We’re excited to announce the following workshops to be offered during our 2025 national conference in Detroit. Four workshops will be offered in the morning (11:15 am-12:45 pm) and four workshops will be offered in the afternoon (2:00-3:30 pm). You’ll asked your choices on the registration form.
Morning sessions: 11:15 -12:45 pm
| 1 – Building communities of hope – Walking with immigrants |
| Sponsored by the Pax Christi USA Immigration Working Group |
| Coordinated by: Bill O’Brien, Strangers No Longer |
| Speakers: * “From Guatemala to Detroit with my daughters – Gangs, deserts, and hope” (testimony by Berta Delgado, a leader of the Statewide Council of Immigrants SNL) * “My ‘illegal’ life in Michigan over 20 years” (testimony by Felicia Juarez, a coordinator of the Statewide Council of Immigrants of Strangers No Longer) * “High school student organizing: Faith in action” (testimony by a student leader of the Youth In Action for Immigration of SNL) * Strengthening the parish – by welcoming our brother and sister immigrants (testimony by a pastor of a parish with a strong SNL Circle of Support) |
| Participants will hear a variety of testimonies from two immigrant leaders, a high school student leader, and a parish pastor, all responding to Pope Francis’s exhortations to build communities of hope here in the United States. We will have time for Q&A and a brief description of how to build a Circle of Support in your parish or community. |
| ******************************************************************************************** |
| 2 – Broken treaties, broken land; Restoring relationships, restoring the Earth |
| Sponsored by the Pax Christi USA Indigenous Solidarity Working Group |
| Presenters: Carrie Hansen, Mary Beth DiMarco, Melissa Chapman Skinner and Andrea Pierce |
| Using Pax Christi USA’s “Pray-Study-Act” model, members of the Indigenous Solidarity Working Group, along with guest Andrea Pierce, will examine how the early United States adopted the Doctrine of Discovery — a legal framework that allowed European Christian nations to claim lands already inhabited by Indigenous peoples. After gaining independence, the U.S. government quickly applied these principles, pressuring Native nations—recognized as sovereign entities—into signing treaties. Between the Revolutionary War and the aftermath of the Civil War, the United States entered into approximately 368 treaties with Native American nations. Though often violated, these treaties — signed between 1778 and 1871 — remain legally valid today and continue to shape relationships and rights. Together, we will explore the meaning and legacy of these treaties, their impact on Indigenous communities and lands, and what they demand of us now. This session will invite attendees to reflect, learn, and act — fostering solidarity, healing, and advocacy for the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island and the Earth we share. |
| ******************************************************************************************** |
| 3 – The humanitarian crisis in Darfur and Sudan and what can be done in response |
| Presenter: Dr. Nada Fadul, Professor at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine |
| Moderator: Dr. Gail Presbey, Professor and Department Chair of Philosophy, University of Detroit Mercy, Pax Christi Michigan |
| The United Nations has described the war and humanitarian crisis in Sudan as the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded, and the African Union has declared it the worst humanitarian disaster in the world today. The scale of human suffering is staggering. A conservative estimate suggests that between 145,000 and 150,000 civilians have been killed (US Congressional Research Service, 2025; The New York Times, 2025; Médecins Sans Frontières, 2024). At least 15 million people have been displaced, and 8.7 million are on the brink of famine. More than 18 million Sudanese face acute food insecurity. The economy has collapsed, millions are unemployed, and access to essential services has nearly vanished. More than 70 percent of Sudan’s healthcare facilities are inoperable, leading to the spread of diseases and a lack of medical care for those who are injured and sick. This workshop will explore what is happening in Sudan and possible ways to resolve the crisis and what we can do in the United States. |
| ******************************************************************************************** |
| 4 – When you feel like flipping tables: Faith-based advocacy for our times |
| Presenter: Catherine Gillette, NETWORK Advocates |
| This workshop will not be recorded. |
| How do you feel about the current state of our federal government? Worried? Frustrated? Confused? Overwhelmed? In this training, we will engage what it means to be a faith-based advocate and help you hone your advocacy skills to meet the specific challenges of our times. We will examine which tactics are most (and least!) effective at influencing Members of Congress and what types of information elected officials most want to receive from you. We will explore how to build an effective campaign, data-driven approaches to messaging, and organizing best practices to help you expand your network. We will discuss the role of creativity in campaigns, as well as the importance of centering joy and community in our resistance. Whether you have been involved in advocacy work for 50 years or 15 minutes, this workshop has something for you! Join Catherine Gillette from NETWORK Advocates for this timely workshop. |
Afternoon sessions: 2-3:30pm
| 5 – Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action |
| Presented by Pax Christi International/Catholic Nonviolence Initiative |
| Presenter: Nicolás Paz (Catholic Nonviolence Initiative) and Rosie Davila (Pace e Bene/Campaign Nonviolence) |
| Coordinator: Marie Dennis |
| This workshop will share about Pax Christi International’s Catholic Nonviolence Initiative and the 2025 Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action (CNVDA), with an invitation to become involved in CNVDA at a local level in the US. In 2025, CNVDA will again join Campaign Nonviolence. Last year, as part of Campaign Nonviolence, more than 80,000 people participated in 5,329+ actions, events, and marches across the US and around the world. |
| ******************************************************************************************** |
| 6 – Protect our kids: Youth, suicide, and guns |
| Presented by the Pax Christi USA Gun Violence Prevention Working Group |
| Coordinators: Jeanne Allen, Mary Gagnon, Madeline Labriola, Mary Ellen Quinn, LCSW, and Sherry Simon, PhD |
| The United States’ suicide problem is a gun problem. This workshop will combine prayer, background information on suicide by gun in the US, statistics, personal stories, related mental health issues, and discussion around solutions to this growing public health emergency in our country. |
| ******************************************************************************************** |
| 7 – What Catholics can do to abolish nuclear weapons |
| Sponsored by the Pax Christi USA Nuclear Disarmament Working Group, organized by Nick Mele |
| Speakers: Allen Pietrobon, Denise Duffield, and Kim Bergier |
| Moderator: Camila Perez |
| This August marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Meanwhile, the nuclear powers have resumed the nuclear arms race, even as other existential threats like climate change and pandemics threaten the planet. Many US Americans feel they are powerless to effect needed change, but now is our time to stand up and demand change. This workshop provides a brief review of Catholic teaching on nuclear weapons and includes practical suggestions for Catholics to call for nuclear disarmament: from disinvestment from financial institutions and manufacturers involved in making nuclear weapons to advocacy with neighbors, bishops, and elected representatives. You will learn how you can build a more peaceful world. |
| ******************************************************************************************** |
| 8 – Resisting a surveillance state: Racism, warfare, and economic injustice powered by AI without ethics |
| Sponsored by the Pax Christi USA Young Adult Caucus, coordinated by Jessica Sun |
| Speakers: Tawana Petty, Andrea Reyes, and Jalal Abukhater |
| Moderator: Jessica Sun, Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus |
| The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is proliferating. It has become a well-known marketing term as tech CEOs, high-profile engineers, and politicians have used prophecy as advocacy for decades, funneling untold wealth and power into the hands of the few. When powerful interests frame new applications of AI as inevitable, magical, and something to be adapted to without the possibility of rectification, great damage occurs. Government officials, law enforcement agencies, armies, landlords, and employers often hide when they use AI to make decisions about healthcare, employment, public benefits, housing, police investigations, and targeting in war. In this session, three expert speakers will expound upon how AI is already being used to fuel economic injustice, conflate security and surveillance with safety, destroy democratic government decision-making, and commit flagrant violations of human rights and laws of war, as we are witnessing in Palestine/Gaza today. The speaker presentations will be followed by a panel Q&A with the audience. |
One thought on “Workshops for the 2025 Pax Christi USA national conference”