January 2024 update

Although the campaign has officially ended, we welcome any additional signatures to the bishops’ statement.

In the preamble of Jesus’ teaching of the “Golden Rule,” he poses this question, “Which of you, if your child asks for bread, will give them a stone?” (Matthew 7:9). This question frames the moral basis of Pax Christi USA’s Bread Not Stones campaign.

In 2022, we reimagined Bread Not Stones, a campaign that had been launched back in 1999, aimed at redirecting the obscene amount of money the U.S. invests in military spending to the challenges presented by the pandemic, the climate crisis, racial oppression, and economic injustice. Find the initial statement launching this campaign here.

In 2023, the Bread Not Stones campaign addressed the fact that too many Church and religious leaders of all stripes have remained silent in response to the scandal of unfettered military spending. Pax Christi’s prophetic witness has never been solely directed to the political establishment, although we continually lobby our elected officials. From the beginning, the focus of our speaking truth to power has been directed at our own faith community and our own religious establishment. Not to condemn, judge or vilify, but to challenge and insist on a commitment to the Church’s social vision and to an authentic witness to the Gospel of Jesus. 

The teachings of the Church are clear regarding the issue of military spending and funding human need. From the beginning of the modern era of Catholic Social Teaching, the Church has warned about the dangers of unfettered spending on weapons and preparations for war.

As St. Pope John Paul II reminds us in his 1991 encyclical, Centesimus Annus, 

“Enormous resources can be made available by disarming the huge military machines which were constructed for the conflict between East and West. … But it will be necessary above all to abandon a mentality in which the poor – as individuals and as people – are considered a burden, as irksome intruders trying to consume what others have produced.”

The primary focus of our 2023 Bread Not Stones Campaign was the Catholic bishops of the United States. We will continue to lobby Congress, but in 2023 our advocacy was directed to our bishops across the country. Specifically, we invited our local bishops to add their names to the Pax Christi USA Bread Not Stones bishop sign-on statement.

By inviting our bishops to add their names to this sign-on statement, we hope to begin a larger conversation in the Church around the connections between issues of war and peace, nuclear deterrence, nonviolence, and economic justice.

Our sign-on statement was written to make it easy for any bishop who is committed to the teachings of Catholic Church and sacred scripture to sign. It highlights the teachings of popes and Vatican II, and it is framed by quotes from scripture.

Take action: Ask your bishop(s) to sign on!

Read the bishops’ sign-on statement at this link. See the names of the bishops who signed on!

Contact your bishop(s) by letter or email or set up a meeting with them to introduce them to the statement and ask that they sign on!

During this time, we’ll be adding new signers onto the statement on our webpage and giving updates to our national network.

For the weekend of Epiphany (January 6, 2024), we’ll provide a prayer service resource for you to celebrate your diocese’s participation in the sign-on statement, publicly thank your bishop(s), and raise awareness regarding the goals of the Bread Not Stones campaign and your diocese’s commitment. We’ll also outline follow-up steps for which you can use the statement to raise awareness, lobby your elected officials, and take additional actions leading up to the announcement of the 2024 federal budget.

BREAD NOT STONES Toolkit:

  • Bread of Life ritual by Nancy Small, Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace. This ritual can be performed virtually or in person. Materials needed may include stones, table/altar, tablecloth, and bread.
  • Resources for prayer and direct action by Tom Cordaro, Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace. This document contains several resources that you can use for prayer services, during Masses, and at public demonstrations, rallies, and vigils in your community. Feel free to adapt these resources as needed.
  • Talking points for legislative visits. This document contains information on what our primary asks for and how to invite their support for the People Over Pentagon Act of 2022. Feel free to adapt these resources as needed.

Resources and partner organizations:

Press coverage:

Past Bread Not Stones activity:

In March 2023, we joined with more than 60 other faith based groups to send a message to Congress to urge dramatic cuts to military spending in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget — both to facilitate reinvestment in the wellbeing of our communities, and to curtail the harms of our militarized foreign policy. Use this link to read the letter.

2022 DAYS OF ACTION: SEPTEMBER 19-26

>> More than 25 actions across 18 states took place during the September Days of Action. Click here for a recap. Find a full report-back in the Fall 2022 issue of The Peace Current here.

View photos from the Days of Action here.

Join us in committing to these days of action for the Bread Not Stones campaign, September 19-25, 2022. Sign-up here to receive more information. (NOTE: If you already signed on when we issued the statement in the spring, no need to sign on again.) More materials will be made available to help you organize in the coming weeks around these three components of the campaign:

  • Legislative visits September 19-23
  • Day of public action, September 24
  • Parish outreach, September 25