Since the beginning of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, Pax Christi USA has responded with resources for prayer, study and action aimed at lifting up the common good, sacrificing to protect the health and well-being of others, and building the solidarity that binds people together in times of crisis. Our first response to the crisis was articulated March 17, 2020 in this letter from Executive Director Johnny Zokovitch, followed by regular updates as the scope and depth of the pandemic was fully realized in the spring of 2020 (March 24, April 26, May 4). Read our work and office protocols for the national office at this link.
The Pledge to Protect Others during this pandemic
Long before the politicization of masks had reached a fever pitch, Pax Christi USA had invited people to take the “Pledge to Protect Others.” Over 2,500 people took the pledge and tens of thousands heard the message through a successful social media campaign asking people to prioritize the health and well-being of both the people they love and strangers. You can read more about that effort, started in mid-May 2020, here.
A special website was launched to lead this effort. Click here to see the Pledge to Protect website.
PRAYER
- UPDATED VERSION! A prayer for peace and solidarity in a time of pandemic, a Pax Christi USA prayer in response to the coronavirus pandemic, by Michelle Sherman. We encourage our members and others to consider using this prayer daily during the crisis. This is one way of being in solidarity with others, reciting the same words and lifting our voices together.
- A special reflection/prayer service, for the coronavirus pandemic. Click here to download a PDF copy.
- Examen for life during COVID-19, by Susan Haarman
- Full text of Pope Francis’s Urbi et orbi message from March 27, 2020.
STUDY/REFLECTION
- An Easter message, from Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., Bishop-President of Pax Christi USA
- Where do we go from here – an African American perspective, by Pearlette Springer, Pax Christi USA Anti-Racism Team
- Pandemic and privilege: U.S. policies and practices condemn our sisters and brothers to death, by Mary T. Yelenick, Pax Christi USA Anti-Racism Team member
- COVID-19: Toward authentic security rooted in nonviolence, by Marie Dennis, Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace
- We must resist the “war” on coronavirus, by Pierre Thompson, Pax Christi Northern California regional representative
- Lack of leadership means we must “speak truth to power,” by Joseph Nangle, ofm, Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace
- The Great Reveal, by Tom Cordaro, Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace
ACTION
A sampling of actions Pax Christi USA has partnered on or encouraged our membership to undertake:
- Pax Christi USA joined other sections in Pax Christi International in sending a letter to President Trump, Sec. Mnuchin and Secretary Pompeo asking that sanctions against Iran, Syria and in Gaza be suspended or eased during the pandemic; click here to read the letter, share it in your communities and leave a comment with a link to it on the White House contact page.
- Stimulus actions should be for the people, not the Pentagon
- From the Asian American Christian Collaborative: Sign the Statement on Anti-Asian Racism in the Time of COVID-19!
- From ColorOfChange: Tell ventilator manufacturers to allow hospitals to fix broken ventilators!
- From MediaJustice: Demand prison phone justice in COVID-19 relief efforts!
- From MomsRising: Protect incarcerated loved ones from COVID-19!
- From Win Without War: We Demand a Global Ceasefire! Join the UN Secretary General in calling for the nations of the world to enact a global ceasefire. Click here to add your name.
- From Faith in Action: Demand equitable access to testing, treatment and financial support!
- Pax Christi USA joins partners in urging Biden, Trump to adopt a more principled foreign policy
ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIONS WE HAVE UNDERTAKEN
For a full list of organizational actions we have taken, click here.
To see additional archived resources for prayer, study and action from throughout the pandemic, click here.