Viewpoint: J&P Scotland - how we can come together for peace

Ross Ahlfeld of Glasgow Catholic Worker reflects on his hopes for the new Pax Christi Scotland initiative.

I was delighted to learn recently, that the good folks at Justice and Peace Scotland have decided to nurture and develop the implementation of a Pax Christi group for Scotland. We Catholic Workers in Scotland, very much welcome this initiative. We also look forward to benefiting from Justice and Peace Scotland's efforts to disseminate Pax Christi's unique vision for reconciliation to the wider Scottish justice and peace network. Indeed, the practical application of Pax Chrisiti's excellent resources on prayer and nonviolence to our specific Scottish context is something we should all be excited about.

Yet, you may well ask, in what specific way will a Scottish Pax Christi impact on Scotland's Justice and Peace movement?

Perhaps one small example might be our annual Good Friday Stations of the Cross procession through the streets of Glasgow. This year, Glasgow Catholic Worker used Pax Christi's 'Follow Me - The Way of the Cross' booklet. This wonderful little booklet is a brilliant resource for groups and communities, offering prayers and reflections taken from the writings of Blessed Franz Jägerstätter.

As we moved off from the Cenotaph at George Square, we reflected on the misery of war and the legacy of our city's shameful involvement in the slave trade. We then stopped at the 'Sleeping Jesus' statue and thought on our homeless friends who come to our soup kitchen every Friday night. Then, at the 'Hielanman's Umbrella' we prayed for an end to pollution and poverty and at various other stops on the way down to the banks of the Clyde.

Finally, we reflected on refugees and asylum before our last station and concluding prayer at St Andrew's Cathedral. At each station someone would say a few short words using the text supplied by Pax Christi with reflections by Blessed Franz Jägerstätter.

And so, maybe it would be helpful for us to think of the aforementioned application of Pax Christi's charism to a Glasgow setting, as offering a tantalising example of how we might build a uniquely Scottish Pax Christi identity within our own culture.

Finally, all around the world we see the forces of destruction and war gathering and growing like a shadow across the land. As such, peacemakers are urgently required to get to work: we cannot wait until it's too late. To do this work, we require an inclusive and diverse peace movement just as we seek broad and inclusive Church and society and a Pax Christi Scotland will certainly help in this regard. To quote the Pax Christi's 'Follow Me' booklet - 'Know that peacemaking is at least as hard as making war! Remind us, Lord, that your peace is much more than the absence of war and conflict.'