By Marie Dennis

 

Just outside of Bethlehem, at the Tent of Nations family farm, “… the most silent of revolutions”  described in Pope Leo’s 2026 World Day of Peace message is well underway. The Tent of Nations, surrounded by acrimony and threatened constantly by settler violence, insists that, “hope is not merely something we feel—it is a discipline we choose each day. It is the courage to rise when circumstances press us low, the faithfulness to tend the soil, to plant trees, and to bear witness through simple, steady acts that darkness will never have the final word.” 

In his World Day of Peace Message (Peace be with you all: Towards an “unarmed and disarming” peace ), Pope Leo reminds us that Jesus’ disciples are “invited to live in a unique and privileged way…”  

Around the world, people threatened by violence and the many who act in solidarity with them are accepting this invitation to practice Gospel nonviolence. They are protecting and welcoming migrants, resisting human trafficking, marching against violence toward women in Brazil, staging a silent strike in opposition to military rule in Myanmar, accompanying vulnerable communities in Palestine, Sudan, DR Congo, Ukraine, Iraq and more. In Germany, 55,000 youth walked out of high school in opposition to a government plan to attract more military recruits; in El Salvador, civil society is organizing and educating to protect basic human rights; in the Mediterranean, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition has repeatedly sought to deliver food and essential medicines to Gaza; and in the United States, millions across the country have refused to cooperate with growing authoritarianism. Nonviolence News and Waging Nonviolence share these stories week after week – about active nonviolence described by Pope Leo “in the midst of concrete historical, political and social circumstances.” 

The 2026 World Day of Peace message recalls that “… what troubled the disciples was his nonviolent response: a path that they all, Peter first among them, contested; yet the Master asked them to follow this path to the end. The way of Jesus continues to cause unease and fear. He firmly repeats to those who would defend him by force: “Put your sword back into its sheath” (Jn18:11; cf. Mt26:52).

Nonviolence names a core value of the Gospel, in which Jesus combined an unmistakable rejection of violence with the power of love and truth. Pax Christi’s Catholic Nonviolence Initiative describes this “way of Jesus” – nonviolence – as a spirituality, a way of life, a method for change, a universal ethic, and the creative power of love in action that promotes respect for the dignity of every person and the integrity of creation. It is a constructive antidote to direct, psychological, structural, cultural, spiritual, and ecological violence. It transforms the roots of violence; is broader than pacifism; and is never passive. 

One of the great gifts of the past 15 years is clear empirical evidence that active nonviolence is a positive, constructive, and powerful force for social change. A diverse set of nonviolent approaches – from diplomacy to trauma healing, from restorative justice to accompaniment, from civil resistance to music and humor – are effectively dealing with violence without lethal force; transforming conflict; protecting people, communities, and the earth at risk; and fostering just and peaceful alternatives.

The World Day of Peace message continues, Throughout the world, it is to be hoped that “every community become a ‘house of peace,’ where one learns how to defuse hostility through dialogue, where justice is practiced and forgiveness is cherished.”

In these challenging times of global violence and injustice, the Church could help every Catholic community to become a “house of peace” by integrating the spirituality and practices of Gospel nonviolence throughout the life and work of the Church: in dioceses, parishes, agencies, schools, universities, seminaries, religious orders, voluntary associations, development agencies and ministries around the world. The Catholic Institute for Nonviolence was founded a year ago to support such an effort to deepen Catholic understanding of and commitment to the practice of Gospel Nonviolence.