On September 16, Pax Christi USA 2016 Teacher of Peace Art Laffin, Ambassadors of Peace Bob Cooke and Scott Wright, National Council member Frank Panapoulos, and several others held a nonviolent witness outside the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD during the annual Air Force Association (AFA) “Air-Space-Cyber Conference and Technology Exposition,” also known as the “Arms Bazaar.” (One significant piece of news from this year’s gathering is that Air Force Secretary Troy Meink confirmed for the first time that the US has deployed weapons in space.)
The prayerful witness, organized by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and co-sponsored by Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore and Pax Christi USA, was held in solidarity with all who are participating in the Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action (September 21-October 2).
The participants acted in solidarity with other groups, including Priests Against Genocide and Doctors Against Genocide, who recently unveiled a 330-foot memorial “Gaza Children’s Shroud” at the Church Center for the United Nations across from UN headquarters, with the names of 20,000 children killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
The witness, held across the street from main entrance of the convention center, was visible to many weapons contractors and soldiers attending the Arms Bazaar who were on their lunch break, some of whom spoke with the demonstrators; several expressed their support for the vigil. Holding banners and signs, the witness participants sang, prayed, read a statement of purpose, reflected on the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., read from the Bible, and recited a litany of repentance.
“In these perilous times,” said Art Laffin, “let us live in the hope that Jesus offers: ‘All things are possible for the one who has faith.’ (Mark 9:23) Hope abounds in the actions of countless people in the US and worldwide who are seeking to make God’s reign of justice, love and peace a reality. Let us redouble our efforts and do all we can to resist the forces and systems of violence, racism, oppression and death and witness to the God of Life and Love as we strive to create the Beloved Community.”
Statement-response for 2026 Arms Bazaar Prayer Service
From September 14-16, 2026, the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center is once again playing host to the Air Force Association (AFA) “Air-Space-Cyber Conference and Technology Exposition,” what we call an “Arms Bazaar.” Guided by the theme, “Advancing Air & Space Dominance: An Urgent Call to Build and Sustain the Forces,” the 2026 Air, Space & Cyber Conference has spent the last two days focusing how the United States is building and sustaining the airpower and space-power capabilities needed to meet today’s threats—and stay ahead of tomorrows. According to the AFA web site: “AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference provides first-class professional military development, facilitates sharing of emerging requirements and technologies, and helps fuel connections that advance the cause of air and space power. There are nearly 300 exhibition booths at this year’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference.
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
The US is the #1 arms dealer worldwide. The US supplied 42 percent of all international arms transfers in 2021–25, up from 36 percent in 2016–20. The US exported arms to 99 states in 2021–25, including 35 states in Europe, 18 in the Americas, 17 in Africa, 17 in Asia and Oceania and 12 in the Middle East. For the first time in two decades, the largest share of U.S. arms exports went to Europe (38 percent) rather than the Middle East (33 percent). Nevertheless, the top single recipient of US arms was Saudi Arabia (12 percent of US arms exports.
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
Exhibitors taking part in this year’s Arms Bazaar play a prominent role in US warmaking and global military intervention, including in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. Weapons contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and BAE, are profiting from war and literally are making a killing! But that’s not all. The Pentagon, in concert with numerous arms dealers, are committed to US nuclear/military/cyber superiority and militarizing and controlling space.
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
We decry the Trump Administration’s “Golden Dome for America” which is a major US multi-layered homeland missile defense initiative that relies heavily on a cutting-edge space-based sensor and interceptor network. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the “Golden Dome for America” (GDA) missile defense program will cost $1.2 trillion to develop, deploy, and operate over a 20-year period.
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
During its three-day Arms Bazaar, the AFA will hold 40 forums addressing how the US can refine its war-making apparatus and cyber capability so it can dominate earth and space. Additionally, there will be two gala banquets.
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
We decry the AFA Arms Bazaar for what it is: a scandalous affront to God, a theft from the poor, and a threat to people and the environment throughout the world!
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
On January 27 of this year, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists “Doomsday Clock” was reset to 85 seconds before midnight, the closest it’s ever been to global catastrophe, due to threats posed by nuclear weapons, climate crisis, artificial intelligence, conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and other perils. https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
According to ICAN, in 2025, the nine nuclear-armed states spent $16.8 billion (19 percent) more on their nuclear arsenals than the year before, a total of $119 billion, or $3,768 per second on nuclear weapons. The US had the biggest increase from 2024-2025, at $12.4 billion, and spent more than all of the other nuclear-armed states combined, at $69.2 billion. China remained second, at $13.5 billion, and the United Kingdom came in third, spending $12.6 billion.
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
The nuclear threat is further exacerbated by recent threats against Iran by President Trump, including to “blast Iran into oblivion” and “back to the Stone Ages,” and warned: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
As a leading nuclear superpower, the US practices a double standard by calling on other nations to disarm while, at the same time, it refuses to disarm and instead is rapidly expanding its own arsenal. Moreover, the Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review includes planning for limited nuclear war by developing low-yield nuclear weapons.
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
The US government is now continuing a several decades long process to modernize its nuclear arsenal at a cost of nearly $1 trillion. Instead of funding vital human needs programs, this exorbitant expenditure (along with the $1.5 trillion 2027 military budget) constitutes a direct theft from the poor! The US, along with the eight other nuclear nations, refuses to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) which now deems nuclear weapons illegal under international law. To date, 75 nations have ratified the TPNW.
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
In his recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV condemned the increasing pervasiveness of the military industrial complex in our society and the use of AI in war. “AI does not remove the intrinsic inhumanity of conflict; indeed it can only bring about conflict more quickly and render it more impersonal, lowering the threshold for resorting to violence, transforming defense into threat prediction and thus reducing victims to data,” the pontiff wrote. [198.]
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries at an unprecedented pace, and the business of warfare is no exception. AI-enabled weapons are reshaping modern warfare with significant implications for strategic planning, and battlefield operations. This concern is not just theoretical. Militaries are rapidly integrating artificial intelligence into the making of life-and-death decisions: whom to target, what force to use, and how to weigh the expected harm to civilians. The adoption of AI in the military domain is now a global phenomenon, evident in the conduct of parties to armed conflict, in the priorities of major military powers, and in the investments of many other states.
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
In its immoral and illegal US-Israeli war against Iran, the Pentagon has relied on artificial intelligence in its operations. The system, known as Project Maven, relied on technology by Palantir and also incorporated the AI model Claude built by Anthropic. Israel has used similar AI targeting programs in Iran, as well as in its genocidal war in Gaza and assault in Lebanon. Craig Jones, an expert on modern warfare, says AI technology is helping militaries speed up the “kill chain,” the process of identifying, approving and striking targets.
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
AI technology also increases the risk of nuclear war. A study by King’s College London published earlier this year revealed that AI models used in 21 simulated nuclear crises escalated the conflict by threatening nuclear war in 95 percent of 329 turns of play.
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
Pope Francis declared: “War is a sacrilege. Let us stop fueling it.” People of faith and goodwill cannot allow killing, war, genocide, nuclear weapons, death-dealing technologies and idols of death to be normalized. We need to reject ideologies and theologies that support Christian nationalism, systemic racism and oppression, violence of any kind, killing, military occupation and intervention, war, genocide and even omnicide. And we need to adopt nonviolence practices, as many are doing today, as a primary means to respond to conflict, to resist systemic violence and injustice, and as an alternative to militarized-based national security. History is replete with powerful examples of how nonviolent resistance and nonviolent civilian defense have been used to counteract state-violence, aggression and authoritarian rule, thus resulting in transformative change.
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
In his Magnifica Humanitas Pope Leo encouraged people of goodwill to continue actively resisting war and injustice: “Even in the darkest nights, the Lord raises up men and women who refuse to give up, who persevere in doing good, who protect the vulnerable and open pathways to reconciliation. The memory of the saints, righteous people and the oft-forgotten peacemakers, show us that grace does not magically eliminate conflict, but instead it inspires active resistance to evil and an astonishing creativity in doing good.” [Id.–211]
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
Let us continue to do all we can to establish the Beloved Community, end the climate crisis and create a world free of nuclear and conventional weapons and war. In the name of God, who commands us to love and not to kill and to beat all the swords (weapons) of our time into plowshares, in the name of Jesus, who calls us to be peacemakers and people of total nonviolence, it’s time to end the AFA Arms Bazaar, abolish war, and establish a disarmed world! Please join with us and all peacemakers who say YES to Life and a resounding NO to the merchants of death and war profiteers.
Response: God commands us not to kill and to beat swords Into plowshares. Resist the AFA Arms Bazaar—disarm now!
The above report ideally should appear reprinted on the editorial page of The New York Times and in every parish bulletin, neither of which will happen, especially the latter. At every Saturday evening or Sunday Mass we hear the mantra “pray for our troops” without thinking that those same troops are the users of the demonic weapons we produce. Our American Catholic Church (not to mention almost all other churches and synagogues) are complicit in this perverse military-industrial enterprise. So forget the propaganda that young people are flocking to the Church once again; the young adults who THINK see through the hypocrisy of our male-dominated church hierarchy whose outdated cold-war mentality has shamefully infected the cohort of recently ordained priests. Holy Mother Church has become Big Daddy Church.
David-Ross Gerling, PhD