PAX CHRISTI USA

by Art Laffin, Teacher of Peace

Following the conclusion of the World Without War Conference that was held September 27 at American University, 21 people were arrested yesterday at the Pentagon as part of a Campaign Nonviolence action that was organized by the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance. The arrests occurred as peacemakers attempted to redeliver a letter previously sent to Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, as well as a petition to stop the use of killer drones, at the main Pentagon police checkpoint outside the Pentagon South metro station.  Simultaneously, some 50 other peacemakers who attended the World Without War Conference held a demonstration in the Pentagon police designated protest zone located near the police checkpoint.

It was an honor to be part of this action, yet another “experiment in truth” in nonviolent resistance to a war-making empire. During this witness, I carried in my heart and prayer those in whose name I was acting: all the victims of violence, racism, torture, war and poverty, as well as the holy cloud of witnesses–past and present. I also prayed for our sacred earth and climate which is under daily assault and “groaning in travail.”  In this time of perpetual war, unrelenting racial violence, mass incarceration and pervasive poverty, I was also very mindful of the compelling words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who declared: “Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometime hostile world declaring eternal hostility to racism, poverty and militarism.”

God calls us to love and not to kill, to practice mercy, to love our enemies, to establish justice for the oppressed, to beat all the swords of our time into plowshares, and to abolish war. During this election season and beyond, let us continue to do all we can to embody these biblical mandates as we seek to create the Beloved Community and a nonviolent world.

by Tony Magliano

Throw your political affiliation out the window!

But you’re a loyal Democrat. Or perhaps instead, you’re a loyal Republican. Never mind that. Your political affiliation is not that important.

What’s crucially important is your affiliation with Jesus, and your commitment to his campaign – to his divine plan.

Are you voting for Jesus Christ?

Oh, but Jesus is not running for election. Oh, but yes he is!

He is running as an unborn baby threatened by abortion, a starving child, a poor mother whose resources have run out, a war-weary desperate father with five children, a hard-working undocumented immigrant, a Christian refugee fleeing ISIS, a Central American teenager seeking asylum from gang violence, a heroin addicted young man, a little child drinking polluted water, a lonely old woman with meager resources, a young sweatshop worker, a homeless man, a trafficked girl trapped in prostitution, and a seriously ill elderly lady informed that a physician is available to assist her in committing suicide.

Oh yes, Jesus is surely campaigning – for the vulnerable and poor, for the care of creation and for peace on earth.

However, sad to say, his party – the human race – is not leading in the polls. Most wealthy individuals, corporations and government office holders are far more interested in holding unto their riches and power than in voting for, and working for, the human race.

Consequently, countless members of the human race continue to suffer from war, war preparation, poverty, hunger, starvation, homelessness, unemployment, underemployment, environmental degradation, slave labor, trafficking, capital punishment, physician-assisted suicide and abortion.

The 2016 U.S. elections are of crucial importance not only for America, but for the human race. Because the U.S. is the world’s strongest military and economic power, the November elections are of great importance to the inhabitants of planet earth. That is exactly why it is crucial for Christians to enter the voting booth with a well-formed conscience based on Gospel values.

The compassionate integrity – or lack thereof – of the next president and members of Congress, will significantly determine how well, or how poorly, the human race does in the next several years.

“Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” produced by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, is a very good election guide to help Catholics, all other Christians, and people of good will to make the best moral choices. The bishops are urging us to read the entire document.

In this document the bishops teach that as each person strives to form her/his conscience, it is essential “to embrace goodness and truth. For Catholics, this begins with a willingness and openness to seek the truth and what is right by studying Sacred Scripture and the teaching of the Church as contained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.”

The bishops clarify that while we may choose different ways to respond to compelling social problems, “We cannot differ on our moral obligation to help build a more just and peaceful world through morally acceptable means, so that the weak and vulnerable are protected and human rights and dignity are defended.”

May voters everywhere commit to voting for candidates who are most likely to work for the common good of the entire human race – especially for the poor, vulnerable, war-torn, and planet earth – our common home.

As faithful disciples of Jesus, let us never forget that when it comes to political elections, as well as in all matters, the Gospel trumps everything!

On Saturday, October 22, Tony Magliano will be speaking at a Pax Christi Baltimore gathering. All are welcome to attend.

Good news! If you were not able to order the print version of “Journey Towards Justice,” you can purchase the electronic version.

The electronic version is $2.50 per download and includes color images and links to all the Bible passages.

Order the electronic version of “Journey Towards Justice” today!

Preserve the Integrity of the November 8, 2016 National Elections

There are many specific ways that we as Pax Christi USA members can help our Sisters and Brothers exercise their own rights to vote.

Here are a few of them:

1. Volunteer to be an on-site observer on Election Day. One way of doing so is to sign up with “Election Protection,” the nation’s largest non-partisan voter protection coalition. The mere presence of an on-site observer can operate as a strong deterrent to would-be poll disrupters, as well as a confidence-builder to voters who might otherwise be skittish or uncertain about the voting process.

2. Provide transportation to the polls. Organize a ride pool in your parish or worship community, or offer someone in need of transportation a ride to and from the polling place.

3. Distribute and discuss information in your parish or community, regarding the candidates’ views on key issues. We offer election resources, including the “Pope Francis Voter Guide” on our website. NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, offers many election resources too.

4. Host a debate-watching party, using the resources and information on the website of the League of Women Voters.

5. On Election Day itself, do what you can help the process move smoothly. For example, if a long voting line appears, provide chairs or water to help sustain those waiting to vote.

6. Additionally, in order to protect millions of voters from future attempts at disenfranchisement, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision weakening the protections of the Voting Rights Act, urge your Congressional Representative to support legislation strengthening protections for the voting process.

Voting is not only a right, but an act that has moral, global consequences. Let us act prayerfully and firmly to ensure that the process, and its results, include –and work for — all.

The Pax Christi Anti-Racism Team came together to respond to the presidential election in the method of Prayer, Study, and Action. To say the least, this election process has been tumultuous. As people of faith, grounded in a spirituality of nonviolence, we hope this three-part message will bring healing, insight, and just action. Monday we shared our Prayer. Wednesday we shared our Study. Today we share our Action. Download the whole Prayer, Study, Action here.

Study the ‘Signs of the Times’ of this Election Season

While Presidential elections are often described as consequential, the Tuesday, November 8, 2016 election surely ranks as one of the most important of our time.

As members of Pax Christi USA, and of its anti-racism team (PCART), we approach the upcoming national election with the lens of PCUSA’s Vision Statement, in which we affirm that:

“guided by the spirituality of nonviolence, we advocate and provide leadership for disarmament, demilitarization and reconciliation with justice, inclusiveness, economic and interracial justice, human rights and care of creation.”

The competing candidates’ views on these and other critical issues vary sharply, as evidenced by their differing positions regarding:

• The desirability of national policies designed to mitigate global climate change
• The appropriate role of government in improving the lives of the poor and elderly
• The role of diplomacy in international relations
• The proper function and beneficiaries of targeted tax policies
• The degree to which our immigrant nation will embrace new citizens from other lands
• The government’s role in redressing hunger and homelessness
• The composition of the judiciary
• The appropriateness of enhanced regulations governing financial institutions
• The future of the Affordable Care Act, Social Security, and other aspects of our nation’s social safety net
• The need for, and proper focus of, environmental conservation
• The need for widespread prison reform
• The proper response to the killings of unarmed Black citizens by police officers

The fact that the candidates espouse dramatically differing positions on these and other key issues is not itself unusual, in a national election. But what is notable this year is the intense heat of the political rhetoric, which is disturbingly abrasive, dismissive, divisive – and dangerous.

Equally disturbing are the many overt efforts in voting districts around the country to disenfranchise voters. The targets of these efforts continue to be largely people of color, and the poor. Yet, while the courts have recently overturned a number of those efforts, still, blatant actions to prevent individuals from exercising their right to vote persist.

We reject these efforts to divide us. As members of the Beloved Community, we accord equal respect to all, and recognize the imperative of empowering those among us who — by virtue of race, class, or other social constructs — have been repeatedly denied the opportunity to help determine the policies that impact their own lives. Those among us who have benefited by greater access to the halls of power, or to the workings of government, have a moral duty to share our access with our Sisters and Brothers who have been denied them.

The right to vote — with each person having an equal right to cast a ballot – is the hallmark of a democracy. Our democracy plays a critical role in the protection of human rights, both here and abroad. Yes, as in past years, it is anticipated this year that concerted activity will take place in a number of election districts across the country to undermine that democracy, by actively discouraging, frightening, or even preventing voters from casting their ballots.

These unscrupulous activities take many forms:

• Closing the polls early
• Failing to provide a sufficient number of working voting machines in low-income neighborhoods
• Trying to convince a would-be voter that he or she has gone to the wrong polling station
• Falsely claiming that someone is not properly registered to vote
• Failing to provide provisional ballots to mark, in the event a challenge to a voter’s legitimacy is later shown to be unfounded
• Spreading the rumor that the polling place will be heavily policed, which may frighten away voters
• Other tactics of intimidation and deterrence.

The Pax Christi Anti-Racism Team came together to respond to the presidential election in the method of Prayer, Study, and Action. To say the least, this election process has been tumultuous. As people of faith, grounded in a spirituality of nonviolence, we hope this three-part message will bring healing, insight, and just action. Monday we shared our Prayer. Today we share our Study. Friday we will share our Action.

The Pax Christi Anti-Racism Team came together to respond to the presidential election in the method of Prayer, Study, and Action. To say the least, this election process has been tumultuous. As people of faith, grounded in a spirituality of nonviolence, we hope this three-part message will bring healing, insight, and just action. Today we share our Prayer. Wednesday we will share our Study. Friday we will share our Action.

A Prayer for Understanding and Integrity in the Voting Process

Oh God of Creation,

As citizens of a nation possessing and exerting tremendous power and influence — both in the human community, and on the planet You so lovingly created‎ — help us to remember that our individual votes have tremendous consequences.

Help us to remember that we are casting our vote not only for ourselves, but for the billions of other beings in the world whose lives will be directly‎ affected by our nation’s election results.

May we be keenly mindful that the decisions made by the leaders we elect will affect so many:

• The afflicted children in Flint, Ramallah, Aleppo, ‎and Abuja
• The migratory monarch, the African elephant, and the pollinating bee
• The towering canopies and deep underground roots of Your ancient forests, and the birds, insects, primates, and other animals that inhabit them
• The war-weary people of Honduras , Syria, and the Philippines, struggling against violence and corruption
• The pika, the polar bear, and the darting fish of Your coral reefs, whose habitats are rapidly vanishing
• The desperate refugees fleeing violence, now languishing in prisons of our making
• The unarmed people of color gunned down in the favelas of Rio, the streets of Cleveland and Baltimore, and the shantytowns of Johannesburg; and
• All others with whom we share Your planet.

Let us cast our votes with prayerful discernment, humility, compassion, and in witness to Your love for all creation.

And let us each do what we can to ensure that our Sisters and Brothers who are eligible to vote — especially those lacking in power and access — are encouraged and permitted to do so, absent interference, intimidation, threat, and violence.

In the name of Jesus, who cast His lot with the weak and the oppressed – Amen.

by Brian Harper

One of the words most closely associated with experimental composer John Cage is silence, which is an odd word to identify with a musician. His most famous work — “4’33” ” — involves the performer sitting with an instrument, never playing it, and only occasionally making seemingly non-musical sounds, like clicking a watch or closing a piano cover.

For Cage, there was something happening in that silence.

“There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time,” he once said. “There is always something to see, something to hear. In fact, try as we may to make a silence, we cannot.”

Cage’s ideas about silence extended beyond his art, representing something like a philosophy:

I noticed in New York, where the traffic is so bad and the air is so bad … you get into a taxi and very frequently the poor taxi driver is just beside himself with irritation. And one day I got into one and the driver began talking a blue streak, accusing absolutely everyone of being wrong. You know he was full of irritation about everything, and I simply remained quiet. I did not answer his questions, I did not enter into a conversation, and very shortly the driver began changing his ideas and simply through my being silent he began, before I got out of the car, saying rather nice things about the world around him.

My notion of how to proceed in a society to bring change is not to protest the thing that is evil, but rather to let it die its own death. I think that protests about these things, contrary to what has been said, will give it the kind of life that a fire is given when you fan it, and that it would be best to ignore it, put your attention elsewhere, take actions of another kind of positive nature, rather than to continue to give life to the negative by negating it.

We are living in a time ripe with Cage’s disgruntled taxi driver. On any given day, the trappings of life can coalesce into a perfect storm of fury-inducing misadventure. Traffic, weather, work, personal demands … it is not hard to become “full of irritation about everything,” particularly when the object of our ire is another furious cab driver. Just look at the effect the major presidential candidates have on so many of us.

It is also easy to justify the noise of our rage — or even just the noise of our modern existence — when we convince ourselves we are making it in defense of some righteous cause. Some injustice — like a presidential candidate mocking vast swaths of the American public — vexes our sense of decency, and we feel an impulse to do something to address it. So we react in kind. Then, our opponent shoots back, and we do, too. Soon, we are all irate together.

Read the full National Catholic Reporter article here