On Wednesday, June 12, Pax Christi USA organized a prayerful witness outside the spring meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Louisville, KY.
The previous day, Pax Christi USA was honored to be the inaugural recipient of the Dorothy Day Guild’s Dorothy Day Peacemaker Award, and the decision to undertake Wednesday’s witness was inspired by Dorothy’s own witness almost 60 years ago at the Second Vatican Council. Dorothy stood with 19 other women outside those meetings in Rome, appealing to the leaders of the Church to break “the awful silence” on issues of peace and justice. About 15 members and friends of Pax Christi USA gathered for four hours on the sidewalk directly across from the hotel where the bishops were meeting, standing as Dorothy did, witnessing by our prayer and our presence in asking our bishops to raise their voices on behalf of the peace that does justice.
In February, 20 U.S. bishops boldly asserted a commitment to the Church’s social vision, calling the U.S. government to redirect military spending to overcoming poverty, mitigating the climate crisis, healing the sick, dismantling racial injustice, and protecting the dignity of all. The witness included large posters thanking the 20 bishops that signed the Bread Not Stones statement and inviting their brother bishops to join them in this prophetic call. One of the large posters was erected in the area inside the hotel where bishops were picking up their credentials for their conference.
Additionally, the protesters called attention to the importance of supporting the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). A discussion about the future of CCHD was on the agenda for the bishops that morning, and the witness coincided with the start time of that discussion. Those gathered held signs in support of CCHD, stating that “nowhere has our Church’s commitment to the justice that leads to peace been more evident than in the efforts of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), offering the necessary support to raise up and develop leaders from impoverished and marginalized communities to exercise their rights on the issues that impact their lives, their families, and their communities.”
Pax Christi USA joined with a number of community organizers, lay faithful, supporters, friends, partnering communities and organizations who have been deeply impacted by the work of CCHD in issuing a letter of unwavering support for their work and asking the U.S. bishops to continue to fund this “beacon of hope for impoverished and vulnerable communities across the United States.”
Find resources from the witness in the links below:
- Flyer given out to passersby and left inside the hotel
- We support justice/We support CCHD placards (11″ x 17″) – side one and side two
- Bread Not Stones thank you poster
- Prayer service from the witness
- Photos from the witness
- Coverage of Pax Christi USA receiving the Dorothy Day Peacemaker Award
Kudos to Pax Christi for the Dorothy Day Peacemaker Award.
Dorothy Day’s words “the awful silence,” urging church leaders meeting during the Second Vatican Council to prioritize peace and justice issues, are more than ever urgent considering the disgusting and obscene amount of money that our country and its NATO lackeys splurge on death machines for Ukraine and Israel without a loud and public condemnation by our bishops.Wasting that amount of treasure on death instead of life-affirming health care for everyone is sinful and exposes the moral bankruptcy of our neoliberal system.
David-Ross Gerling, PhD
Forty-five years ago, I was pastor of Visitation-Holy Ghost, an inner-city parish in North St. Louis. We formed an organization, St. Louis Association of Community Organizations – SLACO, which received $20,000. for several years from CCHD. The organization still thrives with 30 neighborhood groups collaborating on a variety of issues that they determine are important. One achievement that stands out over these years is that SLACO built over 300 homes and apartments. No telling how many lives of owners and renters have been changed by the pride that has been generated in these communities. CCHD funding was crucial and still pays dividends 45 years later.
Father Gerry Kleba, Retired St. Louis Priest