Georgetown University: Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs: The Future of Catholic Peacebuilding

Monday, April 7, 2008
7:30pm
Riggs Library, Healy Hall
Georgetown University
RSVP: berkleycenter@georgetown.edu

Twenty-five years after the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ 1983 pastoral, “The Challenge of Peace,” called for further development of a theology of peace, peacebuilding has received much greater attention in both secular and Church circles. On the anniversary of the peace pastoral, an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners, from various sectors of the Catholic community, will come together to reflect on the theological, ethical, and practical dimensions of the Church’s work on conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and postconflict reconciliation.

MODERATOR
Dr. Thomas Banchoff, Director of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World  Affairs, Georgetown University, will moderate the discussion.

PANELISTS
Dr. William R. Headley, C.S.Sp., Dean, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego, and former Director, Catholic Relief Services Peacebuilding Programs. Topic: Catholic Peacebuilding and Integral Human Development: Tensions and Insight from Practice.
Dr. Maryann Cusimano Love, Associate Professor and Fellow, Life Cycle Institute, Department of Politics and the Center for International Social Development, The Catholic University of America. Topic: What Kind of Peace Do We Seek? Emerging Norms in Peacebuilding Institutions.
Dr. Peter C. Phan, The Ignacia Ellacuria Professor of Catholic Social Thought, Department of Theology, Georgetown University. Topic: Peacebuilding and Reconciliation: Interfaith Dialogue and Catholic Spirituality.
Ferdinand Muhigirwe, S.J., Centre d’Etudes Pour l’Action Sociale (CEPAS), Democratic Republic of Congo. Topic: Peacebuilding in Africa.

RESPONDENTS
Dr. Katherine Marshall, Senior Fellow, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, Georgetown University.
Dr. John Borelli, Special Assistant to the President for Interreligious Initiatives, Georgetown University.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
• How might we deal with post-conflict reconstruction differently, relying on the principles of Catholic
peacebuilding? What lessons can be learned from the experiences of Catholic institutions in
peacebuilding?
• How does Catholic Social Teaching inform emerging peace building institutions?
• How might we work with other religious traditions to create sustainable peace?