by Lucy Irven, Commission Member
Pax Christi England & Wales is a membership organisation operating within Pax Christi International, the Catholic movement for peace and nonviolence. The work of Pax Christi – the Peace of Christ – is based on the gospel and inspired by faith, rooted in Catholic Christianity but open to all who share its values and work.
Being a member of Pax Christi England & Wales means giving financial support to their work and joining a network of likeminded people who will be taking the message of peace and offering resources to parishes, ecumenical peace friends, and other networks. Members lobby their MP on issues such as the arms trade and the UK’s nuclear weapon programme and they take part in times of prayer and actions of solidarity. There are currently four key areas of work being supported by Pax Christi – Nonviolence, Disarmament, Palestine & Israel and Peace Education.
Having been a member of Pax Christi for many years, I have recently joined the Executive Committee which helps guide the work of the movement. Working with other members I am focusing on understanding better the spirituality of nonviolence and how we can develop and support a community of Peacemakers.
My interest in Justice and Peace issues grew after I joined the Catholic Church in my 20s, and my involvement over the years has included volunteering for the Youth Justice Service, running Skipton Foodbank, raising awareness about Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the Diocese of Leeds, holding Family Poverty workshops for the Leeds Justice & Peace Commission in the Keighley & Skipton Deanery and as a Commissioner on the Diocese of Leeds Criminal Justice inquiry.
I am looking forward to exploring the key themes of Peace, Reconciliation and Nonviolence and working with others in nonviolent peace-making, nurturing the Peace of Christ in our world.
Every year, with the support of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, England and Wales, Pax Christi promote Peace Sunday on the second Sunday in Ordinary Time as a way of observing the World Day of Peace and promoting the Pope’s message for that year. This year, Peace Sunday will be kept on Sunday 19 January 2025 and the theme chosen by the Holy Father is “Forgive us our trespasses: grant us your peace”.
The full message was released on 12 December 2024 and according to Pope Francis, the path towards “a true and lasting peace” in the world is rooted in the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer and requires a desire for change on a personal, cultural, and structural level “in order to confront the present state of injustice and inequality.”
The message speaks of how we must listen to the ‘pleas of an endangered humanity’, how the year of Jubilee is an event that inspires us to seek the liberating justice of God in our world and how by ‘opening our hearts to our brothers and sisters, we will restore God’s justice on earth’ and ‘move forward to achieve the goal of peace’.
A copy of the Pope’s message can be downloaded from the Pax Christi Peace Sunday page along with other resources for Peace Sunday on the 19th January: paxchristi.org.uk/peace-sunday-2025/
