'Pacem in Terris' is Magna Carta for Pax Christi International

(Vatican Radio) Pope John XXIII’s Cold War era Encyclical Pacem in Terris or “Peace on Earth,” remains “extremely contemporary” and can act as a guide to peace-building in today’s world. That’s what Pope Francis told participants at a three day Vatican conference this week celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1963 Encyclical Letter.

Experts from Catholic universities and institutions, and from the UN, the Council of Europe, the African Union, and the Organization of American States gathered in Rome at the request of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace to discuss the relevance of Pacem in Terris to their peace building efforts in today’s world.

Among them were the leaders of the global Catholic peace network Pax Christi International. Philippa Hitchen caught up with co-president Marie Dennis, the first woman and first lay person to hold that leadership position. She explained why Pacem in Terris has served as a kind of Magna Carta for the work of that organisation…..


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