- Pax Christi
Pax Christi is an international Catholic peace movement.
History
Pax Christi was established in
France in1945 as a reconciliation work between the French and the Germans after the military occupation duringWorld War II . As of 2007, it exists in more than 60 countries. Pax Christi constitutes anon-governmental organization (NGO) according to the rules of theUNESCO , theUnited Nations , the Commission on Human Rights inGeneva and theCouncil of Europe .Its philosophical foundation stems from the
Sermon on the Mount byJesus and the tradition laid forth by the olderPax Romana ICMICA/MIIC (leaders of which founded Pax Christi in 1945), and Pax Christi strives to play a pioneer role in the research of solutions of armed conflicts. In1983 , it received the Prize for Peace Education of the AFL. It is member of theInternational Coalition for the Decade of the Culture of Peace and Non-Violence.Peace Work
Pax Christi works mainly on the following issues, either by being directly involved or by means of
advocacy :* Security and Armed Conflict
* Economic Factors of Armed Conflict
* Human Rights, the Rule of Law and Armed Conflict
* Conflict Transformation
* Peace Building
* Youth Work and Peace Education
* Spirituality and Praxis of Nonviolence
*Anti-communism Organization
Pax Christi is made up of national sections of the movement, affiliated organizations and partner organizations. Its International Secretariat is located in
Brussels .National sections
Each national section is composed of local groups who enjoy a great degree of autonomy for their priorities, within the national common frame. There are 19 national sections:
*Pax Christi
Aotearoa -New Zealand
*Pax ChristiAustralia
*Pax ChristiAustria
*Pax ChristiDenmark
*Pax ChristiFlanders
*Pax ChristiFrance
*Pax ChristiGermany
*Pax ChristiIreland
*Pax ChristiItaly
*Pax ChristiLuxembourg
*Pax ChristiNetherlands
*Pax ChristiPhilippines
*Pax ChristiPortugal
*Pax ChristiPuerto Rico
*Pax ChristiSlovakia
*Pax ChristiSwitzerland
*Pax ChristiUnited Kingdom
*Pax Christi United States of America
*Pax Christi Wallonie-BruxellesAffiliated organization and partners
In areas without sections, civil society groups or organizations can apply to become an affiliated organization or partner with Pax Christi International. Affiliated organizations enjoy voting rights and contribute financially to Pax Christi, while partners are not contributing member and have no voting rights.
Affiliated organizations and partners are very different:
peace ,non-violence andhuman rights groups, research institutes and international religious congregations.ee also
* [http://www.paxchristi.net International Site]
* [http://www.paxchristiusa.org Pax Christi USA]
* [http://www.paxchristi.be Pax Christi Flanders] __NOTOC__
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