The Institute’s Office of Vocations and Volunteer Ministry, in partnership with Pax Christi International, has opened registration for the online programme “The Power of Active Nonviolence: Transforming Lives, Changing the World”, aimed at members of Lasallian institutions.
“The programme is aimed at university students and professors, teachers in schools and colleges, and people interested in deepening their understanding of the Gospel values of justice and peace,” says Mourad Barsoum, Director of the Office of Vocations and Volunteer Ministry, explaining that “Lasallian tradition focuses on education and empowerment of people, while Pax Christi International advocates reconciliation and non-violent conflict resolution”, so that “these values are naturally aligned”.
Similarly, stressing that “the Office of Vocations and Volunteer Ministry aims to inspire people to devote their lives to service”, Mourad values the contribution of Pax Christi, “proposing ways to take part in building peace and working for social justice”.
Training Programme
The programme will be certified by Pax Christi International and includes five two-hour online training session, with the intervention of international speakers and simultaneous interpretation in French, Spanish and English.
The training programme will begin on 23 April at 15:00 (Rome time) with the theme “Gospel of Nonviolence in a Violent World”, delivered by Ken Butigan, Professor in the Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies Program at De Paul University in Chicago (USA), and Marie Dennis, Director of the Catholic Institute for Nonviolence.
The second session of the programme will take place on 30 April, at the same time, with the presentation of Nicolás Paz, professor at Pontifical University of Salamanca (Spain) and Director of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative of Pax Christi International, who will speak on “Conflict, Violence and Nonviolence”.
The third session will take place on 7 May, with the theme, “Restorative Justice”, by Sister Teresia Wamuyu Wachira, who heads the Peace and Conflict Studies Programme at St. Paul’s University in Nairobi (Kenya), and Eli McCarthy, Professor of Theology and Justice and Peace Studies at Georgetown University (USA). McCarthy will be the guest lecturer for the fourth session, which will take place on 21 May, on the “Active Bystander Intervention and De-escalation (ABI)” approach.
The last session is scheduled for 28 May on “Nonviolent Communication”, and will be presented by Elizabeth Kanini Kimau, who has 12 years’ experience in building a culture of peace in regions fragmented by prolonged inter-ethnic violence in Northern Kenya and South Sudan
Those who wish to register for the programme can do so by filling in the form available HERE.
Pax Christi International is a Catholic peace movement of 120 organisations promoting peace, respect for human rights, justice and reconciliation throughout the world.
