This past Monday through Wednesday in Rome there was an unprecedented conference hosted by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace that elicited a landmark result. Some 80 participants from around the world gathered at the Vatican to discuss Jesus’ teachings on non-violence and to revisit the Catholic Church’s position on the issues of war and peace in the 21st century. At the end of the gathering the attendees released a document titled “An Appeal to the Catholic Church to Re-Commit to the Centrality of Gospel Nonviolence” in which they rejected the church’s long-held just war theory. In addition they strongly urged Pope Francis to consider issuing a document recovering and renewing the gospel call to non-violence.
In light of this recent development I cite here an article I wrote in 2007 called “The Missing Piece: Peace” — http://www.thesacredbraid.com/the-written-word/articles/peace-making/the-missing-piece-peace/
To read more here about the conference in Rome: http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/landmark-vatican-conference-rejects-just-war-theory-asks-encyclical-nonviolence