| Pax Christi USA early history The first members in the United States were several dozen Catholics on the East Coast, inspired by Dorothy Day of the Catholic Worker movement, led by Eileen Egan, who worked for Catholic Relief Services, and Gordon Zahn, who taught at the University of Massachusetts. The urgency, in the early 1970s, was ending the war in Vietnam. But their intention was broader -- to appeal to a wide range of Catholics, not just pacifists, in carrying out the peace teachings of Vatican II and of Popes John XXIII and Paul VI. Pax Christi USA adopted five priorities for its peace work: Disarmament, Alternatives to Violence, Peace Education, Primacy of Conscience, and a Just World Order. In view of the persisting nuclear threat, disarmament was felt to be the most pressing priority. But the memory of Martin Luther King and the pacifist inspiration of Dorothy Day led Pax Christi to explore alternatives to violence as its special contribution to the church in the United States. Pax Christi USA is a national Catholic peace and justice organization, reaching more than half a million Catholics in the United States. Our membership includes more than 130 U.S. bishops, 800 parishes, 650 religious communities and 300 local groups. Pax Christi USA is a section of Pax Christi International, an international Catholic peace movement with consultative status at the United Nations. Pax Christi USA has a wide variety of faith based peace and justice resources available through their website and online store.
|
|