The world is emerging from an historic health crisis that has exacerbated existing conflicts, poverty, inequalities, polarization, and threats to the environment. While the pandemic led to unprecedented cooperation and heroic responses by many, it also exposed deficits in leadership and emboldened authoritarians, demagogues, and chauvinistic nationalists. Just as the world hopes to move beyond the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens global peace in ways thought unimaginable when the pandemic began. The challenge to Catholic peacebuilders is clear: we must ensure that the post-pandemic return to “normal” does not look like the pre-pandemic status quo, or worse. That will require an integral and integrated approach to peace, development and ecology because the cry of war’s victims, the cry of the poor, and the cry of the earth rise as one (Laudato Si’, no. 49).

This international virtual conference will convene a wide range of Catholic peacebuilders – Church leaders, scholars, peacebuilding specialists and other practitioners – from around the world. It will allow participants to learn from their rich and diverse experiences in confronting challenges to peace around the world and help them discern new and creative ways to respond to the historic challenges to peace that we now face.

Plenary sessions will be in English with simultaneous translation in Spanish and French. Breakout sessions will be in English, French, or Spanish, with simultaneous translation for select sessions.