PACIFISTS

In the month of November we gracefully remember our departed friends.

We also commemorate our many wars.

We can celebrate also in this month the heroes who gave the best time of their lives to convince the world that while wars may involve heroes they are themselves destructive,  a sad and always terrible disaster, whatever their end product.

Here are names of fellow citizens of our world - one for every day of November plus a few more - who tried to prevent war, tried to stop war and its terrible suffering , tried to convince us that in our present state of human evolution survival by destruction is unworthy and always a sign of many failures whatever the outcome.

These fellow citizens of a world that deserves peace endured the pain that pacifism brings. Some of them came to visit us in West Belfast and Derry  (their names are marked here by an asterix *)  and during our recent war time often enriched our many conversations, about the real meaning of war and the real meaning of peace, about a world  really serious about real peace,

 The meaning of Pacifist as understood here : One who aims towards and works for the abolition of war, one who, if war starts, tries to do all possible to lessen its cruelties and to stop it, one who works towards convincing governments and people to get rid of war for any reason and to create a way of life that respects our right to life, our  peaceful enjoyment of  life and the means of enhancing life for everyone.

 

         Dorothy Day                                  1897-1980     American.  FOUNDER OF CATHOLIC WORKER  

                                                                                                               MOVEMENT WITH PETER MAURIN.                                                                                                          

Barbara Deming                            1917 - 1984     American                 

Francis  Sheehy-Skeffington       1878-1916       Irish                 

Hanna Sheehy -Skeffington        1877-1946       Irish                  

Martin Luther King                       1929-1968      American         

*Dan Berrigan                               1921-2002      American                  

Philip Berrigan                              1923-2002      American           

*Mother  Teresa                           1910-1997      Albanian         

                                                                                   FOUNDER  OF MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY                                                                                                                                                           

Dietrich Bonhoeffer                     1906-1945       Polish

Mahatma Gandhi                         1869-1948        Indian                  

Martin Niemoller                         1892 -1984       German            

Fr Franz  Stock                              1904-1948         German                  

*Willa Bickham                           Contemporary  American      FOUNDER OF VIVA HOUSE  BALTIMORE                      

*Brendan Walsh                         Contemporary   American      FOUNDER OF VIVA HOUSE  BALTIMORE  

Nelson Mandela                         1918-2013           African              

Thomas Merton                          1915-1968            French             

*Bruce Kent                                 Contemporary    English              Founder of  Pax Christi.     

*Pax Christi                                 1945 on.                                           Catholic Peace organisation

Franz Jagerstatter                     1907-1943           Austrian             

Gordon Zhan.                              1918-2007           American          

*Brian Kavanagh.                       Contemporary        Irish                     

*Ciaran Mc Keown                     Contemporary        Irish                      

Helder Camara                            1910-1999           Brazilian              

Fr Georges Pire                            1910-1969          Belgian                  

*Fellowship of Reconciliation     1914 on                                              

Society of the Brethren              1708 on                                               

Conscientious  Objectors            297 A.D.  on                                             

*Mennonites                                 from Menno Simons (1496 - 1561)     

*Society of Friends                       1650 

*Steve Pittam                                   Contemporary English

*Jane Pittam                                     Contemporary English                                                      

Simone Weil                                   1909-1943        French                   

Hephzibah Menuhin (Hauser)     1920-1981        American                       

Rosa Parks                                       1913-2005        American                         

Peter  Maurin                                 1877-1949        French    FOUNDER OF CATHOLIC WORKER 

*Will Warren                                  1906-1990        English    SOCIETY OF FRIENDS WORKER IN DERRY

                                                                                                        1971-1977                                                                                     

*Alfred Mc Clung Lee                    1906-1992        USA                                           

*Betty Mc Clung Lee                     1908-1999         USA                                    

*Herman Verbeek                          Contemporary   Belgian     Member of the European Parliament.

Don Lorenzo Milani                        Died 1967           Italian       PARISH PRIEST , EDUCATOR  

*John Dear                                       Contemporary   American 

Gene Sharp                                      1928-2018           American

Robert Ellsberg                                b.1955                  American

Don Lorenzo Milani                        1923 - 1967          Italian           Founded schools with radical and, in their time, revolutionary programmes  for young  people and adults. Brought to court by military chaplains who had said, "Conscientious objectors are cowards...",  accusing him of slandering army chaplains.

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INTERNATIONAL AND LOCAL PACIFISTS WELCOMED TO WEST BELFAST.

*Dan Berrigan Jesuit priest, read his Catonsville Nine for us in a makeshift community hall at the top of the Whiterock Road ;

*Mother Teresa  visited  us in West Belfast at the suggestion of a Methodist Minister in London, making an arrangement with church authorities for her Sisters to set up house in Springhill, an arrangement church officials later cancelled forcing them to go away again.

*Alfred Mc Clung Lee wrote a book in 1983 "Terrorism in Northern Ireland"   one of the few books exploring the real meaning of citizens' revolt against bad government in N.Ireland and elsewhere.

*Willa  Bickham and Brendan Walsh are colleagues and frequent  visitors with us in West Belfast.

*Bruce Kent and his colleagues marched to 10 Downing Street protesting against British government activities in N. Ireland. He resigned from his senior church position rather than accept the Catholic  church's acceptance of government nuclear arming for  " deterrence".   Pax Christi, a Catholic organisation he founded for world peace recognised the  work for peace in West Belfast.

*Ciaran Mc Keown, a student of peace and Pacifism since before the nineteen seventies in Belfast and  wrote about them . His father was headmaster of St Thomas' School Whiterock  Road.

* The Society of Friends have an honourable record of quiet service to people in conflict and provided help and comfort to prisoners and their relatives. They cooperated with residents and associations in West Belfast in the most difficult of recent years.

* Herman Verbeek visited , corresponded with and met us in West Belfast, discussed possible changes towards cooperation and peace in the Churches.

* John Dear stayed with us for a time and worked in cooperation with  Springhill Community House in the Centre for Human Rights.   

* Steve and Jane Pittam of the Society of Friends worked with us in West Belfast for many years and are still happily among our many visiting Friends.