Gospel
of Nonviolence: the Way of the Church
Presented at 2018 Kansas City Provincial Assembly by Gabino Zavala, Peace & Justice Ministry Director
The Conference of Major Superiors of Men (cmsm)
passed a resolution in their annual meeting last August
challenging us to live Gospel nonviolence. This resolu-
tion commits and calls members to “use both our
individual charisms and experience as religious lead-
ers 1) to build up nonviolent practices and a culture
of nonviolence; 2) to invite Pope Francis to offer an
encyclical on nonviolence, which would include a shift
to a just peace approach to transforming conflict.” The
resolution reminds us that “Jesus calls us to love our
enemies and be peacemakers (Mt. 5:7).…We need a
deeper understanding of Gospel nonviolence to better
live out our faith, transform our societies, and ‘build
bridges’ as well as cultures of just peace.”
As Precious Blood Members, Companions,
Volunteers, and Amici, how do we use our charism of
renewal and reconciliation to live out, as a community
and as individuals, a culture of nonviolence?
Since this resolution was passed overwhelm-
ingly by cmsm we have seen on-going wars in Syria,
Afghanistan, and Yemen. Terrorism continues to be an
assault on our lives. Shootings have sadly become an al-
most daily occurrence in our country. There have been
33 school shootings since August 3, 2017—and we can’t
forget the horrendous shooting in Las Vegas. Human
trafficking is a worldwide tragedy. We continue to have
the death penalty as the law of the land in 35 states. Our
prisons are violent warehouses in our broken criminal
justice system. Violence against women—sexual, emo-
tional and physical—is a daily reality in our society. Our
actions and our lifestyle are an assault on our common
home not caring for the gift of creation.
Violence is not just a result of guns and weapons of
war. There is violence in our words and attitudes. I