View source for Catholic Peace Fellowship

http://cpfphila.com/index.html


Catholic Peace Fellowship (CPF) is a community of Christians, founded in Philadelphia in 1968, who have joined together to bring a gospel-based perspective to peace, justice, and environmental issues. 

Catholic Peace Fellowship serves as a forum where people who share these concerns can come together for prayer and discussion, education, mutual support, and collective action: 

► EDUCATION PROGRAMS are designed to increase awareness of contemporary issues and the rich tradition of Church teaching on Peace and Social Justice. 

► ACTION PROGRAMS help apply those teachings to key issues of our time. 

=== We Believe That . . .  ===

► War, and preparation for war, are alien to the life and example of Jesus. 

► Nonviolence is the essential message of the gospel which we are called to practice in every dimension of our lives: to be nonviolent in spirit, word, and action. 

► The call to be peacemakers and seekers of justice is not an optional commitment, it is a requirement of our faith. 

► Because of their embrace of the gospel, Christians should be recognizably different from others in their response to military initiatives and injustice. 

► The gospel imperative is that our concern be universal, embracing the entire human family, indeed all of creation. 

► All life on Earth is intimately interwoven, a single sacred reality. As part of the sacred community of life, it is our responsibility to discern and live in harmony with the natural rhythms of our planet. 

=== Because of These Beliefs . . .  ===

Catholic Peace Fellowship works to apply our beliefs in concrete ways. For example: 

► We actively oppose the militarism which so pervades our society. Abolition of nuclear weapons has been, and continues to be, a particular focus of our efforts. 

► We work to increase awareness and concern for victims of war and oppression everywhere. We support the diversion of war funding to assist the most marginalized members of our society: poverty, homelessness, health care. We try to provide life-affirming perspective in the public debate and encourage political action. 

► We actively support groups of people, such as Catolioc Workers and farmworkers, in their pursuit of economic justice. 

► We advocate the abolition of capital punishment. 

=== The Need for Community  ===

It is often difficult in our materialistic society to maintain perspective, to resist the powerful pull of culture and keep the gospel sense alive. Each of us needs help, and that is a principal purpose of the Catholic Peace Fellowship: To provide a means for our coming together to discern and focus, to help narrow the gap between belief and behavior. 

=== Activities  ===

In our education and advocacy efforts, we: It is often difficult in our materialistic society to maintain perspective, to resist the powerful pull of culture and keep the gospel sense alive. Each of us needs help, and that is a principal purpose of the Catholic Peace Fellowship: To provide a means for our coming together to discern and focus, to help narrow the gap between belief and behavior. 

► Sponsor meetings, with speakers and discussion 

► Publish a bimonthly newsletter 

► Participate in vigils and other forms of witness to increase public awareness 

► Work to influence public policy through organized petitioning of officials on selected issues 

► Work cooperatively with others who share our views on peace, justice and concern for the environment. We are a local chapter of Pax Christi USA. 

► Serve as a source of support for persons who have committed themselves to lives of active, nonviolent resistance to militarism and injustice 

[[Category:Is-Advocacy_Organization]] [[Category:Is-Religious_Organization]] [[Category:Issue-Peace]] [[Category:Issue-Capital Punishment]] [[Category:Issue-Nonviolence]]