In celebration of the Season of Creation and the Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) Subcommittees on Justice and Peace, Ecological Integrity, and Gender Equality, hosted a special learning session on gospel nonviolence on September 17, 2024. The event took place from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Henry Sy Sr. Innovation Center in Miriam College, Quezon City.

Organized in collaboration with the Miriam College Advocacy Council, the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, CEAP, and Pax Christi International, the session featured Marie Dennis, Senior Director of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, as the keynote speaker.

The gathering highlighted CEAP’s ongoing commitment to the Global Compact on Education, a key initiative of Pope Francis, with a particular emphasis on upholding human dignity and caring for our common home.

In her presentation “Gospel Nonviolence and a Laudato Si Future”, Marie Dennis emphasized that we are at a turning point in human and planetary history, a kairos moment, where ecological destruction, social injustice, and violence are deeply interconnected. Echoing Pope Francis, she underlined the need for an integral ecology and a spiritual conversion to nonviolence, rooted in the Gospel and Catholic social teaching. She argued that nonviolence is not passive, but a powerful, transformative force and ethic essential to healing our relationships with one another and with the Earth.

Marie described how traditional views of development and human dominance over nature have led to exploitation and environmental degradation. She called for a new “cosmovision,” one that recognizes all creation as sacred and interconnected. She warned of the “senseless war against creation” and stressed that ecological and peace-building efforts must go hand in hand.

Nonviolence, she said, is both a personal and structural path, capable of addressing everything from war and climate change to racism, poverty, and migration.

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