Pace e Bene

Published in The Organizer, Pax Christi, Spring 2006

“I had a student at the University of Maryland a while back who wrote a 13-word paper that for both brevity and breadth – the rarest of combinations – has stayed with me. ‘Question: Why are we violent but not illiterate? Answer: Because we are taught to read.’” – Colman McCarthy (p. 92)

For those wishing to learn the language of nonviolence, the book Engage: Exploring Nonviolent Living provides a “wide variety of principles, stories, exercises, and readings for learning, practicing, and experimenting with the power of creative nonviolence for personal and social transformation” (p. xiv). It is designed for groups of eight to twelve participants in twelve sessions of approximately 2.5 hours each.

Engage is a thorough revision and expansion of Pace e Bene’s From Violence to Wholeness program. Each book contains facilitator’s notes for guiding the process and surveys to take before and after the course, to see what changes the process provoked. It was written for both religious and non-religious settings and includes reflections and exercises from a variety of traditions and social locations.

It offers participants the opportunity to learn how violence is manifested in our world and how to respond to it; to learn about the history of nonviolence; to find ways to live a more just and peaceful life; and to deepen their relationship with themselves and others. It encourages participants to explore their personal reactions and beliefs and to understand that this is a process, which does not mean perfection or an end to conflict.

This book and its process are very dense and require active participation, including “homework” between sessions. Participants become involved in working with nonviolence on both an inner level (such as how we react and beliefs about violence and nonviolence) and as a process and method for addressing social problems (especially structural violence). By the end of the sessions, each group will have planned for and carried out a strategic nonviolent action. For groups looking for an in-depth study of violence and nonviolence, Engage offers a thorough process that can increase skills in nonviolence.