Catholicism, Nonviolence & Peace: Presentation by founder of Campaign Nonviolence

A New Moment in the Ethics of the Use of Force?
Ken Butigan
Thursday, October 13, 6:30pm
Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA
St. Clare Room in the Learning Commons (Library)

Ken Butigan is a long-time peace-maker, director of Pace e Bene, and founder of Campaign Nonviolence. Butigan, who was a member of the international planning committee for the Vatican's Conference on Nonviolence this past Spring, will report on highlights from the conference and steps emerging from the unprecedented meeting to spread active nonviolence and address injustice and conflict in our world today.

The conference called on the Catholic Church to boldly recommit itself to the centrality of the nonviolent example of the life of Jesus Christ. Attended by bishops, theologians, members of religious orders and lay people from every continent, this conference sharply criticized "just war theorgy" and urged Pope Francis to share with the world an encyclical (teaching document) on "nonviolence and just peace."

The National Catholic Reporter called it a first-of-its-kind Vatican conference that "bluntly rejected the Catholic church's long-held teachings on just war theory, saying they have too often been used to justify violent conflicts and the global church must reconsider Jesus' teachings on nonviolence. You can read the full article here.  You can read the full text of the document to come out of the conference, entitled "An Appeal to the Catholic Church to Re-commit to the Centrality of Gospel Nonviolence."

If you are interested in attending this free event, it is helpful (but not required) for your to click here to register. (If you are coming from the north (Palo Alto area) it is recommended that you consider taking Caltrain, as traffic can be quite a challenge that time of the evening.)

The presentation is sponsored by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.