Pax Christi USA

Stop the US-Israeli war against Iran By Art LaffinPax Christi USA 2016 Teacher of Peace Art Laffin is a member of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in Washington DC. He is author of the new edition of The Risk of the Cross: Living Gospel Nonviolence in the Nuclear Age. Despite numerous calls for a diplomatic solution since before last June's attack of Iran by Israel and the US, the Trump administration, without Congressional approval, has, with Israel's urging, initiated a joint war against Iran.

Art Laffin of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker writes about the illegality and immorality of the current military action taking place against Iran.

Dr. Bernard Lafayette, presente! Civil rights legend Rev. Dr. Bernard Lafayette, who had been mentored in the foundations of nonviolence by Jim Lawson, died on Thursday, March 5 at the age of 85, two weeks after Rev. Jesse Jackson. In the early 1960s, Dr. Lafayette had been a student at American Baptist Seminary in Nashville when he met Lawson and other key leaders in the civil rights movement; he was a Freedom Rider and led the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Selma, AL, and was brutally beaten more than once.

Pax Christi USA national field organizer Stephen Niamke reflects on the influence and guidance of his mentor Rev. Dr. Bernard Lafayette, one of the legends of the civil rights movement and a leader in the teachings of strategic nonviolence. Dr. Lafayette died on March 5 at age 85.

When has it ever been otherwise? By Tom CordaroPax Christi USA Ambassador of PeaceWritten February 28, 2026 A note from Tom: This article took shape weeks before the start of the latest war in the Middle East. Any semblance between what I wrote, and current events is purely coincidental and completely predictable. The shock, anger, and profound sadness we feel at the unending horror show emanating from the federal government under President Trump is usually described in the progressive media with phrases like “unprecedented in our history” or “not who we are.” I remember early in Trump’s first term seeing a photo of an elderly woman at a demonstration holding a sign that read, “I can’t believe I am still protesting this sh*t!” …

Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace Tom Cordaro reflects on the fact that, for the US, war is not a break or a fracture of the normal order; it is our standard operating procedure. The current administration is just the most extreme example of what the US has been engaged in since our founding.

Reflection for the third Sunday of Lent, March 8, 2026 Throughout the Lenten season, we will post reflections for holy days and Sundays from this year’s Lenten reflection booklet, Peace compels us, which includes all-new reflections written by Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., Pax Christi USA’s bishop president, and Michael Angel Martin, coordinator of Pax Christi Florida, and classic reflections from past booklets, like the one below written by Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace Fr.

For the third Sunday of Lent (March 8), we're sharing a classic reflection written in 2014 by Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace and Pax Christi Southern California leader Fr. Chris Ponnet, who reminded us that Jesus, too, needed to find a place to reflect. Where can we find space to be renewed?

Join the novena for peace, March 8-16 As we face another outrageous and heartbreaking war, we invite you to join with Pax Christi members and groups across the country to pray for peace. The Pax Christi novena for peace – nine days of prayer – will begin on Sunday, March 8, with a “wave” that will blanket our country. For nine days at noon, in your time zone, please stop and pray:

Pax Christi USA invites all to join a novena for peace, starting tomorrow, Sunday, March 8. Please pray each day at noon for all who are caught in violent conflict, for all living in war throughout the world, especially in Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, and across the region.

To see a rogue state, the US need only look in the mirror By Johnny Zokovitch In 2024, more than 200 mental health professionals issued an open letter theorizing that President Trump exhibited behaviors that meet the criteria for antisocial personality disorder.  “Even a non-clinician can see that Trump shows a lifetime pattern of ‘failure to conform to social norms and laws,’ ‘repeated lying,’ ‘reckless disregard for the safety of others,’ ‘irritability,’ ‘impulsivity,’ ‘irresponsibility,’ and ‘lack of remorse,’” the letter said.

Johnny Zokovitch writes that while the world has universally condemned the Iranian regime's brutality, the current US administration’s record on disappearing/deporting immigrants and violently quashing dissent suggests this administration has more in common than not with its Iranian counterpart.

Reflection: Hear the cries for justice and life The following reflection by Alex Mikulich was written as part of the Prayer-Study-Action (PSA) resource offered for the third week of Lent 2026, prepared by members of the Pax Christi USA nonviolence working group and nuclear disarmament working group. As we brace ourselves for deeper conflict in Iran and across the Middle East, we recognize that the nonviolent peace with justice which we strive for is woven with many threads -- threads of racial justice, disarmament, ecological justice, and human rights for all.

Alex Mikulich reflects on the critical need for transformation, where we shift away from destructive economic growthism to living in harmony with the earth’s own metabolisms, its cycles of regeneration, that have provided living waters of life since the beginning of God's creation.

March 8: Catholic women and social justice webinar To celebrate International Women's Day (IWD) on March 8, the Dorothy Day Guild is hosting a special online event, and our own Pax Christi USA Program Director Michelle Sherman is one of the speakers. Michelle has been invited as part of an intergenerational panel of Catholic women whose activism has been inspired by Dorothy Day's legacy of Gospel nonviolence, voluntary poverty, and hospitality.

To celebrate International Women's Day, March 8, the Dorothy Day Guild will host a special online event, with Pax Christi USA Program Director Michelle Sherman as part of an intergenerational group of Catholic women whose activism has been inspired by Dorothy Day's legacy of nonviolence and service.

March 19: Join us for our first quarterly PAX Mass for 2026! Join the Pax Christi USA community on Zoom on Thursday, March 19, 8 PM Eastern/5 PM Pacific for the first of four online PAX Masses for 2026. This year marks five years of PAX Masses! We started celebrating them in 2020 as the pandemic began, as a way to stay connected. They have become an important part of our community -- thank you for being part of these quarterly gatherings to pray together.

Please join us on Thursday, March 19 for the first PAX Mass of 2026! Our celebrant will be Fr. Bill Morton, who will join us on Zoom from El Paso, where he serves as a Columban missionary. Register to join us using the link on our website -- you only need to register once for all four PAX Masses.

Nominations now open for candidates for the 2026 Pax Christi USA National Council election Nominations are now open and being accepted for the slate of candidates for the 2026 Pax Christi USA National Council election. Deadline for nominations is March 27, 2026. A key element of membership in Pax Christi USA is the annual process of nominating and electing members to the national council. Council members: assist in setting direction and policy for the movement throughout a three-year term…

Nominations are now being accepted for the Pax Christi USA national council! Deadline to submit nominations is March 27. A slate of nominees will be selected for the election later this spring. Thank you for prayerfully considering possible members of our national leadership board!

March 14: Bystander intervention skills training On Saturday, March 14, Mobile Peace Team (MPT, formerly Meta Peace Team) and Pax Christi USA are teaming up to offer a hands-on skills workshop on Zoom for bystander intervention skills. Saturday, March 14, 20262-6PM Eastern // 1-5 PM Central // 12-4 PM Mountain // 11 AM-3 PM Pacificincludes a 30-minute break The increased violence in our communities and the targeting of individuals based on how they look add another layer of divisiveness and "us vs.

Pax Christi USA and Mobile (formerly Meta) Peace Team are offering a 4-hour training on bystander intervention skills and Kingian nonviolence, Saturday, March 14. Sign up today! This event is free for Pax Christi USA members.

Pax Christi USA response to military strikes on Iran March 1, 2026 — Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement, condemns the horrific bombing of Iran by the US and Israel, and we urge our nation’s leaders to stop the violence. As we recall the words from the daily readings of February 28, when the gospel reminds us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48), our hearts break for the loss of life and the extraordinary damage being inflicted not only on the people of Iran but also communities throughout the region who are affected by retaliatory strikes.

Read our statement on the immoral and illegal bombing of Iran. These attacks by the US and Israel are catastrophic – they will profoundly undermine any attempt at diplomacy and peacebuilding. We pray for an end to the violence, a cessation of the bombing, and for an embrace of nonviolent solutions.

Reflection for the second Sunday of Lent, March 16 Throughout the Lenten season, we’ll be posting reflections for holy days and Sundays. These reflections are taken from this year's Lenten reflection booklet, Peace compels us, which includes all-new reflections written by Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv. and Michael Martin, and from previous Lenten reflection booklets, like the one below, written by Prof. Michael Howard in 2023 for that year's Lenten booklet, …

From the 2023 Lenten booklet "Witnesses on the way," Prof. Michael Howard reflects on the miracle of the Transfiguration and the ministry of Servant of God Julia Greeley. He asks, what are the times when we are compelled to do our work quietly, in secret?

Colman McCarthy, presente! Colman McCarthy, Pax Christi USA's 1993 Teacher of Peace, died on February 27 at the age of 87. A decades-long resident of the Washington DC area for decades, he moved to Costa Rica several years ago to live near one of his three sons. (His wife, Mavoureen Deegan, died in 2017.) McCarthy wrote for the Washington Post from 1969 to 1996, many of those years as a columnist who advocated strongly for nonviolence, peace, against the death penalty and inequality, and scores of other justice issues.

Colman McCarthy, Pax Christi USA's 1993 Teacher of Peace and former Washington Post columnist who championed peace education, died today at age 87.

What authentic Church leadership looks like By Johnny Zokovitch A gift of having spent 35 years of my life ensconced in the Catholic peace and justice community has been working alongside the (often too few) bishops who manage to weave together the pastoral and prophetic vocations of the place they hold within the larger church. I had the privilege of being supported and mentored by men like…

Johnny Zokovitch writes that while most of the US Catholic hierarchy has had a feeble response to the inhumanity of this and previous administrations, Pax Christi USA bishop president John Stowe has been a consistent leader and witness to Gospel values. Thankfully more bishops are speaking out now.

The Conference of Catholic Bishops is... not playing around in this brief.

www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25...

Bishop Stowe, 17 fellow bishops speak out on immigration enforcement On Tuesday, February 24, a few hours before President Trump's first State of the Union address of his second term, Pax Christi USA's bishop president Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., of Lexington KY, and 17 other bishops issued a statement strongly condemning ongoing tactics by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to threaten and intimidate the immigrant community. They reiterate the position of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops that undocumented immigrants should be given the opportunity to process through the immigration system without unwarranted fear of detention, family separation, and deportation.

Pax Christi USA's bishop president, Bishop John Stowe OFM Conv. of Lexington KY, has joined with 17 fellow bishops on a new letter strongly condemning the ongoing threats and intimidation by ICE against the immigrant community.

Promotional graphic for a dialogue titled “Catholic Women’s Leadership to Advance the Common Good” on 3/9 at 6pm EDT at Copley Hall Copley Formal Lounge, Georgetown’s Main Campus & Online. Participants include Joanna Arellano-Gonzalez (Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership), Cynthia Bailey Manns (Saint Joan of Arc Catholic Community), Anne Thompson (NBC News), Sr. Jane Wakahiu, LSOSF (Conrad N. Hilton Foundation).

🗓️ Monday, March 9, 2026
🕧 6-7 pm EDT
📍 Copley Formal Lounge, Georgetown U
🗣️ Joanna Arellano-Gonzalez (Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL), Cynthia Bailey Manns (Saint Joan of Arc Catholic Community), Anne Thompson (NBC News), Sr. Jane Wakahiu, LSOSF (Conrad N. Hilton Foundation)

No War With Iran!

ACT NOW TO STOP WAR WITH IRAN!!!
👉 Urge your elected officials to support War Powers Resolutions in the House and Senate.
www.peaceaction.org/get-involved...
#NoWarWithIran

February 24 –  National virtual gathering to kick off the Season of Faithful Witness Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 24, Catholics across the country will gather to launch the Season of Faithful Witness, a national invitation to respond to this moment with prayer, moral clarity, and hope. From Ash Wednesday through the feast of Corpus Christi, we will unite in action and visible, nonviolent public witness rooted in the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching. In a time when many families are living with fear and uncertainty, we are called to affirm the dignity of every human person and the common good, together.

Tomorrow evening before the State of the Union, you're invited to join the kick-off call for the Season of Faithful Witness to hear more about taking visible, nonviolent public action, rooted in the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching, to affirm the dignity of every human person and the common good.

March 7: Beatitudes Center: Ched Myers on the Gospel of Luke Ched Myers Fr. John Dear and the Beatitudes Center will welcome activist, theologian, and scripture scholar Ched Myers on Saturday, March 7 to speak about his new book on the Gospel of Luke: Healing Affluenza and Resisting Plutocracy: Luke’s Jesus and Sabbath Economics (available here from Fortress Press.) Check out Fr. John's podcast, The Nonviolent Jesus -- use this link…

On Saturday, March 7, Fr. John Dear and the Beatitudes Center will host an online event with scripture scholar Ched Myers, the preeminent theologian on Gospel-based economic justice. Ched will discuss his latest book, "Healing affluenza and resisting plutocracy: Luke's Jesus and Sabbath economics."

Reflection for the first Sunday of Lent, February 22, 2026 Throughout the Lenten season, we will post reflections for holy days and Sundays from this year's Lenten reflection booklet, Peace compels us, which includes all-new reflections written by Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., Pax Christi USA's bishop president, and Michael Angel Martin, coordinator of Pax Christi Florida, and classic reflections from past booklets, like the one below written by Sheila Cassidy in 1993.

For the first Sunday of Lent, we're sharing a reflection written in 1993 by Dr. Sheila Cassidy. She reminds us that the lesson from the story of Adam and Eve is that "God weeps when we abuse our gifts. Our beauty, our wit, our strength are for the cherishing of our world and each other ..."

Webinar: Possible paths to peace in Sudan On Tuesday, February 24, 11 AM Eastern/8 AM Pacific (5 PM Brussels), Pax Christi International, in co-sponsorship with The Journal of Social Encounters, invites you to a timely and urgent conversation: “Sudan: Possible Paths to Peace?” Over the past years, Sudan has endured one of the most severe humanitarian and political crises in the world, its suffering too often overlooked by the global community even as displacement, human rights violations and violence continue to escalate. 

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, join Pax Christi International in an informative and timely webinar to learn more about the political and humanitarian crisis facing Sudan, and how nonviolence responses are being implemented. Register to join on Zoom.

A biblical throwdown between Pope Leo and Speaker Johnson By Johnny Zokovitch One would think that getting into a “quoting scripture battle” with the pope isn’t a fight most politicians would want to take on, but it seems like House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana just couldn’t help himself. Pope Leo has been consistent in calling the Trump administration to account over its policies on immigration, in particular immigration efforts that include detention and mass deportations.

Johnny Zokovitch writes how Pope Leo has been consistent with both practical and biblical arguments calling the Trump administration to account over its policies on immigration, in particular efforts that include detention and mass deportations. Speaker Mike Johnson decided to take issue with this.

Take action: Urge Congress to block funding for new nuclear arms race The following alert is shared from our colleagues with Back from the Brink. The threat of the US restarting nuclear weapons tests is now a chilling and urgent reality. Unlike abstract and wonky arms control debates, this issue is simple and concrete: Congress controls federal funding, and as a co-equal branch has the power to block any funding toward new nuclear tests.

New START, the last remaining nuclear treaty between the US and Russia, has expired. The last limits on expanding the world's two biggest nuclear arsenals are gone. Tell Congress today to block any funding that would allow explosive nuclear weapons testing to resume: https://bit.ly/0226nukes

Pax Christi USA endorses statement opposing US $210 million purchase of cluster bombs Pax Christi USA has joined dozens of other human rights organizations, anti-war groups, and Christian churches in urging the US government to cancel a $210 million purchase of next-generation cluster munitions from Tomer, an Israeli state-owned company, citing the “severe, foreseeable dangers” these weapons pose to civilians. The purchase, first reported by the Intercept earlier this month, represents the latest step in the unraveling of an international consensus against the use or stockpiling of cluster munitions.

Pax Christi USA has joined dozens of human rights organizations, anti-war groups, and churches in urging the US government to cancel a $210 million purchase of next-generation cluster munitions from Tomer, an Israeli state-owned company, citing the “severe, foreseeable dangers” these weapons pose.

Turn our hearts to God’s gift of peace, an Ash Wednesday reflection By Sr. Annie KillianPax Christi USA National Council The following reflection was offered today by Sr. Annie Killian at the Ash Wednesday service at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana. “Gather the people... Call an assembly!” Together we'll weep for our neighbors living in fear and mourn the destruction of our land. In our own day, we hear voices around the world echoing the Prophet Joel's cry to come together and lament.

Sr. Annie Killian reflects: "This Lent, we're invited to discover peace already dwelling within us and create more room in our hearts for peace to grow. Violence is rooted in the desire to dominate ... Peace liberates us to seek the common good, to build power with others as equals."

A service of prayers and ashes to prepare for a season of lament and repentance Ash Wednesday February 18, 12-1 PM Outside the Cannon House Office Building 27 Independence Avenue SE directly across the street from the US Capitol Closest metro: Capitol South Co-sponsors: Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Pax Christi USA Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore Assisi Community Franciscan Action Network Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns Little Friends for Peace National Advocacy Center for the Sisters of the Good Shepherd For more info contact Art Laffin, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker: artlaffin@hotmail.com.

If you're in DC, join us tomorrow for an Ash Wednesday prayer service and ashes distribution outside the Cannon House Office building, 12-1 PM.

A Call to Christians in a Crisis of Faith and Democracy 2/18 • 8pm ET Virtual Vigil: Pray with us—then act with us. Rooted in Luke 4, we’ll lament harm, reject fear-based politics, and organize a faithful response in solidarity with immigrants, communities of color, and all targeted neighbors.

In a moment when cruelty is being normalized and rights are being stripped, Christians cannot be neutral. On Feb. 18, 8 PM ET, Pax Christi USA Exec Director Charlene Howard will be a speaker during a prayer service focused on prayer, lament, and moral clarity. Register at bit.ly/CalltoChrist....

Reflection for Ash Wednesday, February 18 Throughout the Lenten season, we will post reflections for holy days and Sundays from this year's Lenten reflection booklet, Peace compels us, which includes all-new reflections written by Michael Angel Martín (Pax Christi Florida) and Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., Pax Christi USA's bishop president and excerpts from past booklets. Click here to see all reflections as they are posted as well as links to other Lenten resources on our Lent 2026 webpage.

As we begin Lent 2026, we're sharing the reflection written by Michael Angel Martin for this year's Lenten booklet, "Peace compels us.": "I, like you," writes Michael, "am a thought God has had from all eternity, a God who not only loves humanity in its entirety, but loves each of us entirely ..."