“When we have peace, then we have a chance to save the planet,” –Thich Nhat Hahn
“Blessed are the peacemakers.” We all know that phrase from the Bible, the Beatitudes. But how many of us center our personal, much less our professional lives on working to create a world in which peace is the dominant factor.
It’s not hard to argue that the word “peace” has somewhat disappeared from the national conversation. Drones, guns, war, military intervention, political polarization, bullying, hate talk. But for Sister Patricia Chappell SNDdeN , Executive Director of Pax Christi USA, peace and what it means in the 21st century is the cornerstone of her daily personal and professional life. (See sidebar below for more on the work of Pax Christi USA.)
“We may not be using the actual word ‘peace’ in today’s social justice and peace movement, but all of our efforts are centered around trying to provide peace and to bring peace in a non-violent way,” Chappell said in a recent interview with Wisdom Voices.
“Our four foundational principles are our priorities,” she said. “And one of the things we found as Pax Christi USA moved into 2013 is that we needed to go back and to look at those priorities. We needed – as a staff and a council – to go back and say, what do those principles mean to us when we say we are peacemakers…
To read the entire interview and sidebar about Pax Christi USA, click here.