Our 2023 Year-in-Review

Dear friends,

Every January, it fills me with a sense of pride when I start to look back at all of the work we accomplished as Pax Christi USA over the previous year. Pulling this year-in-review report together to highlight just some of that work conjures up in me such a deep sense of gratitude for everyone in our movement and all the ways we — individually and collectively — are witnessing to the “peace of Christ” in our world today.

As I reviewed this past year, so many things struck me, but one in particular I want to share with you before moving on to the monthly highlights of the year. What struck me is just how deeply local AND international we are in this work. Let me start by highlighting how our local groups (on campuses, within religious communities, in parishes, etc) and our state and regional chapters are thriving with the commitment of thousands of members on the ground working in their neighborhoods, parishes, cities and states; advocating with their local bishops and pastors and their elected leaders on city councils and in the statehouse; agitating nonviolently for peace with justice. Just a few examples: Pax Christi state chapters and local groups published op-eds on gun violence (PC Little Rock); celebrated their 30th anniversary (PC South Dakota); hosted Pax Christi USA leadership to learn more about border issues (PC El Paso); lifted up Pope Francis’ message of nuclear disarmament with a billboard campaign (PC Pacific Northwest); organized visits by the Golden Rule Peace Boat in Maryland, New York and New Jersey (PC Metro NY, PC New Jersey, PC Upstate New York, PC Baltimore); hosted state conferences on the threat of white nationalism (PC Michigan); honored local peacemakers for their extraordinary witness (PC Metro DC-Baltimore); and too many to possibly list held actions in support of a ceasefire in Gaza (see photo above).

But all of this work at the local level is mirrored by how intentionally we’ve been cultivating a more profound sense of solidarity with our Pax Christi family around the world. Again, just a few examples of how we have strengthened our ties with our partners in the Pax Christi International network will suffice. This past year we supported and promoted efforts like the webinar with this year’s recipient of the Pax Christi International Peace Prize; a statement like the one on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People; international roundtables on active nonviolence; celebrating the work of and then hosting a meeting in Washington with our sister organization from El Salvador; celebrations of the power of nonviolence with partners around the world for the Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action in September; a message sent to the G7 summit signed by numerous Pax Christi sections from around the world calling for greater commitment to nuclear disarmament; webinars on the 60th anniversary of Pacem in terris and on women and peacebuilding; the international effort to elevate Pope Francis’ prayer intention “for a nonviolent culture” in April; delegations to Palestine (with PCI partners, photo above) and the Philippines (where Pax Christi USA staff met with PC Philippines staff); and so much more. (You’ll read additional local and global manifestations of our work together among the highlights below.)

All this is to emphasize what a gift it is for each of us that no matter where we are or how localized or even sometime solitary our efforts may be or feel, we are indeed part of great wave of witness happening all over the world. I remember one of the first times I became aware of this deep connection between what we do here in our cities, towns, parishes and schools and the work of this vast international conspiracy to be the peace of Christ on every continent. I wrote about it here at this link after coming back from the Pax Christi International World Assembly (photo above along the Separation Wall) in Bethlehem in 2015. (And you can see a photo of me before the gray in my beard became so pronounced!)

So as you review the highlights below, I hope you too will experience that profound sense of solidarity, that abiding, palpable sense of community that testifies to how we do this work TOGETHER, never alone. I hope you’ll feel the gratitude I have for you, and appreciate how every one of us incarnates the fullness of “Pax Christi” in the witness we give wherever we are. And that you’ll feel gratitude for being in this movement, local AND global, as you live out your own discipleship to the nonviolent Jesus.

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And now for the 2023 Year-in-Review, taking it month by month and picking out a few highlights for each…

JANUARY – On the heels of Pope Francis’s World Day of Peace message and our participation in an interfaith vigil for faith in democracy, we learned of the passing of Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace and former national coordinator, Mary Lou Kownacki, OSB (photo at right, Mary Lou holding the banner). Mary Lou was a giant in the Pax Christi USA universe, her leadership stretching from our beginnings in 1972 through her serving as the co-chair of our 50th anniversary committee in 2022. … Two historical pieces featuring Pax Christi USA were published by Judy Coode in American Catholic Studies and Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace Nancy Small, putting a nice bow on the end of our celebration of our 50th anniversary. … Pax Christi members also publicly marked the 2nd anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entry into force.

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FEBRUARY – Pax Christi USA National Council Chair Charlene Howard joined Pax Christi Michigan for a special event elevating the six African American Catholics being considered for sainthood, continuing our efforts to support their cause. … We joined the effort in support of a study commission on reparations. … Charlene, and her husband Michael, also provided, with others, the reflections for the 2023 Lenten reflection booklet. … As part of the ongoing Bread Not Stones campaign, we urged President Biden to dramatically cut the military budget for 2024 and to invest the funds in nonviolent and humane programs that promote the well-being of all. … We curated and promoted resources for prayer, study and action throughout Lent focused on the theme of “witness” and rooting ourselves ever more deeply in discipleship to the nonviolent Jesus, fortifying us to address injustice, violence, and oppression. … Our intergenerational co-learning program Peace Pairs continued in 2023, with a new class of participants working on joint projects like this one.

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MARCH – The fruits of the efforts of a number of Pax Christi groups, like Pax Christi Maine and Pax Christi South Dakota, to get the Vatican to renounce the “Doctrine of Discovery” were finally realized in March with a Vatican announcement. … Pax Christi USA staff members joined a delegation to the Philippines and executed a number of follow-up events in support of the delegation and strengthening our collaboration with Pax Christi Philippines. … Pax Christi USA’s program director, Roxana Bendezú, was also part of a Pax Christi International delegation to Palestine in February with the delegation’s report being issued this month.

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APRIL – We continued our advocacy for a ceasefire in Ukraine, including lifting up the words of Pope Francis and supporting a petition which was delivered to political leaders in Washington, D.C. Earlier, on the one year anniversary of the war, we issued a PSA calling for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. … Pax Christi USA was also a co-sponsor of Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, D.C., focusing on the theme “Swords Into Plowshares.” We contributed a workshop on our Bread Not Stones campaign and Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace Marie Dennis was featured as one of the keynote speakers.

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MAY – In our persistent work to amplify Catholic Social Teaching within the Church, we hosted a webinar amplifying the message of The Challenge of Peace, the U.S. bishops’ peace pastoral, on the occasion of its 40th anniversary. … We also continued our partnership with Meta Peace Team to provide bi-annual nonviolence trainings open to anyone in the Pax Christi USA community. … Pax Christi USA also co-sponsored the Warheads to Windmills webinar with Nick Mele of the Pax Christi USA Nuclear Disarmament Working Group among the speakers.

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JUNE – In a PSA to mark the observance of June as Torture Awareness Month, we published a new prayer card version of Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace Sr. Dianna Ortiz’s prayer and invited members around the country to light a candle on June 26 in support of survivors of torture. … Fr. Jim Martin joined us for our quarterly #PAXMass, this one done in collaboration with Outreach Ministries and observance of Pride Month. … And our Gun Violence Prevention Working Group held their first webinar as a contribution to Gun Violence Awareness Day. … The Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus hosted both an in-person retreat in Chicago this month and an Advent virtual retreat in December.

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JULY – Over 40 leaders from every constituency of Pax Christi USA gathered in Washington, D.C. (photo below) for an historic anti-racism summit, assessing the first 20+ years of the racial justice commitment that we first made in 1999; reflecting on our work to become an anti-racist, multicultural peace movement; and looking ahead to the next steps of our ongoing commitment to anti-racism. The weekend summit was facilitated by former National Council member Kim Mazyck. … Later in the month, staff members, Ambassadors of Peace, and members of Pax Christi Michigan were all on hand for a celebration in Detroit of Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Pax Christi USA’s founding bishop-president, and the release of a new biography about him.

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AUGUST – Pax Christi USA promoted the pilgrimage of Archbishops Wester and Etienne to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the partnership with their Japanese counterparts to create a nuclear weapon-free world, while also resourcing our membership for prayer, study and action in observation of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki anniversaries.

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SEPTEMBER – Pax Christi USA celebrated the lifelong witness of Fr. Joe Nangle, ofm, (photo below) with this year’s Teacher of Peace Award and a ceremony held with over 250 people at Joe’s home parish in Arlington, VA. … Our Fall edition of The Peace Current celebrated the work of young adults and students in our movement. … In the latter half of the month, Pax Christi local groups, state chapters and members across the nation participated in events lifting up the Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action.

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OCTOBER – We immediately responded to the Hamas attacks and the subsequent war Israel unleashed in response to those attacks, gathering resources for prayer, study and action which included advocacy efforts with the U.S. Congress, public pressure campaigns on President Biden, fasting with Pope Francis, and more. … We also launched our first sign-on statement for U.S. bishops in over two decades, focusing on the Bread Not Stones campaign to redirect military spending to human need (and resulting in nearly 20 U.S. bishops signing on). … And we offered a Called to be Peacemakers (Virtual) Retreat, an online series on nonviolence and the care of creation aimed at students, and the publication of a new Vow of Nonviolence prayer card.

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NOVEMBER – Our Bishop-President, Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv, wrote a powerful rebuke of President Biden’s assertion that Pope Francis and the U.S. Administration were “on the same page” regarding the Israel-Hamas war; the piece was featured by Religion News Service and picked up by newspapers and digital media across the country. … We co-sponsored and helped organize a candlelight vigil calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and a pray-in at the U.S. Senate where two Pax Christi USA Ambassadors of Peace, Jean Stokan and Bob Cooke, were arrested for civil disobedience.

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DECEMBER – Our 2023 Advent program was focused on the devastating war taking place in Gaza and included PSAs, weekly prayer services, our quarterly #PAXMass, and more resources for prayer, study and action all aimed at lifting up the call for a ceasefire. … We reprinted one of our most-sought-after prayer cards, A Prayer to Abolish the Death Penalty, written by Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ who also wrote a beautiful testimony to the enduring promise of the Pax Christi movement. … And Sr. Norma Pimentel, MJ authored our biggest selling Advent reflection booklet of the past 10 years, with over 5,000 copies being sold.

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And looking forward to 2024 and walking “the way” together!

In peace,

Johnny Zokovitch
Executive Director, Pax Christi USA