Pax Christi USA >> News >> Statements

Fall 2002

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Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)

Pax Christi USA finds it deplorable that the United States continues to regard war and the threat of war as an acceptable way to peace. We believe that it is our responsibility as Catholic and Christian peacemakers to speak and act on behalf of Catholic/Christian moral teaching.

At a time when much of our nation seems fully bent on using swords of every length and breadth, Pax Christi, and all people of peace, must stand ready to pay the same price for peace as those who want war; must do whatever is necessary to create the deepest possible shift of the human heart; must devote themselves not to escalating hatred and death but to choosing life and witnessing in love. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. "It is no longer a matter of violence or nonviolence, it is a matter of nonviolence or nonexistence."

As we stand on the brink of yet another war against the people of Iraq, Pax Christi USA urges all of its members and friends to prayerfully consider participation in the Iraq Peace Pledge/Pledge of Resistance (PDF file - see below) that is endorsed, and currently being circulated, by a number of peace communities. To assist you in discerning your level of participation we offer the following:

To Wake A Nation: Nonviolent Direct Action for Personal and Social Transformation by Tom Cordaro
Examination of Conscience - from The Fire of Peace, written by Doris Donnelly and based on the Beatitudes
"So Precious That You Will Die For It" - excerpted from a sermon by Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church on November 5, 1967
"The Price of Our Witness" - prepared by by Tom Brejcha, Esq., long-time Pax Christi USA member and President of the Thomas Moore Society.
Additional Resources

As our elected officials consider fighting a war against the people of Iraq in our name and funded by our taxes, there is no morally neutral position - as Catholics and Christians we have an obligation to affirm certain fundamental principles of justice and a duty to speak and act publicly...to be instruments of gospel nonviolence, instruments of Christ's peace.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Please complete your PLEDGE FORM (PDF format) and send it to Pax Christi USA at your earliest convenience.

All PDF files require the newest version (5.0) of Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® to view. Please allow a few minutes for the files to download.
Click HERE to download Acrobat® Reader® 5.0.
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