The Catholic Institute
for Nonviolence
A project of Pax Christi International, The Catholic Institute for Nonviolence is advancing nonviolence in the Church through theological reflection, research based on global experience, dialogue, and formation.
Its mission is to make nonviolence research, resources, and lived experience more accessible to Catholic Church leaders, communities, and institutions in order to deepen Catholic understanding of and commitment to the practice of Gospel nonviolence.
To carry out this mission and reach its goals, the Catholic Institute for Nonviolence operates primarily as a virtual institute, with a small physical presence in Rome.
How We Work
How we Work
Advisory Council
The Catholic Institute for Nonviolence Advisory Council includes well-known nonviolence practitioners, scholars, members of religious communities and Church leaders with extensive experience, knowledge and interest in the many dimensions of active nonviolence.
Advisory Council members, by publicly associating with the Institute, will promote its mission in different Church circles and beyond. They also will connect the Institute with scholars and practitioners of nonviolence, particularly from the peripheries, who might be interested in associating with the Institute.
- Nate Bacon, Central America Regional Director, InnerCHANGE (Guatemala)
- Maria Clara Bingemer, PhD, Professor of the Theology Department of Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
- Loreta Castro, Ed.D. Founding Director, Miriam College Center for Peace Education (Philippines)
- Sister Jan Cebula, OSF, President, Franciscan Sisters of Clinton, Ohio (US)
- Erica Chenoweth, PhD, Dean and Professor, Harvard University, foremost authority on strategic nonviolence (US)
- Archbishop Peter Chong, Archbishop of Suva (Fiji)
- Emilce Cuda, PhD, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America at the Holy See, member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and the Pontifical Academy Pro-Vita (Argentina/Italy)
- Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago IL (US)
- Bishop Kevin Dowling, CSsR, former Co-President of Pax Christi International (South Africa)
- Rev. Stan Chu Ilo, PhD, DePaul University Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology (Nigeria/US)
- Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King, CEO. The Martin Luther King Jr Center for Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center) (US)
- Friar Michael Lasky, OFM Conv, President of Roman VI, JPIC for the Franciscan Family (Italy)
- Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington DC (US)
- Hardy Merriman, past President of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (US)
- Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel laureate (Northern Ireland)
- Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, SDB, Archbishop of Yangon (Myanmar)
- Rev. Claude Mostowik, MSC, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Justice and Peace Centre (Australia)
- Sister Patricia Murray, IBVM, Chairperson, Anna Trust (Ireland)
- Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Nigeria/Italy)
- Cardinal Alvaro Ramazzini, Bishop of Huehuetenango (Guatemala)
- Greg Reichberg, PhD, Research Professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo/PRIO (Norway)
- Archbishop Giovanni Ricchiuti, President of Pax Christi Italy (Italy)
- Maria Stephan, PhD, Co-Lead and Chief Organizer with the Horizons Project, Former Director of the Program on Nonviolent Action at the US Institute of Peace (US)
- Isak Svensson, PhD, Professor at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University (Sweden)
- Cardinal Silvano Tomasi, CS, Holy See diplomat, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva from 2003 to 2016 (Italy)
- Nate Bacon, Central America Regional Director, InnerCHANGE (Guatemala)
- Maria Clara Bingemer, PhD, Professor of the Theology Department of Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
- Loreta Castro, Ed.D. Founding Director, Miriam College Center for Peace Education (Philippines)
- Sister Jan Cebula, OSF, President, Franciscan Sisters of Clinton, Ohio (US)
- Erica Chenoweth, PhD, Dean and Professor, Harvard University, foremost authority on strategic nonviolence (US)
- Archbishop Peter Chong, Archbishop of Suva (Fiji)
- Emilce Cuda, PhD, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America at the Holy See, member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and the Pontifical Academy Pro-Vita (Argentina/Italy)
- Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago IL (US)
- Bishop Kevin Dowling, CSsR (past co-president of Pax Christi International (South Africa)
- Rev. Stan Chu Ilo, PhD, DePaul University Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology (Nigeria/US)
- Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King, CEO. The Martin Luther King Jr Center for Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center) (US)
- Friar Michael Lasky, OFM Conv, President of Roman VI, JPIC for the Franciscan Family (Italy)
- Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington DC (US)
- Hardy Merriman, past President of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (US)
- Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel laureate (Northern Ireland)
- Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, SDB, Archbishop of Yangon (Myanmar)
- Rev. Claude Mostowik, MSC, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Justice and Peace Centre (Australia)
- Sister Patricia Murray, IBVM, Chairperson, Anna Trust (Ireland)
- Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Nigeria/Italy)
- Cardinal Alvaro Ramazzini, Bishop of Huehuetenango (Guatemala)
- Greg Reichberg, PhD, Research Professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo/PRIO (Norway)
- Archbishop Giovanni Ricchiuti, President of Pax Christi Italy (Italy)
- Maria Stephan, PhD, Co-Lead and Chief Organizer with the Horizons Project, Former Director of the Program on Nonviolent Action at the US Institute of Peace (US)
- Isak Svensson, PhD, Professor at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University (Sweden)
- Cardinal Silvano Tomasi, CS, Holy See diplomat, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva from 2003 to 2016 (Italy)
Associates
Associates
The Catholic Institute for Nonviolence seeks to increase concerted research by scholars, theologians, and grassroot practitioners aimed at deepening the theological and strategic foundations for nonviolence in the Church and to inform Church teachings and pastoral approaches.
To do that, Associates of the Catholic Institute for Nonviolence come together around three main areas of study and practice.
At the same time, each research concentration develops specific topic working groups within its own research concentration area or intersectional working groups with associates from the other research concentration areas according to its own identified needs.
Associates
- SimonMary Asese Aihiokhai, PhD, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Portland (Nigeria/US)
- Consuelo Amat, PhD, Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Pietro Ameglio, PhD, Social activist and Professor of Peace and Nonviolence Culture at the National University (Mexico)
- Anna Blackman, PhD, University of Glasgow (Scotland)
- James Burke, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Theology /Peace & Justice Studies, Lewis University(US)
- Lisa Sowle Cahill, PhD, J. Donald Monan Professor of Moral Theology at Boston College (US)
- William Cavanaugh, PhD, director of the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology at DePaul University (US)
- David Cochran, PhD, Professor of Politics at Loras College (US)
- Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham, PhD, University of Maryland (US)
- Rev. John Dear, author, activist and teacher of peace and nonviolence.
- Cécile Dubernet, PhD, Catholic University of Paris (France)
- Véronique Dudouet, PhD, Senior Researcher, Berghof Foundation (Germany)
- Mel Duncan, Founder, Nonviolent Peaceforce (US)
- Sister Lilian Ehidiamhen, PhD, Specialist in nonviolent communication (Nigeria)
- Belen Garrido, PhD, Regional Institute for the Study and Practice of Strategic Nonviolent Action in the Americas (Ecuador)
- Divina Gekong, PhD, St. Paul’s University (Kenya)
- Leo Guardado, PhD, Assistant professor, Department of Theology, Fordham University (El Salvador/US)
- Rev. Stan Chu Ilo, PhD, DePaul University Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology (Nigeria/US)
- Rev. Emmanuel Katongole, PhD., Professor of Theology and Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame (Uganda/US)
- David Kwon, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Seattle University
Associates
- Sister Léocadie Lushombo, PhD, Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics, Jesuit School of Theology/Santa Clara University (DR Congo/US)
- Eli McCarthy, PhD, Georgetown University, Director, D.C. Peace Team (US)
- Hardy Merriman, PhD, Former president, International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (US)
- Dan Moriarty, MA, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns (US)
- Ched Myers, activist theologian and Scripture scholar, co-directs Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries in Oak View, Calif. (US)
- Wolfgang Palaver, PhD, University of Innsbruck, ret (Austria)
- Margaret Pfiel, PhD, Assistant Professor of moral theology, University of Notre Dame (US)
- Rev. Daniel Franklin Pilario, C.M., Ph.D, Associate Professor and Dean of St. Vincent School of Theology at Adamson University in Quezon City (Philippines)
- Jonathan Pinckney, PhD, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Texas at Dallas (US)
- Nico Plooijer, MA, Staff member with two decades of experience managing peacebuilding programs, including in Sudan and South Sudan, with PAX (Netherlands)
- Terrence Rynne, PhD, Marquette University (US)
- Jeanette Rodriguez, PhD, Seattle University (US)
- Gerald Schlabach, PhD, Professor emeritus in the Department of Theology, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul MN (US)
- Rev. Mark J. Shimave is a Catholic priest of the diocese of Jalingo in northeast Nigeria and a doctoral student at Boston College (Nigeria/US)
- Joshua Snyder, PhD, Associate Professor of the Practice in Theological Ethics at Boston College (US)
- Ogarit Younan, PhD, Founder, Academic University for Nonviolence (Lebanon)
- Stephen Zunes, PhD, Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice and Daniel Greenberg Fellow in Interfaith Nonviolence, University of San Francisco, (US)
Staff and Coordination Committee
- Marie Dennis, Co-Director
- Ken Butigan, Co-Director
- Nicolás Paz, Director, Catholic Nonviolence Initiative
Coordination Committee: Martha Inés Romero (Colombia), Eli McCarthy (US), Teresia Wamuyu Wachira (Kenya), Sheila Kinsey (US/Italy), Nicolás Paz (Spain), Marie Dennis (US), Ken Butigan (US).
Email: institute@paxchristi.net
For inquiries, collaborations, or to learn more about the Catholic Institute for Nonviolence, please contact us at institute@paxchristi.net
