What if 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide had a full understanding of the power and effectiveness of active nonviolence and the connection of nonviolence to the heart of the Gospel? What if we all knew how to apply nonviolent tools to defuse conflict before it became violent?  

These days we know too well the violence and deep suffering close to home and around the world, from war and gun violence to rhetorical violence and physical attacks on our immigrant friends and our neighbors who are hungry, unemployed, or unhoused.  

At the same time, the desire to move from a paradigm of violence to a paradigm of nonviolence is increasingly evident. Seven million people gathered at 2,700 events in all 50 states and the District of Columbia on October 18 for a second No Kings Day and hundreds of thousands of people across the U.S. have participated in on-line or in person nonviolence trainings in recent months. Amazingly, 130,000 people registered for one on-line nonviolence training in July. Together, we are learning about nonviolent communication (including across ideological differences), nonviolent self-defense, active bystander intervention & de-escalation, restorative justice, digital nonviolence, unarmed civilian protection, non-cooperation, and more.  

In Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis wrote, “What is important is to create processes of encounter, processes that build a people that can accept differences. Let us arm our children with the weapons of dialogue! Let us teach them to fight the good fight of the culture of encounter!” (Fratelli Tutti 217) 

“… Pope Francis calls our attention to the Franciscan gifts of fraternity and social friendship, raising up the centrality of dialogue and encounter (FT 199). We are aware that how we live in fraternity is our first sign of the path to nonviolence and reconciliation. From this point we bring the application of a spirituality and practice of active nonviolence as the pathway for peacebuilding that flows from our Franciscan tradition.” OFM JPIC Assisi Statement, March 2025 

Francis of Assisi clearly modeled another way. Where others created enemies, he created brothers and sisters. His sustained, respectful dialogue with the Sultan Malik Al-Kamil demonstrated the possibility and importance of dialogue across religious, cultural, and geographic boundaries. Despite his failure to end the Crusades, the Saint of Assisi stands as a preeminent example of the peacemaker and, especially in his great dream of forestalling a war between the Christian and Muslim worlds of his time, he provides our historical moment with a utopia, a vision, an overarching ideal to help us imagine the totally new possibility of loving our enemies.  

Nonviolence is a spirituality, a way of life, a powerful force that can prevent or interrupt violence, protect those who are threatened, and build a more just world. It is a personal journey and a set of effective tools to promote social and ecological justice and enduring peace. Nonviolence is not the same as pacifism, and it is never passive.  It is a process that can move us and our communities toward just peace as we build the skills and capacity to engage conflict effectively and interrupt or prevent violence.  

Research rooted in experiences of nonviolent action in different cultures and contexts is helping us to understand that active nonviolence is a more promising and effective way than guns to confront the myriad forms of violence facing the world—from bullying to hate speech; from racism to gender violence; from authoritarianism and destruction of the Earth to war and weapons of mass destruction.  

Pax Christi International’s Catholic Nonviolence Initiative and Catholic Institute for Nonviolence are helping the Catholic Church – globally and in local communities - remember that nonviolence was central to what Jesus taught and to how he lived.  

Pope Francis, in the 2017 World Day of Peace message on Nonviolence: A Style of Politics for Peace, reminded us: “To be true followers of Jesus today also includes embracing his teaching about nonviolence.” And Pope Leo, in an address to the movements and associations that gave life to the Arena di Pace said “Faced with wars, terrorism, human trafficking, widespread aggression, children and young people need experiences that educate them to the culture of life, dialogue, mutual respect. And first of all they need witnesses of a different, nonviolent lifestyle ... Nonviolence as a method and as a style must distinguish our decisions, our relationships, our actions.” 

Yet, Catholics rarely hear from the pulpit, in Catholic schools, or in religious education programs that nonviolence is at the heart of the Gospel.  

What if the Catholic Church committed its many institutions, channels of communication and diplomacy, and its vast spiritual, intellectual, and financial resources to promoting active nonviolence? A multitude of possibilities exist for how that might begin. For example …  

Could dioceses include Gospel nonviolence in seminary and deacon formation programs and organize seminars on Christian nonviolence for the clergy and lay leaders? Could parishes regularly include the language of nonviolence in prayers of the faithful or general intercessions? Could Catholic schools be leaders in restorative justice programs? Could Catholic universities include the study of and research on different dimensions of nonviolence in academic programs, including theology, sociology, history, political science, and peace studies? Could Catholic universities, dioceses and parishes offer training in nonviolent skills to students, faculty, diocesan leaders, parishioners, and the larger community?  

The OFM JPIC Assisi Statement wrote: “As followers of St. Francis we must imitate his service to the lepers and the most vulnerable, his risky attempts to promote peace like at Damietta or in the Assisi Mayor-Bishop conflict, and his fraternal affection and compassion with other creatures. In this 21st century, this charismatic option for JPIC is illuminated by the magisterium of our beloved Franciscan-named pope, most notably through his prophetic encyclicals  Laudato Si’ and  Fratelli Tutti. Now is the time to bring those teachings to life as a central priority of the Order.”   

Nonviolence is not another “issue;” it is a cross-cutting way of life and a spectrum of learnable, effective skills to do exactly that.