube. You can watch Joan’s speech here: http://youtu.be/x7tWykfP8DI?t=6m40s
Floyd Cook leads a workshop on racism at the PC-Michigan State Conference in April.
PAX CHRISTI LONG ISLAND’S MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE FEATURED IN NEW YORK TIMES BLOG: Nancy Dwyer of PC-Long Island responded to the New York Times request for readers to share their Memorial Day rituals and traditions. Nancy wrote of PC-Long Island’s annual memorial at Jones Beach for the war dead, inviting people “to join us, even if only for a few minutes, for the solemn reading of the names of the war dead.” Nancy also wrote that Memorial Day “shouldn’t be a time to glorify war with an air show and a display of weapons to entice young people to enlist in more wars.” Read the entire letter here: http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/28/readers-memorial-day-rituals/
PAX CHRISTI’S RECOGNITION OF U.S. NUNS FEATURED IN WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE: In an article by Mary Johnson of Religion News Service on the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s report on the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, she cited Pax Christi USA’s recognition of U.S. women religious at our national conference in 2010. “As Pax Christi noted when honoring the sisters in 2010, the LCWR is composed of ‘strong, prophetic, and compassionate women … always on the front lines where the weak and most vulnerable suffer at the hands of violent and unjust power.’” Read the entire article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/the-nuns-who-once-taught-the-bishops-arent-done-yet/2012/06/04/gJQAe2c4DV_story.html
PAX CHRISTI NEW MEXICO CO-COORDINATOR TO UNDERTAKE HUNGER STRIKE: This year New Mexico Pax Christi invites PCUSA members to join them in participating in Nuke Free Now, a weekend event Aug. 4-6th in Santa Fe and Los Alamos, N.M. We will transform the nuclear narrative in the public consciousness and inspire a life-affirming future. Alaric Balibrera, whose father was the film documentarian for Los Alamos Labs from 1967 to 1982, realized his exposure as a child to nuclear contamination and the terrible consequences of nuclear weapons. He will be hunger striking from July 16th to August 6th to increase the awareness to the mounting nuclear crisis that threatens all nations on this planet. Ellie Voutselas of Pax Christi New Mexico has pledged to join his hunger strike from July 16-22. Others are invited to join in this action. Please see http://www.nukefreenow.org for complete information.
PAX CHRISTI ILLINOIS HOLDS MASS ON THE GRASS PRIOR TO MARCH: On Sunday morning, May 20th in Chicago, prior to the March for Justice and Reconciliation organized by the Iraq Veterans Against War (IVAW), nearly 100 members of Pax Christi USA, the Catholic Worker and 8th Day Center for Justice gathered in Grant Park for a Eucharistic Liturgy. Presiding at the liturgy was Fr. Bob Bossie, SCJ, a long-time Chicago peace activist. After Mass the group joined the IVAW rally and marched with the thousands from around the country who were saying “no” to NATO’s ever-expanding mission and ever-increasing costs that serve the strategic goals of the 1% while forcing austerity at home and destitution and death around the world. To see photos and read a full report, go here: http://paxchristiusa.org/2012/05/23/regional-event-catholics-gather-for-eucharist-prior-to-nato-summit-march-for-reconciliation-and-justice/
Members of Pax Christi Illinois share in the Eucharist prior to joining the March for Justice and Reconciliation at the NATO Summit in Chicago in May.
PAX CHRISTI METRO NEW YORK HONORS JEWISH PEACEMAKER: The Times Ledger of New York featured an article on Rabbi Michael Weisser, who was honored by Pax Christi Metro New York at an awards reception on June 3. You can read the article here, http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/22/weisserhonored_ne_2012_05_31_q.html. Also honored were Bud Courtney for his peacemaking on the lower east side of Manhattan, in Iraq, and at the Arizona/Mexico border; and Carla DeYcaza for her work for human rights, transitional justice, and nonviolent conflict resolution in Africa. Read more at http://paxchristiusa.org/2012/05/25/regional-event-pc-metro-new-york-honors-peacemakers/
PAX CHRISTI HAITI COLLEAGUE HONORED AS ARCHITECT OF THE FUTURE: Daniel Tillias, Program Director of Pax Christi in Haiti and a frequent speaker to Pax Christi local groups in the U.S., was honored recently as an “Architect of the Future.” Daniel was recognized as one of ten outstanding social entrepreneurs from around the world. Read more here: http://architectsofthefuture.net/portfolio/daniel-tillias/
PAX CHRISTI MANASOTA CHAPTER OBSERVES MEMORIAL DAY: On Memorial Day, the Manasota (FL) Chapter of Pax Christi, together with members of the Coalition for Concerned Patriots and the Southwest Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice, gathered around the Peace Pole erected several years back at Island Park—in the Sarasota Bayfront area—to remember in song and prayer all who locally stood for peace and justice and had passed on before us. We remembered fifteen area peace activists, including Les Druckemiller who was responsible for erecting the Peace Pole. About twenty people gathered for the service and a picnic luncheon.
Upcoming Events:
Quicklinks:
Pax Christi Houston honors U.S. vets by calling for an end to the war in Afghanistan … Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore has posted an excellent prayer service on the use of drones by Art Laffin … Pax Christi Michigan conference inspires hope, action … Pax Christi Long Island board member and Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Keeler writes about his worst nightmare in Newsday … Pax Christi Baltimore’s Chuck Michaels is featured talking about liturgy in this article in the Herald Malaysia Online … Jim O’Callahan of Downtown Brooklyn Pax Christi wrote this review on the film Cite Soleil: Sun, Dust and Hope … Read the thoughts and opinions of Mike McCarthy of Blue Water (MI) on his blog … Pax Christi Maine hosted a state assembly titled “Resisting the Culture of Violence” in May … Pax Christi Long Island’s Memorial Day service was mentioned in a letter to the editor to Newsday … Read Pax Christi International’s June newsletter … JustFaith Ministries in collaboration with Pax Christi USA just released a special 12 session module for small groups on “Just Peacemaking.” There is a special discount for Pax Christi local groups wanting to purchase the module … PCUSA is seeking an Associate Director of Development and a Program Director …
Posted in Calendar, Local Group News, News, On The Line, Regional Events, Regional News
Tagged Architect of the Future, Art Laffin, Bob Keeler, Bud Courtney, Carla DeYcaza, CDF, Chuck Michaels, Daniel Tillias, Downtown Brooklyn Pax Christi, Ellie Voutselas, Floyd Cook, Fr. Bob Bossie, Hiroshima, Joan Tirak, JustFaith Ministries, Lansing Peace Community, LCWR, Mary Johnson, Memorial Day, Mike McCarthy, Nancy Dwyer, New York Times, Newsday, nuclear weapons, Pax Christi, Pax Christi Haiti, Pax Christi Houston, Pax Christi Illinois., Pax Christi International, Pax Christi Long Island, Pax Christi Maine, Pax Christi Manasota, Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore, Pax Christi Metro New York, Pax Christi Michigan, Pax Christi New Mexico, Pax Christi St. Louis, Rochester Pax Christi, Unity March for Justice and Reconciliation at the NATO Summit, Washington Post
by Art Laffin
With opinion polls showing high disapproval of the U.S. war in Afghanistan and in the wake of the upcoming NATO summit in Chicago, President Barack Obama’s trip last week to Afghanistan was intended to demonstrate to the American people and its allies that the war in Afghanistan will soon end. Instead, Obama’s visit, in the dark of night, signaled a continuation of U.S. military involvement into the future and more tragedy for the Afghan people.
The nightmare of unspeakable suffering for the Afghan people caused by the war only seems to worsen with each passing day. On Friday, a mother and her five children were killed by U.S./NATO strikes in the Helmand province. And on Monday, it was reported that eight more civilians died from another U.S./NATO airstrike in the Badghis province.
This Friday marks two months since the massacre in Kandahar province of 17 civilians, including nine children. It was reported that three women and nine children were killed in their sleep, and some of the victims’ bodies were burned beyond recognition…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, D.C.—Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace and justice movement (www.paxchristiusa.org), will lead a prayer service outside the White House as part of the Lenten Witness for Peace and Justice, a campaign organized by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and co-sponsored by other faith-based peace and justice groups. The service will take place on Friday, March 2, from noon to 1:00 p.m.
“Lent is a time of fasting, of internal and collective discernment,” stated Pax Christi USA Executive Director Sr. Patricia Chappell, SNDdeN. “We’re calling all people to attend to being peacemakers during this season, to find alternatives to war, and to be conscious of the economic injustices that impact many of us, here at home and abroad, particularly minority communities.”
In the Christian tradition, Lent is a time for both personal and societal repentance. Catholic peace activists participating in the ongoing Lenten witness see this season as a time for radical conversion, renewal and transformation.
“Living under the brutal occupation of the Roman empire, Jesus declared that ‘the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel,’” stated Taylor Reese, Pax Christi USA Program Associate. “Living in the U.S. empire, which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described as ‘the greatest purveyor of violence in the world,’ we need to heed Jesus’ proclamation now more than ever.”
The March 2 service is open to the public. Additional peace groups will be leading future services at the White House each Friday during Lent.
For more info, contact:
Compiled by Johnny Zokovitch
Each month, “On The Line” features news items and announcements from around the nation featuring Pax Christi members, local groups, regions and partners. These are gleaned from articles in local newspapers, websites, magazines, and elsewhere.
HAITI PROJECT UPDATE IN THE DIGITAL JOURNAL: Our colleagues in Haiti were happy to share this story with us: “The “Jaden Tap Tap” (Tap Tap Garden) urban community garden was proudly inaugurated on January 22, 2012 in Cite Soleil, Haiti. The Tap Tap Garden is Haiti’s largest urban garden containing more than 500 brightly painted tire gardens, flower garden, and a nursery of 1,000 trees. Nearly 600 community members, NGO’s, and government officials joined Bochika, SAKALA-Pax Christi Ayiti, and SOIL in celebrating the inauguration of the garden, as well as a new community Eco-San Toilet. The crowd was delighted to participate in the daylong event that featured a “farmers market”, agricultural demonstrations, musical and dance performances by local youth, and special appearance by internationally recognized Haitian recording artist, BelO.” Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/568647#ixzz1lo5f8Z8H
Megan McKenna, PCUSA Ambassador of Peace, with godchild Megan, receiving the Hecker Award.
PCUSA AMBASSADOR OF PEACE WINS ISAAC HECKER AWARD: Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace Megan McKenna was honored in January in Boston with the Isaac Hecker Award, presented by the Paulists. At the award reception, it was stated, “Grounded in and informed by the meaning of Scripture, Megan’s writing tackles many of the issues of our day – much like the call of the 99% to reorder priorities, redistribute wealth, and attend to basic human needs. She addresses the ever-widening economic and resource gaps nationally and internationally, the role of women in church and society, and the global challenges for use of our natural resources. She offers a blueprint for contemporary analysis and action for social justice.” Read more at http://paxchristiusa.org/2012/02/08/ambassador-of-peace-megan-mckenna-receives-isaac-hecker-award/
FORMER PCUSA ED FEATURED IN THE ERIE TIMES: ”Dave Robinson lectured on global poverty as executive director of Pax Christi USA. His job took him to places like Iraq and Haiti, where he got an up-close look at the effects of poverty. But poverty was never too far from home for Robinson, who lives in Union Township. ‘You get past the beautiful landscapes and the friendly people, and we’re suffering out here in this rural part of the county,’ he said. ‘We have disproportionately high poverty rates. Lack of jobs, lack of transportation, pretty much any social problem that you want to focus on, we’ve got it right here.’ So when it came time for Robinson to decide whether to follow the national Catholic peace and justice movement from Erie to Washington, where Pax Christi moved its headquarters over the summer, he chose to stay in an area he loves while focusing his efforts on helping people in need in southeastern Erie County.” Read more at http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012301299819
Dave Atwood of PC-Texas speaks at a press conference in Houston for the Campaign to Promote Permanent Residency for Temporary Protective Status Beneficiaries from Central America. Photo courtesy of PC-Texas.
PC COLLEGE OF HOLY CROSS MEMBER DONATES HAIR: ”Kenilworth native Marielle McKenna is an active fundraiser for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, an organization that funds pediatric cancer research grants. Recently, she decided she wanted to do something more for children with cancer. ‘A friend of mine shaved her head for St. Baldrick’s foundation and I thought she was crazy,’ McKenna said. ‘I thought donating her hair was going far enough and shaving was an unnecessary extreme. I thought I could never do something like that. Then after reflecting on it for a while and seeing how happy my friend was, I asked myself why couldn’t I do something like that? I went online to the Web site and signed up as a shavee.’” Read more at http://wilmette.patch.com/articles/bald-is-beautiful-for-kenilworth-woman
PC TAMPA BAY COORDINATOR JOHN STEWART FEATURED IN COUNTERPUNCH ARTICLE ON NASA MISSION: ”John Stewart of Pax Christi-Tampa Bay maintained before the Curiosity launch: ‘NASA is planning a mission that could endanger not only its future but the state of Florida and beyond. The absurd—and maddening—aspect of this risk is that it is unnecessary. The locomotion for NASA’s Sojourner Mars rover, launched in 1996, and the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, both launched in 2003, was solar powered, with the latter two rovers performing well beyond what their engineers expected. Curiosity’s locomotion could also be solar-powered. NASA admits this in its EIS, but decided to put us all at risk because plutonium-powered batteries last longer and they want to have the ‘flexibility to select the most scientifically interesting location on the surface’ of Mars.’” Read more at http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/01/16/the-toxic-crash-of-phobos-grunt/
LONGTIME PAX CHRISTI MEMBER MARY ALLICE PRATT DIES: “Mary Alice Pratt, a longtime Central Kentucky social activist, died January 12. She would have turned 83 the next day. Ms. Pratt had worked for decades on social justice issues with the University of Kentucky Newman Center-Holy Spirit Parish; was active in the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice; and once wrote and performed a one-woman show on the life of Dorothy Day, a co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, whose work greatly influenced Ms. Pratt.” Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/01/12/2026248/mary-alice-pratt-central-kentucky.html#storylink=cpy
TIFFIN AREA PC MEMBER GOES TO TRIAL FOR HOUSE ACTION: Josie Setzler, a peace activist and grandmother from Fremont, is one of five people on trial in D.C. Superior Court this week for disrupting congressional hearings to protest government treatment of Guantanamo Bay detainees. Ms. Setzler was one of 14 members of Witness Against Torture who stood up in the citizens’ gallery of the House of Representatives during deliberations June 23 on the defense authorization bill. It contained a measure to eliminate funding from any efforts to repatriate Guantanamo detainees… Ms. Setzler, 58, is charged with unlawful conduct, a misdemeanor. In addition to her membership in Witness Against Torture, she heads Tiffin Area Pax Christi and People for Peace and Justice Sandusky County. Read more at http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2012/01/04/Fremont-woman-among-5-on-trial-for-House-protest.html
Upcoming Events
Quicklinks
Religious leaders hold a paper chain at PC- Illinois' World Peace Day event. Photo courtesy of PC-Illinois.
Blue Water (MI) Pax Christi’s Michael McCarthy on “Drones Come Home To Roost”… PC NJ coordinator Kathy O’Leary featured in Change.org article on one individual’s unjust detention … PC St. Francis Church (MD) coordinator Susan Kerin had a letter on Israeli-Palestinian issues published in the Washington Post … Pax Christi New York City launched a new website last month … Great online interview with former National Council member Donna Grimes … Art Laffin reviews PC NM co-coordinator Bud Ryan’s movie The Forgotten Bomb in Tikkun … Interested in joining the Pax Christi Anti-Racism Team? … Nominate someone for the Pax Christi USA National Council. Deadline is March 5 … An interview with Pax Christi member Sr. Rita Clare Gerardot was featured in NCR …
Posted in Calendar, Local Group News, News, On The Line, Regional Events, Regional News
Tagged Art Laffin, Bill Quigley, Blue Water, Bud Ryan, CounterPunch, Dave Robinson, David Atwood, Donna Grimes, Erie Times, Isaac Hecker Award, John Dear SJ, John Stewart, Josie Setzler, Marielle McKenna, Mary Alice Pratt, Megan McKenna, Michael McCarthy, Paulists, Pax Christi, Pax Christi Anti-Racism Team, Pax Christi Ayiti, Pax Christi Florida, Pax Christi Holy Cross, Pax Christi Metro New York, Pax Christi Michigan, Pax Christi Minnesota, Pax Christi Tampa Bay, Pax Christi Texas, SAKALA, Sr. Patty Chappell, Sr. Rita Clare Gerardot, Susan Kerin, The Forgotten Bomb, Tiffin Area Pax Christi, Tom Cordaro
by Art Laffin, in Tikkun
A Review of The Forgotten Bomb, a film by Bud Ryan and Stuart Overbey (available on DVD January 17, 2012)
When I first saw The Forgotten Bomb, I recalled the following words from Deuteronomy: “You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them” (Deut. 5:8-9). This film is a stark reminder of how we, as a people, have betrayed our trust in God and, for sixty-six years, have instead placed our trust in a nuclear idol.
We have, in fact, become a nation that worships the bomb and glorifies war. As a consequence we find ourselves morally blind, psychically numb, and forgetful of the fact that nuclear weapons, deployed on land, air, and sea, still endanger all life and, in a matter of minutes, could destroy our planet and God’s sacred creation. I agree with the late Jesuit peacemaker, Father Richard McSorley, who said: “Our intention to use nuclear weapons destroys our souls. Our possession of them is a proximate occasion of sin.”
The Forgotten Bomb, produced by Bud Ryan and directed by Stuart Overbey, looks at the political and legal implications of nuclear weapons and also digs deeper into the cultural and psychological reasons behind the atomic bomb’s existence…
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Posted in Film Review, Interfaith, News, Nuclear Disarmament, Regional News, Video
Tagged Art Laffin, Bud Ryan, Cinema Libre, Stuart Overbey, The Forgotten Bomb, Tikkun
by Art Laffin
Dear brother,
servant of justice,
you showed America how
to walk in the light. to tell the truth,
to create the beloved community.
Like Gandhi,
you conspired
to nonviolently resist injustice–
to overcome evil with good!
Minister and Peacemaker
prisoner for Jesus,
you challenged America
to break its addiction to the triple evils:
racism,
materialism,
militarism.
You called us forth,
to follow the way of Jesus,
to renounce violence,
resist war,
to break down the walls of prejudice,
to embrace peace.
The powers that be
threatened by justice,
killed you–
but not your message.
You live, dear brother,
your life–a beacon of hope!
The beloved community
is still being forged.
Death will not have the last word.
Love will overcome!
(Written in Rappanhannock Jail, Fredricksburg, VA, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1994. From Swords Into Plowshares , edited by Art Laffin and Anne Montomery).
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Posted in Human Rights, Nonviolence, Racism, Reflection
Tagged Art Laffin, Martin Luther King Jr, MLK, Swords into ploughshares
