by Anna Blackman

Guest Editor

In this year’s World Day of Peace Message Pope Leo XIV spoke of the need to share ‘the peace of the risen Christ – a peace that is unarmed and disarming’. Though the Church’s history has been marked by a predominance of the just war tradition, in recent years we have witnessed an increasing turn towards Gospel nonviolence as a way to work for peace. Whilst peace has always been a core theme within the Catholic social tradition, since the 1960s legitimacy for war has become increasingly qualified within papal thinking with a corresponding questioning of the assumption that war, or violence, can play any positive role in peacebuilding. Rather, nonviolence, as both a spirituality and method for engagement, has become increasingly amplified within papal reflections. This has been seen most markedly in the papacy of Pope Francis, who spoke of how ‘Jesus marked out the path of nonviolence’ and that ‘To be true followers of Jesus today also includes embracing his teaching about nonviolence’.

This centring of Gospel nonviolence owes much to Catholic peace groups, such as Pax Christi and the Catholic Worker (both of which we here from in this edition) as well as growing theological and scriptural scholarship on Jesus’ way of nonviolence. Though often nonviolence has been dismissed as too utopian, a developing body of socio-political research points to the effectiveness of nonviolence as a method for dealing with conflict, and one which does so without recourse to violence. Nonviolent peacebuilding encompasses a plurality of methods, such as those which are more obstructive, including direct-action, protest, and civil disobedience, and those which are more constructive, including community-building, restorative processes, and reconciliation, yet all based on the premise that though conflict may be inevitable, violence is not. Proponents of Gospel nonviolence argue therefore that not only is this approach faithful, it can also be tremendously effective.

As the world continues to engage in cycles of increasing conflict, it feels an appropriate time to reflect on an alternative, nonviolent option. In this edition, we hear first-hand from those involved with utilizing nonviolent peacebuilding rooted in their faith. We begin with a reflection on John’s Gospel by Fr Tom Magill which roots peacemaking in Christ’s gift of peace. A series of articles are then dedicated to the context of the Middle East; Stephen McKinney and Jennifer Farrar reflect on the role of higher education in peacebuilding in the context of Gaza, Stefano Intropido examines the importance of language in peace mediation in the Middle East, and a press release from Justice and Peace Scotland details a pastoral visit from the Co-ordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church in the Holy Land and calls for deescalation following military strikes against Iran. Looking closer to home Marian Pallister, from Pax Christi Scotland, reflects on her work for peace and justice, Mark Camburn details SCIAF’s involvement in peacebuilding in Colombia, and Luke Devlin emphasizes the importance of community building and interfaith solidarity for a peaceful society. Fr Charles Coyle and Paul Matheson look at the role of arts and culture promoting peace through their film and music reviews, and Mary Cullen reviews books which provide guidance on nonviolent communication and the world of care.

During the course of editing this issue we learnt of the death of Brian Quail, undoubtedly one of the most prominent and influential Scottish Catholic peace activists, known for his long-term anti-Trident activism. As Pope Leo writes, ‘Even in places where… despair seems inevitable, we still find people who have not forgotten peace’; Brian was one of these people. Before Brian died, he wrote that ‘Our duty is just to keep on keeping on. We are in God’s hands. We must see that we live in one world… we must have hope’. During such dark times, these are words to live by. Articles by Tamara Horsburgh and Ross Ahlfeld commemorate Brian’s legacy of peace, hope, and perseverance.

In November 2025 another great died, theologian Fr Fergus Kerr OP. Fergus’ contribution to British theology cannot be understated. Simon Gaine OP, John O’Connor OP, and Sara Parvis reflect on his immense legacy. May Brian and Fergus rest in the peace of the risen Christ which we all hope to enjoy.

Anna Blackman is a Lecturer in Catholic Religious Education at the University of Glasgow. She serves on the Columban Missionaries in Britain’s Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee, co-chairs the Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church’s roundtable on nonviolence and just peace and co-facilitates the Catholic Institute for Nonviolence's research strand on Gospel Nonviolence. Her research focuses on Catholic social thought and practice, particularly theologies of nonviolence and the intersection between Catholic education and nonviolent activism.