Pax Christi USA plans summit "in a time of terrorism"

Social justice news
March 2002

Beginning of the end of violence in Northern Ireland?—news analysis
Bush budget 'trickles down' and leaves out social service programs
Clergy sex abuse scandal continues
Giving peace a small chance in the Middle East
Humanitarian emergency follows collapse of Colombia's peace process
IRS warns against "slavery reparation" tax scam
Measuring the human cost of the war on terror
Pax Christi plans summit in a "time of terrorism
Pope calls for immediate Middle East ceasefire
USCCB calls refugee admissions stall a crisis
Vatican opposes Iraq attack, favors Palestinian state

Pax Christi USA plans summit "in a time of terrorism"
This year's Pax Christi USA's national council in Washington from March 8 through 11 will include an unprecedented "summit" aimed at defining the movement's response to the war on terror and to "bring its message that 'violence only breeds more violence' to policymakers in the nation's capital." The theme of the meeting will be "Speaking Truth to Power in a Time of Terrorism" and will include a day-long lobby-skills training and preparation for meetings with policymakers.

"This gathering will provide us the opportunity to raise the collective voice of our movement to challenge the policy profiteering we have witnessed in the wake of September 11th tragedies," said Dave Robinson, national coordinator of Pax Christi USA. The gathering will bring together Pax Christi leaders from across the country who, in addition to their regular meetings, will join together to prepare to engage policymakers through visits with the administration and congress. A congressional briefing is being organized in collaboration with partner organizations in Washington, D.C. for Monday, March 11, six months after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

"This will be an event that all Pax Christi members, groups, parishes and religious communities can support by urging their representatives to attend the Monday briefing," Robinson said. "The emotional consensus that has emerged in the shadow of September 11th must be unmasked for what it is: an emotional response to a terrible tragedy. There is no real policy consensus in this nation and we are going to Washington, D.C. to make that clear." Since September 11, Pax Christi USA charges that Congress has used the "war on terrorism" to justify everything from corporate bailouts, to tax cuts, from fast track authority, to massive increases in defense spending, little of which actually addresses the true security or human needs of our nation's people, according to the group.

The summit will conclude Monday night with a candlelight commemoration remembering the victims of September 11, the thousands of innocent Afghan civilians killed by US bombs, as well as what Pax Christi USA calls the "ongoing domestic collateral damage"—children and persons struggling in poverty, who will bear the heaviest cost for the war through deep cuts in vital social programs.

Local actions by Pax Christi members around the nation are being planned to coincide with the events happening in Washington. Pax Christi members will be planning to meet with their local elected representatives and their local church leaders, as well as participate in public actions.

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