Catholic C o n t r i buti o n s t o

I n t ern ati o n a lPe a c e

B r i e f l y. . .

• Re l ig ious org a n i z a t io ns are ma k i ng important cont r i b u t io ns to int e r na t io nal peacemak i ng. The styles of such peacema k i ng are de p e nde nt on the theology and tra d i t io n

of the re l ig ious bodies involved. 

• Despite the critic i s ms that have been leveled at the Roman Catho l ic Chu rch for no t

c o nt r i b u t i ng to peace ade q uately at the time of the Holocaust and the ge no c ide in

R w a nda, the Catho l ic Chu rch, both in the United States and worldw ide, has an impre ssive re c o rd of peacema k i ng initiatives and accomplishme nt s.

• The Catho l ic vision of peace consists of (1) hu man rig ht s, (2) de v e l o p me nt, (3) solidar i t y, and (4) world orde r, but until re c e ntly has placed less emphasis on conflic t

re s o l u t ion and tra ns fo r ma t ion. 

• Va t ican pro no u nc e me nts have given mo re attent ion in re c e nt years to no n - v io l e nc e

a nd downplayed just-war ana l y s i s. 

• Fo l l o w i ng Vat ican II (1962–65), the establishme nt of bishops’ confere nces thro u g hout the world and the establishme nt of justice and peace commissio ns have enhanc e d

t he chu rch’s ability to pro mote conflict re s o l u t io n .

• Pope John Paul II has played an unpre c e de nted role in pro mo t i ng peace and justic e

in count r ies like Lebanon, Po l a nd, and Haiti. Ind i v idual bishops like Bishop Samu e l

Ruiz in Mex ico, Bishop Belo in East Timo r, Arc h b i s hop Mo ns w e ngo in Congo, and

Pat r ia rch Mic hel Sabbah in Jerusalem have all played sig n i f ic a nt roles in their count r ies in pro mo t i ng peace with justic e. 

• Deeply affected by the Rwandan ge no c ide, Catho l ic Relief Servic e s, based in the Un i ted States but opera t i ng int e r na t io na l l y, now assesses a project’s impact on justice and

peace as one important ind icator of the project’s value.

• Sa nt ’ E g id io, a Catho l ic lay org a n i z a t ion based in Rome with an Ame r ican bra nch, has

made dra ma t ic int e r v e nt io ns to pro mote peace in Mo z a m b i q u e, Burundi, Congo, Alger ia, Kosovo, and elsewhe re. Its peacema k i ng style is deeply rooted in Catho l ic tra d it ion and the o l o g y. 

w w w. u s i p . o rg

S P E C I A L R E P O R T

1200 17th Street NW • Washington, DC 20036 • 202.457.1700 • fax 202.429.6063

April 9, 2001

AB O U T T H E RE P O R T

T he United States Institute of Peace launc hed its

R e l ig ion and Pe a c e ma k i ng Initiative in July 2000,

b u i l d i ng on ex p e r ie nce gained from an earlie r

I nstitute pro g ram entitled Relig ion, Ethic s, and

Hu man Rig ht s. This new initiative endeavors to

a id Ame r ican re l ig ious org a n i z a t io ns in being

more active and mo re effective as int e r na t io na l

p e a c e ma ke r s. 

O ne compone nt of this initiative has been the

o rg a n i z a t ion of a series of workshops on the

p e a c e ma k i ng activities of various Ame r ican re l ig ious commu n i t ie s. A workshop on Me n no n i t e

p e a c e ma k i ng was held in No v e m b e r. In December

a workshop ex p l o red the sources of conflict re s ol u t ion in Judaism. On February 5 the initia t i v e

o rganized a workshop on Catho l ic peacema k i ng .

T he purpose was to ex p l o re the peacema k i ng

a c t i v i t ies of key Catho l ic org a n i z a t io ns and to

ex p l icate the distinctively Catho l ic na t u re of

p e a c e ma k i ng by these and other Catho l ic org a n iz a t io ns. The discussion focused on the Va t ic a n ,

t he U.S. Confere nce of Catho l ic Bisho p s, Catho l ic

R e l ief Servic e s, and the lay org a n i z a t io n

S a nt ’ E g id io .

This Special Report summarizes the 

p re s e nt a t io ns at that workshop. It has been prep a red by David Smock, director of the Relig io n

a nd Pe a c e ma k i ng Initia t i v e.

The views ex p ressed in this report do not 

necessarily reflect those of the United States

Institute of Pe a c e, which does not 

a d vocate specific policies.

UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEAC E

CO N T E N T S

I nt ro duc t io n 2

C a t ho l ic Pe a c e ma k i ng 3

C a t ho l ic Relief Servic e s 9

S a nt ’ E g id io 1 0

C o nc l u s io n1 1
I n t ro d u c t i o n

R e l ig ious org a n i z a t io ns have ma de important cont r i b u t io ns to int e r na t io nal peace. The

All Africa Confere nce of Chu rc hes jointly with the World Council of Chu rc hes me d i t a t e d

t he Addis Ababa agre e me nt in 1972 that bro u g ht peace to Sudan for several years. Ame rican Me n nonites me d iated an agre e me nt in the 1980s between the Nic a ra g ua go v e r nment and a rebel mo v e me nt on the East Coast of Nic a ra g ua. The Catho l ic lay org a n i z a t io n

S a nt ’ E g id io facilitated the me d ia t ion that bro u g ht the Mozambique civil war to an end

in 1992. Beyond these hig h - p rofile me d ia t ion efforts are a mu l t i t ude of activities promot i ng post-conflict re c o nc i l ia t ion and int e r faith dia l o g u e, particularly in zones of re l ig ious conflict. For ins t a nc e, the World Confere nce on Relig ion and Pe a c e, aided by the

U.S. Institute of Peace and the U.S. ambassador to Au s t r ia at the time, Swanee Hu nt ,

helped form the important Int e r - R e l ig ious Council of Bosnia at the end of the war in

B o s n ia in 1997.

As part of the Institute’s effort to enhance the capability of Ame r ican fa i t h - b a s e d

o rg a n i z a t io ns to contribute to int e r na t io nal peace, the Institute’s Relig ion and Pe a c emak i ng Initiative has organized a series of workshops on the peacema k i ng activities of

p a r t icular faith commu n i t ie s. The first workshop focused on Me n nonite peacema k i ng and

p e a c e b u i l d i ng, based on the re c e nt public a t ion of a book (aided by an Institute gra nt )

e ntitled From the Ground Up: Mennonite Contributions to International Pe a c e b u i l d i n g ,

edited by Cynt h ia Sampson and John Paul Lede rach. Me n nonite peacema k i ng is guide d

in a very funda me ntal ma n ner by the Anabaptist tra d i t ion of pacifism and the Me n nonite convic t ion that to be a peacema ker is the most funda me ntal re l ig ious injunc t io n .

T he stories of Me n nonite peacema k i ng related in the workshop as well as in the book

revealed a pattern of deep personal commitme nt and of peacema k i ng activities that

req u i re cons ide rable personal sacrifice on the part of the Me n nonite activists. Me n nonites sent abroad on peacema k i ng missio ns ge ne rally commit the mselves to live in the

des ig nated conflict zone for several years. The ex p e c t a t ion is that any peace initia t i v e

will be based on great sensitivity to the cultural and historical cont ext and the utilizat ion of local re s o u rc e s, to help build local ins t i t u t io ns and enhance local peacebuilding

c a p a c i t ie s. Although the re have been some ins t a nces of high-level Me n nonite me d ia t io n ,

t heir particular emphasis is on peacebuilding and re c o nc i l ia t ion at middle and lower strata of the socie t ies with which they are eng a ge d, leaving the high-level ne go t ia t io ns to

o t he r s. 

T he second workshop focused on sources of conflict re s o l u t ion within Judaism. The

p r i ncipal pre s e nter was Rabbi Ma rc Gopin, whose book on this topic, Between Eden and

Armageddon: The Future of World Religions, Violence, and Pe a c e m a k i n g , ex p l o res the s e

issues in depth. The complexity and subtlety of his arg u me nt de f ies simple ge ne ra l i z at io ns, but his analysis builds on the importance of loss and mo u r n i ng within Juda i s m

a nd the basis this pro v ides for empathy for the losses and mo u r n i ng of “the othe r.” He

asserts that “a ny Jewish me t ho dology of conflict re s o l u t ion would have to focus on

honor and the necessary eng a ge me nt with the face of the ene my, on both the elite level

a nd on the gra s s roots level.” He also points out the importance of “the ethical ge s t u re, ”

p a r t icularly when it re s p o nds to the losses and the mo u r n i ng of the other side. He go e s

on to emphasize the importance of the fo l l o w i ng ra b b i n ic values: involveme nt in the suff e r i ng of others in the commu n i t y, taking re s p o nsibility to heal that suffering, social just ic e, cons t r uctive social criticism, and the ma ndate to seek out other people’s conflic t s

to solve.

T he third workshop focused on Catho l ic peacema k i ng. The Roman Catho l ic Chu rch has

been criticized by some for not cont r i b u t i ng to peace in ways it mig ht have du r i ng suc h

t i mes of crisis as the Holocaust and the Rwanda ge no c ide. This workshop ex p l o red the

s ig n i f ic a nt cont r i b u t io ns that the Catho l ic Chu rch h a s ma de to int e r na t io nal peace and

t he distinctively Catho l ic approach to peacema k i ng .

2

AB O U T T H E IN S T I T U T E

T he United States Institute of Peace is an

i nde p e nde nt, nonpartisan fede ral ins t i t u t io n

c reated by Cong ress to pro mote re s e a rc h ,

e duc a t ion, and tra i n i ng on the pre v e nt io n ,

ma na ge me nt, and re s o l u t ion of int e r na t io na l

c o n f l ic t s. Established in 1984, the Ins t i t u t e

meets its cong re s s io nal ma ndate through an

a r ray of pro g ra ms, inc l ud i ng re s e a rch gra nt s,

f e l l o w s h i p s, prof e s s io nal tra i n i ng pro g ra ms,

c o n f e re nces and worksho p s, library servic e s,

p u b l ic a t io ns, and other educ a t io nal activitie s.

T he Institute’s Board of Directors is appoint e d

by the Pre s ide nt of the United States and

c o n f i r med by the Sena t e.

BOA R D O F DI R E C TO R S

Chester A. Cro c ker ( C h a i r man), Ja mes R. Schlesinge r

P rofessor of Stra t e g ic Stud ie s, School of Fore ign Servic e,

G e o rgetown University • S eymour Martin Lipset ( V ic e

C h a i r man), Hazel Professor of Public Po l ic y, George

Mason University • Betty F. Bumpers, P re s ide nt, Pe a c e

L i n k s, Wa s h i ngton, D.C. • Holly J. Burkhalter, Ad v o -

cacy Dire c t o r, Phy s ic ia ns for Human Rig ht s, Wa s h i ng t o n ,

D.C. • Zalmay Khalilzad, RAND Corpora t ion, Wa s h i ngton, D.C. • M a rc E. Leland, Esq., Pre s ide nt, Ma rc E.

L e l a nd & As s o c ia t e s, Arlington, Va. • M o ra L. McLean,

Esq., Pre s ide nt, Afric a - A me r ica Ins t i t u t e, New York, N.Y.

• María Otero , P re s ide nt, AC C ION Int e r na t io na l ,

S o me r v i l l e, Ma s s. • B a r b a ra W. Snelling, State Sena t o r

a nd fo r mer Lie u t e na nt Governo r, She l b u r ne, Vt.

• S h i b l ey Te l h a m i , A nwar Sadat Chair for Peace and

D e v e l o p me nt, University of Ma r y l a nd 

• Harriet Zimmerman, V ice Pre s ide nt, Ame r ican Is ra e l

P u b l ic Affairs Committee, Wa s h i ngton, D.C.

ME M B E R S E XO F F I C I O

Paul G. Gaffney II, V ice Adm i ral, U.S. Navy; Pre s ide nt ,

Nat io nal Defense Un i v e r s i t y • Colin L. Powell, S e c re t a r y

of State • Donald H. Rumsfeld, S e c retary of Defense 

• R i c h a rd H. Solomon, P re s ide nt, United States 

I nstitute of Peace (no n v o t i ng)
Catholic Pe a c e m a k i n g

T he workshop on Catho l ic peacema k i ng consisted of three pre s e nt a t io ns and discussio n .

T he cent e r p iece was a paper by Rev. Drew Christia nsen, SJ, of Woodstock The o l o g ic a l

C e nter and the U.S. Confere nce of Catho l ic Bisho p s, entitled “Catho l ic Pe a c e ma k i ng :

F rom Pacem in terris t o Centesimus annus.” Ac c o rd i ng to Father Christia nsen, it is hard

to ide ntify the precise starting point of mo dern Catho l ic peacema k i ng. Offic ial re c ko ni ng assig ns credit to Pope Bene d ict XV for his efforts to end the First World Wa r. To Bened ict, we owe the phra s e, “Never again war, war never again,” ma de fa mous by Pope Pa u l

VI’s 1965 address befo re the United Na t io ns, and repeated by Pope John Paul II on seve ral occasio ns. But Bene d ict’s overtures were dismissed by the great powers, partly

because his proposals did not fit their int e re s t s, partly because they suspected his symp a t h ies with Catho l ic Au s t r ia, and partly because the pope himself was still a prisone r

in the Va t ican with re duced political influenc e. Other observers would place the starti ng point with Pope Pius XII. As a fo r mer diplomat, Pius took exc e p t io nal int e rest in

i nt e r na t io nal affa i r s, pro moted Catho l ic int e r na t io nalism, and played a sig n i f ic a nt ro l e

in Cold War politic s.

O ne could argue that the true starting point came with Pope John XXIII. Not only

d id he play an active and a positive role in perhaps the most da nge rous of post-war conf ro nt a t io ns, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, but Pope John also issued an enc y c l ic a l

letter on peace that for the first time elaborated Catho l ic teaching on the matter in a

s u s t a i ned way. Pacem in terris ( “ Peace on Earth,” 1963) had sig n i f ic a nt influence on the

a p p roach of the Second Va t ican Council (1962–65) to eng a ge me nt in the world. It also

p ro v ided the mo t i v a t ion for the most sustained Catho l ic cont r i b u t ion to post-conc i l ia r

p e a c e ma k i ng, na me l y, the chu rch’s de f e nse of hu man rig hts as the fo u nda t ion of peace.

In 1973 when Chilean pre s ide nt Salvador Allende was overthrown by a bloody military

coup, John’s teaching on hu man rig hts would become the conc e p t ual basis for establ i s h me nt of the first major Catho l ic hu man rig hts of f ic e, orig i nally called the Committee

for Pe a c e, and later the Vic a r iat for Solida r i t y, under the auspices of the Arc h d iocese of

S a nt ia go de Chile. In add i t ion, Pacem in terris, published only mo nt hs befo re Jo h n

XXIII’s death, received an inc redibly warm re c e p t ion from the no n - C a t ho l ic, secular

w o r l d. The Center for the Study of Demo c ra t ic Ins t i t u t io ns, for exa m p l e, celebrated the

e nc y c l ical with qua dre n n ial confere nces by the same na me for two de c a de s.

D u r i ng the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Ke n ne dy White House was looking for back channels to commu n icate with Soviet pre m ier Nikita Khrushche v. After a request from the

White Ho u s e, Pope John sent a sig nal to Pre m ier Khrushche v — w h ich given the circ u ms t a nces today sounds vague and convoluted—but Khrushchev welcomed the me ss a ge, and began his mo v e me nt back from the brink. Some days later, re f l e c t i ng with his

p hy s ic ian on the state of the world, Pope John shared his dream of writing an enc y c l ical on peace. It was to be the last major act of his pont i f ic a t e. Less than a year later

he was dead of stomach cancer detected du r i ng the phy s ical exam that November da y.

T he re ma i nder of Christia nsen’s pre s e nt a t ion falls into two parts. The first is an ex p os i t ion of the Catho l ic vision of peace. This quick tour d’horizon helps de f i ne what is dist i nctive about Catho l ic peacema k i ng and points up at least one major weakness as well

as sig n i f ic a nt stre ng t hs. The second part deals with of f ic ial Catho l ic peacema k i ng ,

u nderstood as the peace work of the pope, the Va t ican, episcopal confere nc e s, and ind iv idual bisho p s. The subtitle for Father Christia nsen’s paper, “From Pacem in terris to C e ntesimus annus,” is sho r t h a nd to encompass the re c e nt history of Catho l ic social teaching

a nd pra x i s. Pacem in terris, of course, re p re s e nts John XXIII’s cont r i b u t ion to teaching

on peace and the praxis of hu man rig hts; Centesimus annus ( “ T he Hu ndre dth Anniversary of Rerum novarum,” 1991) re p re s e nts Pope John Paul II’s ex t ra o rd i nary role in Eastern Europe and his positive endo r s e me nt of no n - v io l e nce in the enc y c l ical of that na me,

o ne of the great “secrets” of cont e m p o rary Catho l icism. 

3

Pope John XXIII issued an

e n cyclical letter on peace that

for the first time elabora t e d

Catholic teaching on the matter

in a sustained wa y.
The Catholic Vision of Pe a c e

F a t her Christia nsen begins with Pope John XXIII and Pacem in terris b e c a u s e, as Catho l ic

t e a c h i ng ins i s t s, peace is not the me re absence of war, nor even the avoida nce of war.

Peace is the positive re a l i z a t ion of the dignity of the whole hu man fa m i l y. The Catho l ic

v i s ion of peace consists of several cons t r uctive compone nt s, the first of which is hu ma n

r ig ht s. By cont rast with some other re l ig ious tra d i t io ns pre s e nted in the Institute’s serie s

of worksho p s, with their emphasis on conflict re s o l u t ion and conflict tra ns fo r ma t ion, the

modern Catho l ic social tra d i t ion emphasizes the positive cont e nt of peace. While in the

35 years since the conc l u s ion of the Second Va t ican Council, Catho l ic peacema k i ng has

c o me to recognize the importance of no n - v io l e nc e, and indeed to fo r mally adopt no n -

v io l e nce in sig n i f ic a nt ways, its own theory of conflict re s o l u t ion re ma i ns re l a t i v e l y

u nde rdeveloped as compared to its positive teaching on peace. The para dox ical result of

a stro ng positive do c t r i ne of peace and a less articulated do c t r i ne of conflict re s o l u t io n

is that even as chu rch leaders are thrown into the role of na t io nal conc i l iators because

of the credibility they have won on the basis of their work for peace in fields like hu ma n

r ig hts and de v e l o p me nt, they find the mselves bereft of tools and support as the y

attempt to exe rcise their re s p o ns i b i l i t ies in conflict re s o l u t ion. We return to this paradox at the conc l u s ion in the discussion of the role of bishops in conc i l ia t ion and me d ia t io n .

T he Catho l ic vision of peace consists of four eleme nts: (1) hu man rig ht s, (2) de v e lo p me nt, (3) solida r i t y, and (4) world orde r. Pacem in terris re - c o nceived the whole of

C a t ho l ic political theology in terms of hu man rig ht s. The common good was re de f i ned as

t he “objective re c o g n i t ion, respect, safegua rd i ng and pro mo t ion of the rig hts of the

human person.” The enc y c l ical de c l a red that upho l d i ng the common good so conc e i v e d

was the goal of all public autho r i t y. In so do i ng, it pre p a red the way for no t io ns of

huma n i t a r ian int e r v e nt ion as part of what mig ht be called Catho l ic cosmopolitanism, the

v iew that in int e r na t io nal affairs the rig hts of persons take priority over the rig hts of

s t a t e s. Above and beyond the good of ind i v idual political commu n i t ies and int e r na t io nal re l a t io ns, Pacem in terris also ide nt i f ied “the universal common good” and called fo r

t ra ns na t io nal ins t i t u t io ns to address global pro b l e ms. Two years after the release of

Pacem in terris t he Va t ican Council de c l a red that the pro mo t ion of hu man rig hts was one

of the three ways in which the chu rch served the world. 

A second eleme nt of the Catho l ic unde r s t a nd i ng of peace is the value of int e g ral or

a u t he nt ic dev e l o p me nt. Set forth in the council’s Gaudium et spes ( “ T he Pa s t o ral Cons t it u t ion on the Chu rch and Mo dern Wo r l d,” 1965), Pope Paul VI’s Populorum progressio

( “ D e v e l o p me nt of Pe o p l e s,” 1968), John Paul II’s Sollicitudo rei socialis (“On Social Concern,” 1988), and somewhat less ex t e nsively in Centesimus annus ( note 52), the idea of

a u t he nt ic dev e l o p me nt consists of three points: (1) the rig ht of all people to the me a ns

for their full de v e l o p me nt as hu man being s, (2) the pro p o s i t ion that authe nt ic hu ma n

dev e l o p me nt consists of mo re than econo m ic pro g re s s, and (3) the affirma t ion that the

a f f l u e nt nat io ns of the world have an oblig a t ion to share the benefits of de v e l o p me nt

with the poor, not just through aid, but also through struc t u ral econo m ic changes suc h

as equity in tra de re form. The no t ion that “de v e l o p me nt is the new na me for peace”

appears as a summary tagline in Pope Paul VI’s Populorum progressio. It is re - a r t ic u l a ted in C e n t e s i m u s, w he re Pope John Paul II pre s e nts de v e l o p me nt as an alternative to war

in two sens e s. First, de v e l o p me nt addresses some of the long s t a nd i ng causes of war; and

s e c o nd, chu rch leaders hope that “a concerted worldw ide campaign for de v e l o p me nt” will

p ro v ide what William Ja mes called “a mo ral alternative to war,” a high cause that can

be widely shared and for which people will ma ke cons ide rable sacrific e s.

T he third compone nt of the Catho l ic idea of peace is solida r i t y. In Catho l ic social theo l o g y, solidarity is a very rich and complex concept. Basic a l l y, it consists of active comm i t me nt to the belief that under God we belong to one hu man fa m i l y. It has ma ny

a p p l ic a t io ns in various cont exts and for various classes of age nts: for the poor, for work4

The Catholic vision of peace

consists of seve ral constructive

c o m p o n e n t s, the first of which

is human rights.

Its theory of conflict 

resolution remains re l a t i ve l y

u n d e rd eveloped as compared to

its positive teaching on peace.

C h u rch leaders . . . find

t h e m s e l ves bereft of tools and

support as they attempt to

exe rcise their responsibilities in

conflict re s o l u t i o n .

“ d evelopment is the new

name for peace” 

In Catholic social theology,

solidarity . . . consists of active

commitment to the belief that

under God we belong to one

human fa m i l y.
e r s, for affluent count r ie s, between classes, between na t io ns, and so on. Within the

c hu rch, solidarity has special re f e re nce to the ties that bind chu rc hes in one part of the

world to chu rc hes and people in other re g io ns and cont i ne nt s. Thu s, the chu rch in the

United States exe rcises solidarity in the re p re s e nt a t io ns it ma kes to go v e r n me nts on

behalf of the chu rch in Congo, or Gua t e mala, or Lebanon with respect to conflict re s ol u t ion, re - de v e l o p me nt, and other post-conflict polic ie s. Solidarity is manifest in public

life as well, unde rg i rd i ng, for exa m p l e, citizens’ pleas to go v e r n me nts for debt canc e l l at ion or for re s t r uc t u r i ng tra de.

F u r t he r mo re, the Second Va t ican Council de c l a red that a second way in which the

c hu rch served hu manity was in fo s t e r i ng the unity of the hu man commu n i t y, a task

w h ich is funda me ntal to the chu rch’s own ide nt i t y. Because of this commitme nt to the

unity of the hu man fa m i l y, chu rch do c u me nts were amo ng the first to recognize the

t re nds toward int e rde p e nde nce and globalization. The chu rch, to the cons t e r na t ion of

s o me politically active Ame r ican Catho l ic s, has tended to be int e r na t io nalist in its outlook, to support the United Na t io ns system, and to search for new me c h a n i s ms to me e t

global pro b l e ms.

F a t her Christia nsen notes that the fourth eleme nt in the Catho l ic vision of peace consists in its teaching on world orde r, which focuses on issues of the bre a kdown of orde r.

Over the past 20 years, the chu rch has conde m ned nuclear war-fig ht i ng and ma de the

e l i m i na t ion of nuclear weapons a goal for an ethical military polic y. In a dra ma t ic shift,

more o v e r, the chu rch has moved from simply pra i s i ng the pra c t i t io ners of no n - v io l e nc e

to espousing no n - v io l e nce as the funda me ntal Christian re s p o nse to conflict. Reflecting

on the events of 1989 in Eastern Euro p e, Pope John Paul II wrote: “I pray the exa m p l e

[ of active no n - v io l e nt resisters in Eastern Europe] will prevail in other places and in

o t her circ u ms t a nc e s. May people learn to fig ht for justice without vio l e nc e, re no u nc i ng

class struggle in their int e r na t io nal disputes, and war in int e r na t io nal one s.” The Ho l y

F a t her is clear that no n - v io l e nt activists who accept their sufferings in imitation of

Christ are “able to accomplish the miracle of peace and [are] in a position to discern

t he often na r row path between the coward ice which gives into evil and the vio l e nc e

w h ich, under the illusion of fig ht i ng evil, only ma kes it worse. ”

T he espousal of no n - v io l e nce has me a nt a do w n p l a y i ng of just-war analysis in Va t ican pro no u nc e me nt s, though it still utilizes the just-war criteria in criticism of acts of

war the Holy See re g a rds as immo ral. In princ i p l e, ho w e v e r, the chu rch cont i nues to

a dmit of a limited just use of arms when no n - v io l e nce fa i l s. In pra c t ic e, ho w e v e r, it

appears to re g a rd “hu ma n i t a r ian int e r v e nt ion” as the sole re ma i n i ng “just cause,” and

even then is quite reserved about the me a ns to be utilized in de f e nse of the inno c e nt .

F i na l l y, because of their harmful effects on large civilian populatio ns, as in Iraq and

Cuba, the chu rch has been highly critical of the use of sanc t io ns as a tool of coerc i v e

d i p l o macy and a supposed alternative to war.

To sum up, the Catho l ic vision of peace is primarily a positive one, fo c u s i ng on the

p ro mo t ion and de f e nse of hu man rig ht s, collabora t ion in authe nt ic de v e l o p me nt, buildi ng bonds of solidarity amo ng people, and cons t r uc t i ng the ins t i t u t io ns of world peace.

Its approach to the bre a kdown of peace is to foster no n - v io l e nt pra c t ices and to permit

t he use of arms in hu ma n i t a r ian int e r v e nt ion only when whole populatio ns are at risk. 

The Catholic Practice of Peace after Vatican II

T he Second Va t ican Council bro u g ht about two struc t u ral changes in chu rch org a n i z at ion that have shaped its ability to re s p o nd to questio ns of justice and peace for the

past 35 years. The first was the establishme nt of bishops’ confere nces as fo r u ms for bishops to consult and coord i nate on matters of pastoral and social stra t e g y. When bisho p s

work in harmo ny, their confere nces can be a steady fo rce for peace even in very vio l e nt

s o c ie t ie s. Their pastoral letters and public stateme nts are often catalysts in opening

p u b l ic debate or in galvanizing public opinion, even outside the chu rch. Their 

5

The church has moved from simply praising the practitioners of

non-violence to espousing nonviolence as the fundamenta l

Christian response to conflict.

The church continues to admit

of a limited just use of arms

when non-violence fa i l s. . . .

H oweve r, it appears to re g a rd

“ h u m a n i tarian intervention” as

the sole remaining “just cause. ”

When bishops work in harmony,

their conferences can be a

steady fo rce for peace even in

very violent societies. 
c o o rd i nated social initiatives mean that work for peace and justic e, especially whe re

t he re is a Catho l ic majority or a sizable Catho l ic population in a count r y, can spread wide

a nd deep within socie t y.

T he second inno v a t ion was the ins t i t u t ion of justice and peace commissio ns, beginn i ng with the cre a t ion of the Po nt i f ical Council for Justice and Peace as part of the Va tican curia (the adm i n i s t rative org a n i z a t ion of the Holy See). The council carries out

res e a rch and organizes pro g ra ms in areas like the cont rol of tra de in small arms, the abol i t ion of ant i - p e r s o n nel land mine s, tra de re form, and debt re l ief for poor na t io ns. Offic ials of the council also re p re s e nt the Holy See in major int e r na t io nal confere nc e s. At

lower levels, justice and peace commissio ns, or some t i mes hu man rig hts commissio ns,

a re the chu rch org a ns that deal up close with local, na t io nal, and re g io nal pro b l e ms. The

net w o r k i ng of these commissio ns, mo re o v e r, pro v ides int e r na t io nal support for tho s e

w o r k i ng on the fro nt l i nes for justic e, peace, and hu man rig ht s.

A l t hough not a struc t u ral change, a third cont r i b u t ion of the Catho l ic hie ra rc hy to

p e a c e ma k i ng should be no t e d — t he role of ind i v idual bishops as conc i l iators and me d ia t o r s.

1. The Papacy and the Holy See. W hole books have been written about Pope John Pa u l

II. Father Christia nsen notes that several of the pope’s bio g ra p hers and ma ny politic a l

a nalysts re g a rd him as the single most important fig u re in the collapse of commu n i s m

in Eastern Euro p e. Pope John Paul has greatly inc reased the role of the papacy in int e rnat io nal affa i r s, especially through his tra v e l s. Whe rever he has tra v e l e d, dic t a t o r ia l

reg i mes have fallen, most no t a b l y, the Jaruzelski go v e r n me nt in his native Po l a nd and

t he Duvalier re g i me in Haiti. His visit to Lebanon and his apostolic ex ho r t a t ion conc l ud i ng the Synod for Lebanon were landmarks in the mo v e me nt toward re c o nc i l ia t ion in

post–civil war Lebanon. The Holy Father’s thre e - c o r ne red conversation with Polish pre side nt Wo j c iech Jaruzelski and Soviet pre s ide nt Mikhail Gorbache v, one bio g ra p he r

b e l ie v e s, may have pre v e nted military confro nt a t ion between the Soviet Un ion and its

Eastern European satellites as communist go v e r n me nts fell in 1989.

Under John Paul II, Va t ican diplomacy has changed its approach to world affa i r s. The

Vat ican unde r s e c retary of state for re l a t io ns with states, Mo ns ig nor Celestino Mig l io re,

calls it “a diplomacy of cons c ie nce” because its primary concern is the good of the

hu man fa m i l y, in ke e p i ng the peace, in de f e nd i ng hu man rig ht s, in pro t e c t i ng re l ig io u s

f re e dom. Even the chu rch’s agre e me nts with states tend today to focus first on hu ma n

r ig ht s, then on re l ig ious rig hts ge ne ra l l y, and only last on the specific needs of the

c hu rch. For exa m p l e, both the 1993 Funda me ntal Ag re e me nt with Is rael and the 2000

B a s ic Agre e me nt with the Pa l e s t i n ian Libera t ion Org a n i z a t ion follow this pattern.

2. Episcopal conferences. At a rec e nt int e r na t io nal Me n no n i t e - C a t ho l ic dialogue ne a r

Kar l s r u he, Germa ny, one of three papers addre s s i ng “What Is a Peace Chu rch?” came fro m

a Men nonite pastor from Gua t e mala. The chu rch that he described as a peace chu rc h ,

how e v e r, was not the Me n nonite Chu rch in Gua t e mala, but the Catho l ic Chu rch and espec ially its bishops’ confere nc e. The bishops of Gua t e mala have been a steady fo rce fo r

peace in their socie t y, pro mo t i ng ne go t ia t io ns, de f e nd i ng hu man rig ht s, pro v id i ng

a c c o m p a n i me nt for ref u ge e s. Unl i ke some confere nces in ne ig h b o r i ng count r ies du r i ng

s o me points over the past 20 years, the Gua t e malan bishops have been both mo de ra t e

a nd united, and this has contributed to the weig ht of their peacema k i ng in their count r y. Sadly, the importance of their work was re i n fo rced two years ago with the mu rder of

B i s hop Juan Gera rdi just after he had filed a report on hu man rig hts abuses du r i ng

G ua t e mala’s civil war. 

T he bishops’ confere nce of the United States plays a unique role amo ng episcopal

c o n f e re nc e s. After Bra z i l ’ s, it is the largest confere nce in the world, with mo re than 300

active me m b e r s. Because the polic ies of the United States impact so much on the world,

o t her confere nces and ind i v idual bisho p s, some t i mes at the sugge s t ion of the Holy See,

look to the U.S. bishops’ confere nce to help address their pro b l e ms. Occasio nally the U.S.

gov e r n me nt looks to the bishops to assist with its pro b l e ms. Pre s ide nt Clinton, re p o r t s

6

A third contribution of the

Catholic hiera rc hy to peacemaking [is] the role of 

individual bishops as

c o n c i l i a tors and mediato r s.

Under John Paul II, Va t i c a n

d i p l o m a cy has changed its

a p p roach to world affa i r s. 
o ne bishop, attributes his last-minute dispatching of Pre s ide nt Carter and Gene ral 

Powell to Haiti to ne go t iate with the Cedras go v e r n me nt on the eve of the “int ra v e nt ion” on that island to have been ins p i red in part by a joint letter of the pre s ide nts of

t he U.S., Cana d ian, and Latin Ame r ican bishops’ confere nc e s. The U.S. bishops’ confere nce’s most notable accomplishme nt, of course, was the widely read and much stud ie d

1983 pastoral letter on nuclear arms, “The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our

R e s p o ns e,” which played a major role in fo r m i ng public opinion in favor of halting the

nuclear arms build-up.

T he U.S. bishops address issues of peace in a number of ways: with pastoral letters

a nd public stateme nt s, with visits of solidarity to chu rc hes in troubled areas of the world,

with re p re s e nt a t io ns to U.S. and fo re ign go v e r n me nt s, and with advocacy on exe c u t i v e

a nd legislative policy pro p o s a l s. The U.S. Catho l ic Confere nce’s Departme nt of Socia l

D e v e l o p me nt and World Pe a c e, which inc l udes the Office of Int e r na t io nal Justice and

Pea c e, also tries to build a cons t i t u e ncy for issues in the Catho l ic commu n i t y, pro v id i ng

t ra i n i ng for diocesan and parish social ministry workers and educ a t io nal pro g ra ms for the

C a t ho l ic fa i t h f u l .

3. Bishop conciliators and mediators. This brief re v iew of of f ic ial Catho l ic peacema k i ng

c a n not be conc l uded without some note of the role ind i v idual bishops have played in the

d i f f icult task of peacema k i ng. Fre q u e nt l y, an ind i v idual bishop is thrust into a distinc t i v e

l e a dership ro l e. Such was the case with El Salvador’s ma r t y red Arc h b i s hop Rome ro or

C o ngo’s Arc h b i s hop Mo ns w e ngo, for ma ny years the of f ic ial conc i l iator in Congo (Za i re ) .

O t hers inc l ude Don Samuel Ruiz from Chia p a s, Mex ico; the Latin patria rch of Je r u s a l e m ,

M ic hel Sabbah; and Bishop Carlos Felipe Xime nes Belo (Bishop Belo as he is known in the

United States), the Nobel laureate from East Timo r. By the early 1990s, an estimated 35

b i s hops had served as na t io nal conc i l iators in their count r ies’ civil conflic t s.

B i s hop Ruiz, now the re t i red bishop of San Bartolomeo de las Casas, re p re s e nts an

a t y p ical suc c e s s, in assembling a re ma r kable set of re s o u rces for de f e nd i ng hu man rig ht s

a nd advanc i ng the cause of peace. A de f e nder of ind ige nous rig hts in Chiapas state, he

was later na med me d iator between the go v e r n me nt and the Zapatista re b e l s. Ruiz had a

h igh profile outside of Mex ico, a great deal of int e r na t io nal support, inc l ud i ng volunt e e r

p e r s o n nel, and a highly organized hu man rig hts and peace org a n i z a t ion, inc l ud i ng the

C e nt ro Bartolomeo de las Casas, a hu man rig hts mo n i t o r i ng group. His hu man rig hts work

led na t u rally to Ruiz’s role as a peacema ke r.

In Chia p a s, whe re evange l ical Pro t e s t a nts and Catho l ics are fre q u e ntly in competitio n

for membership and at odds over who pro v ides local leadership, Ruiz was a fa t her fig u re

for all. His wide credibility by a reason of his de f e nse of ind ige nous rig hts can be unde rstood by re c a l l i ng a simple inc ide nt. At one point, when his cathe dral and re s ide nce were

u nder sie ge by local lando w ne r s, evange l ical Ind ia ns rushed down from the hills to protect him. “We have come,” the evange l icals anno u nc e d, “to protect our bisho p . ”

Ruiz also had a na t u ral talent for orc he s t ra t i ng his work. Once he dispatched a visiti ng U.S. de l e g a t ion to celebrate Mass in a parish whe re a U.S. priest had just been

ex p e l l e d, without ex p l a i n i ng that the Ame r ic a ns would be met by 6,000 peasants de mo ns t ra t i ng for the return of their pastor, an apolitical man deported largely to put pre s s u re

on the chu rch to back off its vigo rous de f e nse of ind ige nous peoples. After dinne r, on

t he del e g a t ion’s return, Ruiz anno u nced to his Ame r ican visitors, “Now we are having a

p ress confere nc e. You,” he told the de l e g a t ion, “can go first.” No wonder the Mex ic a n

gov e r n me nt feared and respected him.

More typical is Bishop Belo of East Timo r, a largely isolated fig u re, with little immed iate social support or infra s t r uc t u re to sustain him, and with sympathe t ic but re l a t i v ely weak support int e r na t io na l l y. In the years’ prior to East Timor’s 1999 inde p e nde nc e

v o t e, he walked a na r row line, de f e nd i ng hu man rig ht s, espousing the cause of indep e nde nc e, all the while pleading for no n - v io l e nc e. Without support from the Indo ne s ia n

b i s hops’ confere nc e, under pre s s u re from the papal nu nc io and U.S. diploma t s, critic i z e d

by Va t ican curia l i s t s, he was supported only by Pope John Paul II. The de s t r uc t ion of his

7

F req u e n t l y, an individual 

bishop is thrust into a

d i s t i n c t i ve leadership ro l e.
home l a nd fo l l o w i ng United Na t io ns–run electio ns in 1999 by ma ra ud i ng Indo ne s ian milit ias bro ke his spirit. Not even a Nobel Peace Prize could compensate for the pillaging of

his island and the dispossession of its people. 

In the middle ra nge, in terms of re s o u rces for witne s s i ng to peace, is Jerusalem’s Latin

or Roman Catho l ic patria rch Mic hel Sabbah. He is a Pa l e s t i n ian, born near Na z a reth, and

his appoint me nt at the outbreak of the first i n t i fa d a made him a na t u ral leader for Christ ian Pa l e s t i n ia ns. He has overseen a diocesan syno d, rev i t a l i z i ng and upda t i ng local

c hu rch life. He has fo r med a justice and peace commission and a legal aid age nc y, the

S o c iety of Saint Yv e s. His most notable achie v e me nt has been overc o m i ng cent u r ies of

rivalry amo ng Jerusalem’s historic Christian chu rc hes to form a common fro nt with the

two other patria rc hs and ten other heads of chu rc hes on issues of justic e, peace, and

hu man rig ht s. A 1998 peace catechism from the Latin Pa t r ia rc h a t e, drafted under his

s u p e r v i s ion, laid out in some detail a Pa l e s t i n ian Catho l ic perspective on the Is ra e l i -

Pal e s t i n ian conflict, the re l a t ion of justice to peace, and the place of no n - v io l e nce in the

Pal e s t i n ia ns’ struggle for a ho me l a nd of their own. He has also developed notable ties of

s o l idarity with U.S. Catho l ic bisho p s, the bishops of Eng l a nd and Wa l e s, and episcopal

c o n f e re nces in Euro p e, not to me nt ion the Va t ican. Despite all this, his support systems

a re still fragile and Pa t r ia rch Sabbah must rely very much on himself and his faith in God.

T he work of Pa t r ia rch Mic hel Sabbah, Bishop Belo, and Arc h b i s hop Mo ns w e ngo illust rate the ways in which the chu rch’s teaching on hu man rig hts and hu man dignity has

c h a nged the role of bisho p s, thrusting them into conflict and conflict re s o l u t ion, without a comparable change in tra i n i ng and chu rch org a n i z a t ion, especially in sharply divided unde rdeveloped socie t ie s. When bishops speak out on hu man rig hts issues and as a

result are thrust into the role of spokesperson for their people, they lack a tra i ned cadre

of people or ins t i t u t io ns to assist him.

T he chu rch’s role in building peace has grown eno r mously in the last half-cent u r y.

F a t her Christia nsen argues that in the next de c a de, the larger chu rch (the Va t ican, the

major episcopal confere nc e s, the major Catho l ic do nor age nc ies like Catho l ic Relief Serv ices) will need to impleme nt pro g ra ms to pro v ide the tra i n i ng, staffing, and infra s t r uct u re for bishops on the fro nt l i nes to contribute mo re substant ially to peacema k i ng

e f fo r t s. In 1994, the U.S. Catho l ic Confere nce in conjunc t ion with Catho l ic Relief Serv ices and Duquesne University spons o red a workshop for African bishops who had been

p e a c e ma kers in their own count r ie s. This and other confere nces mark the beginning of

a process that needs to gro w. The Catho l ic vision of peace as a way of life worthy of

human dignity has put bishops on the fro nt l i ne s. They have shown ge ne ro s i t y, great pers i s t e nc e, and some t i mes invent i v e ness in me e t i ng their challenges with very few

res o u rc e s. The time has come to share re s o u rces for peacema k i ng with the m .

T he work of justice and peace is essent ial to the life of the Catho l ic Chu rch toda y.

B i s hops bear a special re s p o nsibility for teaching the gospel as it relates to justic e,

p e a c e, and hu man rig ht s. The work of tra ns fo r m i ng the world, ho w e v e r, belongs approp r iately to lay people. Bisho p s, alone or toge t he r, are fo rced into leadership roles in

d i v ided socie t ies for ma ny re a s o ns: the weakness of civil ins t i t u t io ns, the autono my and

moral authority of the chu rch, the credibility gained by the chu rch’s service to the

o p p re s s e d, the fre e dom of f e red by a celibate life. While ne c e s s a r y, such leadership is the

exc e p t ion. Lay people should rig htly take the lead. Hopefully as Catho l ic social teaching

b e c o mes mo re widely known and appro p r ia t e d, the re will be ma ny mo re Catho l ic lay leaders involved in peacema k i ng .

F i na l l y, Father Christia nsen alre a dy noted that Catho l ic teaching and pra c t ice of

p e a c e ma k i ng was stro ng on peacebuilding and weaker on conflic t - related tasks. The latter is an area whe re Catho l ics can learn from othe r s, such as the Me n no n i t e s. If life in

God is an exc h a nge of gifts, then it is appro p r iate that just as Miguel Hig u e ras has

l e a r ned from the peace witness of the bishops’ confere nce in Gua t e mala, so the Catho l ic

C hu rch in ma ny places can learn techniques of active no n - v io l e nce and conflict re s o l ut ion from tra i ners in the Me n nonite tra d i t ion. 

In the next decade, the larg e r

c h u rch . . . will need to 

implement pro g rams to prov i d e

the training, staffing, and 

i n f ra s t r u c t u re for bishops 

on the frontlines to contribute

m o re substantially to

peacemaking effo r t s.

8
Catholic Relief Services

C a t ho l ic Relief Services (CRS) is the int e r na t io nal re l ief and de v e l o p me nt arm of the U.S.

C o n f e re nce of Catho l ic Bishops and unde r t a kes int e r na t io nal peace work on behalf of the

U.S. Roman Catho l ic Chu rch. Father William He a d l e y, CSSp, who is deputy exe c u t i v e

d i rector of CRS, ma de a pre s e nt a t ion on its peace work. 

While CRS has pro v ided int e r na t io nal re l ief and de v e l o p me nt aid since 1943, peacemak i ng did not become a high priority until re c e nt l y. No single re c e nt event has affected the dire c t ion of CRS so deeply as the 1994 ge no c ide in Rwanda. CRS had years of

exp e r ie nce in Rwanda and was highly re g a rde d, but was totally unpre p a red for the ge noc ide and had not devoted re s o u rces and ene rgy to fo re s t a l l i ng this slaught e r. The afters hock of the Rwanda ge no c ide led CRS to apply a social analysis ins p i red by justic e

p r i nciples to every future activity of CRS. Every pro g ram is now assessed in terms of its

p o t e nt ial impact on justice and peace.

CRS curre ntly has 61 peacebuilding pro j e c t s. These activities take place in ma ny parts

of the globe and emphasize South-South collabora t ion. Pro g ra ms exist at all stages of a

c o n f l ict’s life cycle, from pre v e nt ion through tra u ma he a l i ng. 

• In Mo rocco, CRS is eng a ged in pre v e nt i ng vio l e nt conflict by inc o r p o ra t i ng conflic t

re s o l u t ion along s ide its justice focus in all pro g ra m m i ng are a s. 

• CR S / P h i l i p p i nes is supporting dialogue between re l ig ious leaders in the conflic t e d

s o u t hern re g ion of Minda nao. The Bisho p s - U l a ma Dialogue Forum pro v ides int e r -

rel ig ious bridge building and re i n fo rces the mo re fo r mal political process of ne go t iat ion spons o red by the Office of the Pre s ide nt ial Advisor on the Peace Pro c e s s. 

• CRS staff in Cro a t ia works on post-conflict tra u ma he a l i ng. CRS developed basic and

a d v a nced curricula for tra u ma aware ness and cont i nues to pro v ide tra i n i ng for me dical personnel, social worke r s, do c t o r s, teache r s, and attorneys in tra u ma aware ne s s

a nd re s p o ns e. 

O t her projects pro mote capacity building in peacebuilding skills for sister chu rc hes in

war-torn count r ie s. 

• In East Timor, CRS works with two Peace and Justice Commissio ns of the Catho l ic

C hu rch on the East Timor Pe a c e, Reconc i l ia t ion and Dialogue initia t i v e. Jo i nt l y, the y

s t re ng t he ned the capacity of 12 local org a n i z a t io ns to work on peacebuilding and re co nc i l ia t ion over this past year.

• Wo r k i ng with Peace and Justice Commissio ns of four dioceses in Chad, CRS has he l p e d

support local efforts at peacebuilding and conflict re s o l u t ion. One project supported

local me d ia t ion efforts between he rders and fa r mers in southern Chad. Ano t her tra nslated peacebuilding ma t e r ials into Fre nch for local use.

• CR S / Kosovo initiated a Justice and Peace pro g ram to develop local capacity fo r

p e a c e b u i l d i ng. 

Many of CRS’s peacebuilding initiatives are int e g rated into ongo i ng re l ief and de v e l o pme nt effo r t s.

• The Myr iamville community bakery project in Minda nao, Philippines exe m p l i f ies ho w

p e a c e b u i l d i ng can be int e g rated into mic ro - e nterprise de v e l o p me nt pro j e c t s. In June

1997, a bakery was established to stre ng t hen community re l a t io ns, pro v ide opportun i t ies for employme nt, and allow Mu s l i ms and Christia ns to work side - b y - s ide. The bakery is a fina nc ial success and has fo s t e red joint partic i p a t ion in re l ig ious celebra t io ns. 

• Pro g ra ms in Bosnia - He r z e go v i na also eng a ge re p re s e ntatives from differe nt re l ig io u s

Catholic Relief Services . . .

u n d e r takes international peace

work on behalf of the U.S.

Roman Catholic Churc h .

9

The aftershock of the Rwa n d a

genocide led CRS to apply a

social analysis inspired by

justice principles to every future

activity of CRS.
c o m mu n i t ies in mic ro - e nterprise pro j e c t s, as well as in ide nt i f y i ng de v e l o p me nt and

re c o ns t r uc t ion projects and potent ial re c i p ie nt s. This struc t u re has fo s t e red working

re l a t io nships amo ng Bosnian Serb, Muslim, and Croat leaders in nu me rous commu n it ie s. 

CRS is org a n i z i ng an inc re a s i ng number of tra i n i ng worksho p s. These are conducted both

for CRS staff and for local leade r s.

• CRS has supported peacebuilding and conflict re s o l u t ion workshops in Colombia, El

S a l v a do r, Kosovo, Peru, the Philippine s, and Rwanda. The project in Rwanda fo c u s e s

p a r t icularly on youth from four dio c e s e s, bring i ng toge t her 500 youth in solida r i t y

camps and pro v id i ng educ a t ion on peace, justic e, re c o nc i l ia t ion, Rwandan history,

a nd conflict re s o l u t ion. 

• In the summer of 2000, CRS and the Conflict Tra ns fo r ma t ion Pro g ram of Eastern Me nnonite University co-spons o red a Minda nao Summer Peace Ins t i t u t e. CRS is planning

to organize several similar re g io nal peace institutes in the future in various parts the

w o r l d. Fina l l y, CRS and No t re Dame University’s Kroc Institute are planning a twoweek summer course that combines CRS’s de v e l o p me nt work with Catho l ic appro a c hes to peace and peacebuilding. 

In August 2000, an “Int e rc o nt i ne ntal Me e t i ng: Africa/Latin Ame r ica” was held in

Maputo, Mozambique to enable a South-South dialogue on peacema k i ng. Two Catho l ic

b o d ies with a global reach jointly shared sponsorship for this event: Caritas Int e r nat io nalis and the Va t ican’s Po nt i f ical Commission for Justice and Pe a c e. CRS’s re g io na l

staff in Latin Ame r ica was amo ng the initial architects for this pro g ram. 

Caritas Int e r na t io na l i s, a fede ra t ion of 154 na t io nal Catho l ic Caritas org a n i z a t io ns

w o r l dw ide that pro mote de v e l o p me nt and social justic e, ma de work on re c o nc i l ia t ion a

p r iority for its 1995–99 ma nda t e. This led to the pro duc t ion of Working for Reconciliation: A Caritas Handbook. CRS pro v ided staff and fina nc ial support for this important

res o u rce for Catho l ic peacebuilding thro u g hout the world. CRS is he l p i ng popularize this

t ext by pre p a r i ng lesson plans and tra i n i ng ma nua l s.

S a n t ’ E g i d i o

T he Community of Sant ’ E g id io is an int e r na t io nal Catho l ic org a n i z a t ion, recognized by

t he Holy See as a lay public associa t ion. It was fo u nded in 1968 by an 18-year-old hig h

s c hool stude nt in Rome. The re are pre s e ntly commu n i t ies of Sant ’ E g id io in mo re than 40

c o u nt r ies; membership totals 30,000. Even though Sant ’ E g id io is recognized by the Ho l y

See and has ma ny eleme nts of a re l ig ious org a n i z a t ion, its members are lay people who

do not take any vows and who hold no r mal secular jobs as their me a ns of support. The

c o m munity was ins t r u me ntal in the peaceful re s o l u t ion of the civil war in Mo z a m b i q u e

a nd has facilitated peace dialogues in Albania, Alge r ia, Burundi, Gua t e mala, Kosovo, and

t he Democ ra t ic Republic of the Congo. The community’s work and philosophy were pres e nted at the workshop by Dr. Andrea Bartoli, a vice pre s ide nt of the community and a

faculty member at Columbia University in New York. 

Bartoli ex p l a i ned that the philosophy and work of the community are best capture d

by four Latin word s —communio, traditio, romanitas, a nd p i e t a s. As a c o m m u n i o ,

S a nt ’ E g id io recognizes itself as part of a large family that stre t c hes aro u nd the world. In

p ra c t ical terms the skills most valued by the community are careful listening, pro m p t

re s p o ns e, a commitme nt to re l a t io ns h i p s, a pre p a re d ness to stop and change pace, and

hos p i t a l i t y. The reality of community grows out of the three disciplines of prayer (both

p e r s o nal and collective), service to the poor, and frie ndship. The peacema k i ng of the

c o m munity is a direct ex p re s s ion of these three discipline s. 

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The Community of Sant’Egidio

. . . was instrumental in the

peaceful resolution of the civil

war in Mozambique and has

fac i l i tated peace dialogues in

Albania, Algeria, Burundi,

Guatemala, Ko s ovo, and the

D e m o c ratic Republic of 

the Congo.

In practical terms the skills

most valued by the community

a re careful listening, pro m p t

res p o n s e, a commitment to 

rel a t i o n s h i p s, a pre p a redness 

to stop and change pace, 

and hospita l i t y.
While the community sees itself as an int e g ral compone nt of Catho l ic tra d i t ion 

(t r a d i t i o), it also views itself as one of the latest ex p re s s io ns of Catho l ic plastic i t y — a

C a t ho l ic ability to adapt, re s p o nd, and inc o r p o rate change, which was so effectively

reflected in the Second Va t ican Council. Va t ican II tra ns fo r med the role not only of the

laity but also of the bishops and the Holy See. 

A l t hough the community’s membership and activities are spread thro u g hout much of

t he world, it is he a d q ua r t e red in Rome (r o m a n i t a s) and che r i s hes its location in the same

s a c red space whe re the Catho l ic Chu rch is he a d q ua r t e re d. 

It is piety (p i e t a s) and love of the poor that is cent ral to the community’s commitment to peacema k i ng. The poor are the ones who suffer most from war and to serve the

poor the re fo re me a ns to be a peacema ke r. The members of the community have a stro ng

s e nse of re s p o nsibility to those in pain and suffering. The caring attitude toward tho s e

in need aro u nd the world opens the community to seek out person-to-person cont a c t ,

w h ich is cent ral to its peacema k i ng philosophy. Beyond this commitme nt to persona l

re l a t io nships lies its convic t ion that peace comes through dialogue and unde r s t a nd i ng .

T he community also has a deep appre c ia t ion of its own weakne s s, and is always re a dy

to seek assistance from other org a n i z a t io ns in its peacema k i ng effo r t s. It is also prep a red to risk fa i l u re in pursuit of peace.

C o n c l u s i o n

Even though this report only covers the peacema k i ng activities of a limited sample of

C a t ho l ic org a n i z a t io ns, some conc l u s io ns can ne v e r t heless be drawn about Catho l ic

p e a c e ma k i ng. It is evide nt from this report that Catho l ic org a n i z a t io ns adopt diverse

a p p ro a c hes to peacema k i ng, ra ng i ng from the efforts of Pope John Paul II to end communism in Eastern Europe to the pro g ram of CRS to pro mote Christia n - Muslim dia l o g u e

in the Philippine s. Despite this diversity, the emphasis of Catho l ic peacema k i ng is mo re

l i kely to be on high-level me d ia t ion. This is true even of Sant ’ E g id io, which emphasizes

modest, person-to-person aid to the poor but focuses its peacema k i ng on high-level of f ic ial peace agre e me nt s. This approach cont rasts sharply, for ins t a nc e, with the Me n no n i t e

focus on peacebuilding at lower and middle levels of socie t y. 

In ge ne ral, the cent ral guid i ng authority of the Va t ican and its the o l o g ical fra me w o r k

for peacema k i ng pro v ide greater cohe re nce and cons i s t e ncy to Catho l ic peacema k i ng

e f forts than is true of other fa i t hs with less the o l o g ical cons i s t e nc y. The very close linka ge fo rged between peace, on the one hand, and justice and hu man rig hts on the othe r,

makes peace with justice a basic tenet of Catho l ic peacema k i ng. Peace for the sake of

peace is not worthy of pursuit unless peace can be fo u nded on principles of justice and

a d he re nce to basic no r ms of hu man rig ht s. The priority accorded to no n - v io l e nce is re latively re c e nt and can be dated to the Second Va t ican Council. While the peace with just ice tra d i t ion has a long history within Catho l icism, attent ion to conflict re s o l u t ion and

t he skills re q u i red to pro mote the peaceful re s o l u t ion of conflict have only gained import a nce re c e nt l y. In ma ny cases the tra i n i ng opportunities and the ins t i t u t io nal support

for these activities are only now being de v e l o p e d. 

Religion and Peacemaking Initiative

The overa rc h i ng goal of this pro g ram is to help facilitate the re s o l u t ion of int e r na t io nal disputes through aid i ng the efforts of faith-based org a n i z a t io ns. The pro g ram will also ex p a nd

k no w l e dge about the actual and potent ial roles of re l ig ious org a n i z a t io ns in int e r na t io na l

p e a c e ma k i ng. The principal goal is to aid Ame r ican faith-based org a n i z a t io ns in their int e rna t io nal peacema k i ng work, which they usually unde r t a ke in partnership with commu n i t ie s

of faith abro a d. Because the Institute is a secular, go v e r n me nt - f u nded org a n i z a t ion, the

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I nstitute’s Relig ion and Pe a c e ma k i ng Initiative will avoid pro mo t i ng the re l ig ious do c t r i ne s

of any particular re l ig ious org a n i z a t ion. Mo re o v e r, this pro g ram will by its na t u re be int e rfaith and ecume n ic a l .

For mo re info r ma t ion, see our web site

( w w w. u s i p . o rg), which has an online

e d i t ion of this report cont a i n i ng links

to related web sites, as well as

a dd i t io nal info r ma t ion on the topic.

SP E C I A L RE P O R T 6 9

United States 

Institute of Pe a c e

1200 17th Street NW

Was h i ngton, DC 20036