Louis Vitale recounts his faith journey from a Catholic upbringing to becoming a Franciscan priest. He was initially drawn to religious heroism but later embraced social justice work among the poor. In the 1960s he was influenced by progressive movements and engaged in anti-war protests. He helped start the Nevada Desert Experience to nonviolently protest nuclear weapons testing, drawing from his Franciscan values of nonviolence and care for creation. He remains committed to nonviolent social change.

1. The Wolf
Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service
www.paceebene.org Summer2010,Vol.21,No.2
Peace and all Good
My Faith Journey
by Louis Vitale ofm
InsIde thIs Issue
My Faith Journey 1
I
was born June 1, 1932 into an Italian Catholic family and culture, with
baptism being top of the chronology of religious rituals. Next on the Encountering the “Heart”
agenda should have been religious instruction culminating in first com- Of Nonviolence 4
munion preceded by confession, but through some dissatisfaction with
the old Mission San Gabriel, my parents did not attend mass and I did Pace e Bene Welcomes
not make those steps at the usual age of seven. Three Summer Interns 5
About the time I turned 12, a close friend of my father convinced him,
after much resistance, to attend a weekend retreat at a Catholic Retreat My Life-Giving Journey
Center. My father, a great salesman, met his match and was so impressed by With Pace e Bene 6
the priest he came home and announced that we were now going to Sunday
mass. Within a year I was in a Catholic mili- Passionately Committed
tary school run by Dominican Sisters. There to Nonviolent Change:
my religious upbringing got a jump-start. I
Gratitude for Ken Preston’s
received instruction and made my first com-
munion, confession and confirmation. Ten Years with Pace e Bene 7
My bent seemed to be enthusiasm. I took
to all of this with zeal. I was very impressed A Letter from Pace e Bene’s
with a Dominican priest in long white robes Nigerian Associate 8
who seemed heroic to me. During those
World War II days, there were many stories of Peacemaking Resources 9
missionaries who seemed for our times like the martyrs of the early church,
being placed in concentration camps, tortured and even put to death. To me
this seemed a very heroic life style. But almost all members of my family
were engaged in business—fish processing and alcoholic beverages—so I
presumed that would be my future life as well. Yet those heroes remained
ever present to me, as did war heroes such as General MacArthur and General
Patton. Also the many war films highlighted such heroism. Pace e Bene’s mission is to foster
Upon entering high school at Loyola, I had to strive to keep up with my a just and peaceful world through
studies and follow the faith. Now I had a car and developed a wild streak nonviolent education, community
with companions in all kinds of partying ventures. (A hint of identification building, and action. Formed by a
with the early life of St. Francis of Assisi, as yet unknown to me.) In my
small group of Franciscans in 1989, we
junior year I was talked into running for class president. I faced the humili-
ation of losing, and blamed God for letting me be humiliated. Yet I was sure are a growing community representing
it was some sign from God. God was beginning to wake me up. a diversity of spiritual traditions and
Previously, my major religious motivation was fear of sinning through cultural backgrounds now reaching
human weakness and going to hell. Mass and confession could save my soul. across the continent and networking
But a new enthusiasm emerged. I approached a Jesuit campus chaplain and with nonviolence practitioners in
told him of my readiness to follow my enthusiasm. Continued on page 2 many countries.

2. My Faith Journey
Continued from page 1
He knew of my worldliness, having been my high school principal. He sug-
gested I finish college and complete my three-year obligation to the US Air
Force as an Air Force ROTC cadet. Once again, hedonism won the day. I
went back to the partying and jazz clubs.
But the call never went away. A deep devotional side continued to devel-
op. I made a retreat at a Franciscan retreat center in Indianapolis and later at
Our Lady of Gethsemane among contemplative Trappist monks including the
prolific spiritual writer Thomas Merton who had also turned from a profligate
life to follow the contemplative, mystical call. The starkness of their vow of
silence frightened me. The warmth and openness of the Franciscan centers
attracted me.
I picked up a vocation book at the center: “If you have a love of God, a
desire to serve the poor as did Jesus, and if you have a sense of humor”…this
The Wolf
Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service
spoke to me. I signed up.
When I told my parents, who had
come to Chicago for a fish convention, I picked up a vocation
(Dad was president of the national
The Wolf is published three times a year by association that year) my father was book at the center:
Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service. Its name-
sake refers to St. Francis of Assisi’s nonvio-
dismayed. When he said, “All this I
will give to you…” I remembered Jesus’
“If you have a love of
lent action in reconciling the town of Gubbio
with a wolf who attacked the town out of temptation in the desert. I persevered God, a desire to serve
hunger and desperation. Editor: Peter Ediger; in following the course. At discharge
Copy Editor: Cynthia Okayama Dopke; time from the Air Force I faced options: the poor as did Jesus,
Layout and Design: Chris McGee, Barking
Dog Design, Alexandria, VA.
re-up with the Air Force, apply to
Harvard for a business degree, or join
and if you have a
The Pace e Bene Board: the Franciscans. The Holy Spirit did sense of humor”
Fred Galluccio Rev. Cynthia not leave me in confusion.
Rev. Linda Jaramillo Stateman As I learned more of St. Francis— …this spoke to me.
Mariano Jauco Rev. Lennox
Ken Preston Yearwood, Jr.
his profligate years, his attraction to
be a heroic knight, his desperate years
I signed up.
Staff: of torture as a prisoner of war and the
Ken Butigan Veronica Pelicaric
Peter Ediger Ken Preston subsequent severe illness of body and spirit (today we would call it Post
Ryan Hall Louis Vitale OFM Traumatic Stress Disorder)—I followed his path.
Mary Litell OSF My initial experience as a Franciscan was as a penitent. How can I
Associate Program: regain good standing with God and achieve “sanctity” –from spiritual hobo
Women’s Spirituality and Peacemaking to fervent disciple. The first two austere years were focused on submitting to
Cindy Preston-Pile and Irene Woodward discipline, putting on the Franciscan habit and taking up the religious life. I
Associates: recall the fear coming back, fear of failing to live up to this way of life—the
LR Berger Brendan McKeague sins we might commit, not only of commission but also of omission. I was
Judith Kelly Josephine Olagunju struck by St. Paul’s confession, “The evil I would not do, I do; the good I
SHCJ
would do, I do not.” But a strong conviction and love of this pathway of
Pace e Bene Elder: Jesus and Francis engaged me at a very deep level, compelling me to go on.
Rosemary Lynch OSF
After Novitiate I was ordained as a Catholic priest and took on the life-long
Las Vegas Office: commitment to poverty, chastity and obedience.
1420W.BartlettAve. Major currents were sweeping through society and the church at this
LasVegasNV89106 time. For the church it was the Vatican Council and the new insights com-
Phone:702-648-2281 ing from scripture, liturgy, and church history—new understandings of the
Oakland Office: religious life and the role of bishops. Most amazing and hopeful was the
2501HarrisonSt. presence of representative bishops from cultures around the world—Latin
OaklandCA94612
Phone:510-268-8765
America, Africa, and Asia. With this came new languages, new forms of
worship, new understandings of scripture and of God’s message. From this
Email:paceebene@paceebene.org
Website:www.paceebene.org
came the breakthrough document, “The Church in the Modern World” with
2 The Wolf of Pace e Bene

3. an awareness that the church was a church of the poor, break of nonviolence actions in the corona of Marin Luther
an awareness which the oppressed well understood. This King, Cesar Chavez, Nelson Mandela, and people power
engaged us in a new expression. The Spirit was moving movements in Poland, the Philippines, the Soviet Union
within the poor to change history. Many of us experienced and on and on.
this as intoxicating. We Franciscans were especially blessed Yes, it was a charismatic implosion of cultures, societies,
to have far-sighted mentors who already were immersed universities, the peace movement, and including the Church’s
with the poor throughout the world. Francis’ charism for Religious life. It is amazing how this keeps growing. Nevada
the poor and for all creation was our legacy. Desert Experience has celebrated almost thirty years and is
Then came the revolutionary movements of the sixties. still going. It gave impetus to the birthing of Pace e Bene
By this time I was out of seminary and sent to teach soci- Nonviolence Service, which recently celebrated twenty years
ology at our church college at San Luis Rey, and engaged of providing resources and training in the spirituality and
in doctoral studies at UCLA. I also spent practice of active nonviolence.
some time at Berkeley, where our theol- And now we face a new break-
ogy school had located to be part of an through—Creation Theology. Christians
ecumenical community of seminaries, And so we happily believe that the all-compassionate love
also attached to the trailblazing icon
of the University of California Berkeley.
join the band of which fills our universe, fills all creation,
is the presence we name “God” or “Gaia”
There the spirit of change was energiz- Francis and Clare or “Allah” or any other name. Christians
ing in the Free Speech movement, liter- see this presence made present in the
ally flooding the seminaries in amplified and Dorothy Day and human world (incarnation) as in Jesus.
voices booming into the Berkeley halls.
Great prophetic voices such as Robert
Mahatma Gandhi and As we learn more and more, our under-
standing of this amazing universe enlarg-
Bellah, Michael Nagler, and Angela Davis Martin Luther King es. Some say the Hubble’s giant telescope
were picking up the mantle of Martin has revealed to us more of God’s creation
Luther King. In the midst of this was the and Cesar Chavez than any previous books, scriptures or
epic anti-Vietnam war movement. By
then I had come a long way from my
and Gene Stoltzfus life stories. Francis of Assisi is seen by
scientific and ecumenical ecologists as
US Air Force days. I joined with others and…following Jesus the first to understand this all-embracing
in mounting the Federal Court House unity—“Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Sister
steps and boldly challenging the U. S to the peaceable Water, Brother Fire—All Creation.”
government. We Franciscans were also
close to Cesar Chavez and experienced
kingdom promised to This fascinates me beyond my imag-
ination, even here in this lock-down
a new form of pilgrimage, marching to the peacemakers in near the counter sign—Vanderbilt Air
Sacramento under the banner of our Lady Force Base, gateway of world-destroy-
of Guadalupe. our time. ing missiles and rockets—as the U.S.
When the Vietnam War finally ended seeks “Total Global Dominance.” In the
I was in Las Vegas working with farm face of this, from behind prison bars but
workers and for welfare mothers’ rights. As part of this with the confidence of glimpsing the truth which makes us
process, we did a sit-in on the famed Las Vegas strip, tem- free, we say NOT IN OUR NAME! NOT IN THE NAME
porarily halting traffic there. A journalist covering the event OF JESUS! who calls us to be peacemakers, but not as the
noted to me that though the Vietnam War was grinding world makes peace. And so we happily join the band of
down; the nuclear arms race was heating up with the Cold Francis and Clare and Dorothy Day and Mahatma Gandhi
War. It came to my attention that the leading edge of the and Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez and Gene
arms race was the testing of new weapons, which was going Stoltzfus and…following Jesus to the peaceable kingdom
on right near us in the Nevada desert. If we could stop the promised to the peacemakers in our time. And so, in many
testing, that might stop the arms race. So in celebration tongues, we celebrate ALLELUIA! Pace e Bene! Peace and
of the 800th anniversary of the birth of St. Francis, the Good to all! ● W
Franciscan community organized a new form of liturgy—a
series of nonviolent vigils/actions at the Nevada Test Site (Fr Louie, Pace e Bene’s Action Advocate, is currently serving a
culminating in an arrest action on Good Friday and a joyful six-month prison sentence for his prayerful, nonviolent protest
welcoming of the resurrection at NTS on Easter morning. action at the School of the Americas at Ft. Benning, GA. He is
Hallelujah! A new church was aborning. being held at the Federal facility in Lompoc CA. His mailing
Over the years we did succeed in influencing a mora- address: Louis Vitale, 25803-048, Federal Correction Institute,
torium on testing that still holds, and helped create an out- 3600 Guard Rd., Lompoc CA 93436.)
www.paceebene.org 3

4. Encountering the “Heart” of Nonviolence
by LR Berger, Pace e Bene Northeast Associate
W hile the engines of war
and injustice continue
to cause unspeakable
suffering, our day to day experi-
ments in nonviolent actions and
Conference and Rally against War;
organizing a welcome and eve-
ning with the Buddhist Monks
and friends from the Peace Pagoda
whose NPT Walk made its pil-
living bind us to all our peace- grimage through New Hampshire
building ancestors, and to an ever- toward the United Nations for the
widening world fellowship rising May 2nd march and rally (www.
up everywhere to build a more nptwalk.org). Pace e Bene NE
just, peaceable global commu- launched a “Building a Culture
nity. Together, we go on learn- of Peace” monthly film series this
ing, practicing and creating viable year with the Concord Unitarian
alternatives to violence, while also Universalist Church, and continues
inspiring courage in each other to be a presence as member of the NH
withdraw our consent and partici- UCC Conference Peace with Justice
pation from the systems that keep Task Force working on projects
manufacturing and promoting it. including working to lobby NH
In the past two years, Pace Participants of the Good Friday worship gathering.
e Bene Northeast (PeB NE) orga-
nized and cosponsored non-
violence programs and events
for 17 different communities
including nonviolence formation
workshops, conferences, anti-
war rallies, book groups, vigils
against torture, film screenings
and discussions. PeB NE hosted
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
worship gatherings focused on
Gospel Nonviolence, offered
workshops with “Volunteers for Peace” (an international legislators to support the upcoming Comprehensive Test
group of youth) and hosted two members of “Combatants Ban Treaty.
for Peace” from Israel and Palestine to speak about their Pace e Bene NE continues the critical work of building
breathtaking work of nonviolence and reconciliation. We nonviolence community by working together with other
co-sponsored a training in Nonviolent Communication peace advocacy groups including NH Peace Action, NH
and, thanks to a grant, I was able to work alongside the AFSC, Concord Unitarian Church, Rochester Interfaith
National Religious Coalition Against Torture in NH. I con- Council, NH Council of Churches, Seacoast Peace
tinue to have the privilege of mentoring participants of our Response, 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, and the
national Pace e Bene ten-month training program, as well NH Conference United Church of Christ Peace with Justice
as others in our community, and supported and helped edit Task Force. Grounding all of this work is the deep abiding
three new nonviolence resources including, “Sanctus,” a fellowship of the national Pace e Bene staff whose vision
CD of poems by Peter Ediger, and “Living With the Wolf,” supports and inspires me.
a collection of essays by Pace e Bene members. (See our In December, I was welcomed for Christmas week at
website about resources: www.paceebene. org). Brigid’s House in Camden New Jersey by hearthkeeper
This new year has already been full of richness, start- and poet, Cassie McDonald, and the Sacred Heart Parish.
ing with: an invitation to lead a gathering to honor Martin Brigid’s house is a house of hospitality and home for arts
Luther King, Jr. with the Church of the Transfiguration and peacemaking in the city with the sorrowful reputa-
parish, an opportunity to co-facilitate (with NH American tion of being murder capitol of our nation. I visited first in
Friends Service Committee) a nonviolence/civil disobedi- February 2009 when I was invited to volunteer to lead a
ence training with energized and committed youth at the workshop for their annual Arts and Peace Day. Camden is
University of New Hampshire; a morning nonviolence a city that wears the history and consequences of decades
training with participants at our annual Nonviolence of cultural violence wholly unmasked, and where a lively
4 The Wolf of Pace e Bene

5. and devoted faith community an opportunity to transform
has taken up residence to join anguish into action.
their neighbors’ efforts to “Heal Sitting on the desert
Camden.” The lived day-to- sand in the “women’s pen”
day generosity and devotion I imagined the almost one
of this community has taken thousand atomic bombs
up residence, as example now, that we tested on the land
in my own heart. beneath my feet. The desert
In September 2009, Pace is a place for contemplation,
e Bene celebrated its 20th and there was plenty of time
Anniversary in the Nevada for that under a cloudless
desert where our founders first blue sky. At the center of the
hatched the idea of a nonvio- pen on the desert floor, a
lence service. Following our large heart had been assem-
gathering, members of the Pace bled — made and remade
e Bene community, Western LR Berger (second from left) and others engage in nonviolent of stones women must have
Shoshone Tribe, Nonviolent witness on September 27, 2009 at the Nevada Test Site as part of found over the years inside
Peaceforce, Nevada Desert Pace e Bene’s 20th anniversary celebration. this pen while waiting to
Experience, Catholic Workers be arrested. It was an icon
of Las Vegas, Colorado and Tucson, Codepink, Christian of love and resistance: insisting on Life, and thereby on
Peacemaker Teams, Veterans of Hope and others – protested Hope. Like the art and poems neighbors paint upon house
together at the Creech Air Force base where our military’s after windowless, abandoned house on the impoverished
killing Drones flew in, disbelievingly, overhead. Many of us streets of Camden, these simple stones spoke powerfully
went on to also hold a prayerful action at the Nevada Test of how the sacred can be called forth and remade out of
Site. I had been to the Test Site before, but this year I made our very woundedness. I send the image of this heart to
the decision to cross the line with others and was arrested for you. Especially as we all stumble over our moments of
trespassing on federal property. Our work together these last uncertainty about the significance of our humble acts of
five years strengthened my spirit as I sat in one of the two nonviolent witness for effective nonviolent social change.
wire pens where men and women are separated and kept As the Test Site’s security police herded us into the waiting
until being booked for arrest. For me, this was an action pen, I stumbled at first on the stones — before I recognized
moved by an aching solidarity with all Creation. It was what I had stumbled upon. ● W
Pace e Bene Welcomes Three Summer Interns
T his summer, Argrow Kitnequa (“Kit”) Evans, Ernest
Morrow, and Joseph Gardella are working in Pace e
Bene’s Oakland office on two projects: The Nonviolent
Options Project and The Nonviolent Stories Project.
Both Kit and Ernest are studying theology at the
Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, and both were
awarded fellowships by the Beatitude Society to work with
Pace e Bene. Joseph, an intern from the Metta Center for
Nonviolence, is working with Pace e Bene through mid-
August; he is from Rochester, New York.
The Nonviolent Options Project is a multi-year pro-
gram sponsored by Pace e Bene and Hip Hop Caucus
Kit Evans (left) and Ernest Morrow (right) talk with a fellow
working with urban youth to support and strengthen non- participant of Pace e Bene’s 2009-2010 Certficate Program.
violent alternatives in their lives, their communities, and
the larger society. This summer, the focus is on gathering lence in action, with a focus on how Pace e Bene’s work-
video interviews with urban youth in Oakland on the reali- shops and courses have strengthened the capacity of those
ties of violence and the potential for nonviolent change. Kit who have participated in them to engage nonviolently in
is coordinating this phase of the project. their lives and in the world.
The goal of the Nonviolent Stories Project, coordinated Special thanks to Vanessa Gomez Brake for being part
by Ernest, is to publish a collection of stories on nonvio- of the team! ●W
www.paceebene.org 5

6. My Life-Giving Journey with Pace e Bene
by Ken Preston
I have been deeply privileged to walk with the
Pace e Bene community for the past ten years.
The nonviolent journey has taught me a great
deal, and now I share some of those reflections with
all of you who are part of the community.
In the late 1990s I was studying for my master’s
degree in theology at the Jesuit School of Theology
in Berkeley, and trying to discern what I would do
after I graduated. I left the Oakland Catholic Worker,
serving Latin American refugees and immigrants, to
pursue my graduate studies. Concurrently, I worked
with Global Exchange, a human rights organization
based in San Francisco. A friend invited me to con-
sider becoming a Maryknoll Lay Missioner, which
I considered seriously, until I took a class called
“Liberating Nonviolence” through the Franciscan
School of Theology, and taught by Fr. Louie Vitale
and Ken Butigan. That class, together with Michael
Nagler’s Nonviolence course at the University of
California at Berkeley, called me to walk more seri- Ken Preston (right) and Louie Vitale stand together in Nevada during a
ously on the path of nonviolence. After many coffees nonviolent witness as part of Pace e Bene’s 20th anniversary celebration.
with Ken Butigan, Pace e Bene invited me on staff
and I was inspired to take this next step in my journey. ing nonviolent dialogue have continued to transform my
Before Pace e Bene I had been involved in the peace communication patterns. There’s the level of teaching it
movement, participating in many actions, committing civil to so many groups over the past ten years. Then there’s
disobedience and getting arrested many times, but feeling the deeper level of trying to practice it, failing and getting
increasingly uncomfortable with the tactics of many doing up again and again, in my life and with my colleagues at
peace activities. The unbridled expressions of anger, and PeB. One of the things I greatly appreciate is the challenge
the demonizing of people in the government or the police within the organization to actually practice nonviolence,
did not resonate with me. In studying Mohandas Gandhi in our work together, and in the conflicts that have arisen
and Martin Luther King, Jr, among many others, I was among us. That’s where the rubber met the road. And in my
learning that a spiritually-grounded, nonviolent approach experience we were certainly not perfect. There were many
was quite different. And then to become part of a com- shadows and unconscious areas I experienced in Pace e
munity that was trying to embody that approach rang true. Bene and was a part of. Ways we would have responded
With Pace e Bene I participated in many peace actions, more nonviolently. And yet, imperfect as we have been, we
including the Declaration of Peace Campaign and the were always aware of our trying to be more nonviolent with
Christian Peace Witness in Iraq that both witnessed to the each other and in our work with others. Open to learning
injustice of the war in Iraq and challenged our country to and growing and transforming. For me the nonviolent
explore another option. journey is always a spiritual journey, never arriving at some
I became active with the School of Americas Watch blissful place. But it’s always a work in progress.
gatherings at Fort Benning, GA where I trained others to Then, finally, there’s the level of personal nonviolence.
embody nonviolence in their actions at the gates. And I It’s interesting that I went from outer to inner, because I’ve
was part of a training team that worked with participants always seen it the other way around. But I’ve learned that
to create a powerful nonviolent witness around President the nonviolent journey is not a linear process. The outer
Obama’s house shortly after his historic election that both feeds the inner and the inner informs the outer in a cyclical
supported and prayed for him while inviting him to con- process. How has my experience at PeB and with nonvio-
sider nonviolence in policy decisions. I experienced the lence helped me to be a more nonviolent person? There’s
power of deeply-grounded nonviolent witness to war, vio- the spirituality of nonviolence I have participated in, both
lence, and oppression. I experienced another way. within the Pace e Bene community in our spiritual prac-
Then, of course, there’s the interpersonal level of non- tices and reflections. Practices I have incorporated in my
violence. The tools I’ve learned in teaching and practic- personal life. And there’s the lifestyle choices I have made
6 The Wolf of Pace e Bene

7. as a result of trying to live more nonviolently. I’m trying for now. I am so deeply grateful for the gift of the Pace e
to live somewhat simply, tread a little more lightly on this Bene community where I’ve had the great privilege to walk
earth. Also, I’m attempting to make choices to take bet- for this past decade with people who have been great men-
ter care of myself. For example, I generally choose to eat tors to me on the path of nonviolence. I also appreciate all
vegetarian, organically and fair trade as much as possible those I have come into contact with over these years. All
(of course, these also have more nonviolent impacts on the of you that I’ve learned from in my nonviolence journey,
earth). And I try to exercise regularly. Another thing I’m and hopefully I have shared a bit that has been helpful for
working on is how to transform us vs. them thinking and you. To all of you and to the great mystery I bow in thanks.
doing — to get beyond either/or thinking to move more in Let us continue to support each other spiritually on this
a direction of us/we thinking. I’ve also been learning how blessed journey of nonviolence. Amen! ● W
to hold opposites together, because the truth is usually a
combination of extremes. Ken Preston now works with Maryknoll Lay Missioners (www.
There’s much more to say, of course, but I’ll stop here mklm.org). You can reach him at kpreston@mklm.org.
Passionately Committed to Nonviolent Change:
Gratitude for Ken Preston’s Ten Years with Pace e Bene
by Ken Butigan
T he tear gas momentarily blinded us. Gasping for air
as the stinging stuff filled our lungs, Ken Preston and
I resisted the urge to spring up and run. Instead, we
did what we said we would do: remain centered, slowly
stand up, move back a couple of feet, sit down again. We
For the next ten years Ken would bring this same verve
and relentless persistence to every dimension of nonviolent
change as a staff member of Pace e Bene.
He took part in nonviolent action from San Francisco
to the White House. He numbered among the four-
wanted to prevent people from tumbling some that wrote Pace e Bene’s curriculum Engage:
over one another in panic, so we joined with Exploring Nonviolent Living, which he later adapted
others in creating an atmosphere of calm- for a couple of specific audiences (Just Faith and the
ness. Even as the police continued to set Franciscan Action Network). His work helped fuel
off one tear gas canister after another (and the Pace e Bene community, including the pilgrimage
nearby were firing rubber bullets at close that several of us made in 2005 to Australia to support
range into the throng) waves of composure the emergence of Pace e Bene Australia.
rippled across the sea of activists assembled As co-director of the Pace e Bene training pro-
in this downtown street. We linked arms gram, he organized, supported, or facilitated literally
and continued to sit until the gas cloud hundreds of workshops, courses, and study groups.
faded away to nothing. He increasingly developed training programs tailored to
In November 1999 the World Trade Organization specific organizations. For four years he designed and
convened in Seattle, Washington to set the rules of global coordinated, with Veronica Pelicaric, Pace e Bene’s ten-
trade for the foreseeable future. Some 70,000 people from month intensive training program. And over the past three
around the world gathered to call for “fair trade” not “free years he organized a series of national speaking tours fea-
trade,” and to demand that WTO rules and policies be turing Friar Louie Vitale and author Terrence Rynne.
developed with transparency and input from those most But most powerful of all has been Ken’s tireless com-
impacted by them. Almost immediately, the Seattle action mitment to the Pace e Bene community. He continually
came to be regarded as a historic turning point in the brought his vulnerability, creativity, intelligence and humor
movement to transform global economics. to all dimensions of our mission over this past decade.
Ken had just joined the Pace e Bene staff, and had This spring Ken took a job with Maryknoll Lay
asked me if I would be one of the peacekeepers organized Missioners. In this new role he is pursuing the process of
by Global Exchange in preparation for the WTO event. I building a nonviolent world in a new way. We miss his
was delighted to join in—which is why we found ourselves daily presence—but we also support his new adventure.
sitting in the streets outside the Washington Convention And we look forward to his continuing to facilitate Pace e
Center as part of a contingent of hundreds of people engag- Bene workshops when he is available.
ing in nonviolent civil disobedience to drive home the Thank you, Ken, for all you poured into this work of
point that change was needed. fostering peace, justice and well-being for all. ●W
www.paceebene.org 7

8. A Letter from Pace e Bene’s Nigerian Associate
by Josephine Olagunju
G reetings from Nigeria! Thank you for your inter-
est in my well-being and in the people of Plateau
State. I have actually been in touch with a couple
of Pace e Bene people. I even wrote for the compilation of
stories on active nonviolence. However, my contacts have
My problems are nothing compared to happenings in
Jos. Trouble started in mid-January, barely a month after
I left there last December. My dismay is boundless with
regard to the mayhem that was unleashed in a place I spent
so much of my life and time, promoting justice and peace!
been sporadic for many reasons. One is that I just began Our Pentecostal friends (and others who have borrowed
in January a doctoral program in the Center for Peace and the expression) here would say, “The devil is a liar” because
Strategic Studies of the University of Ilorin. The Center the callousness displayed beats our imagination; it could
is barely two years old. As the students’ representative I only have been the work of the evil one! What has been
am kept on my toes! Depending on the supervisor I get, I established with regard to the unrest is that it is inter-eth-
expect to work on adapting FVTW to the Nigerian context, nic and political. The inter-religious dimension is because
specifically, to see how it could be a tool for good gover- of the predominance of one religion in one group, and its
nance. The desire is to promote training in active nonvio- opposite in the other. And one group whips up religious
lence among the youth. My alternative is to write on the sentiments to foment trouble. Please join me in praying for
founder of my religious institute; she has a lot to offer with the restoration of peace in a place formerly known to be the
regard to active nonviolent resolution of conflicts, albeit in most peaceful in the country.
her life and in the institute she founded. I am in Ilorin, almost a day’s journey from Jos by pub-
So you see, Pace e Bene is very much part of my life in lic transport. The roads are bad; otherwise it should only
spite of the lack of opportunities for communication with be half of that time. The climate of Ilorin is warmer than
the challenges of broken down laptop and irregular inter- that of Jos. Fomenting trouble in Ilorin by any group is
net connections, not to mention the electricity outages that contained. The saving grace: the people are predominantly
make nonsense of most efforts. I have also been following Yorubas who are more tolerant when it comes to religious
Fr. Louis’ story and pray for his well-being. His is a true differences. I must close now; the Internet cafe I’m using is
witness; we are far from there yet. closing down. Peace and all good to each and all.
Become an Agent of Nonviolent Change
Make a difference in your life and your world — become an Agent of Nonviolent Change!
Pace e Bene’s Agents of Nonviolent Change Certificate Program offers you tools to:
• Deepen your spiritual and practical foundations for nonviolent change;
• Transform conflict in your life, your family, your work, your community, and your society;
and
• Take creative, compassionate action to unleash the power of nonviolent change.
Next year’s program will feature three workshops in Chicago, IL:
Awakening soulforce — October 29-31, 2010
engaging Conflict Creatively — February 25-27, 2011
the depths of nonviolent Action — June 24-26, 2011
Workshops will be held at the Cenacle Retreat Center in Chicago, Illinois.
For more information about this program, email Ken Preston at
kenpreston@paceebene.org or call 510-268-8765.
8 The Wolf of Pace e Bene

9. Peacemaking resources from Pace e Bene
Living With the Wolf: Walking the Way of Engaging our Conflicts: An Exploration of
Nonviolence.Containsmanytransformativearticles Nonviolent Peacemaking8-sessionsmallgroup
fromthe20-yearhistoryofthePaceeBenenewsletter, studyprograminChristianPeacemakingspecially
TheWolf.Paperback,120pages designedforJustMatters.RegisterwithJustFaith:
Engage: Exploring Nonviolent LivingbyLauraSlattery, david@justfaith.org.
KenButigan,VeronicaPelicaricandKenPreston-Pile. Franciscan Nonviolence: Stories, Reflections,
Atwelve-partcurriculumforgroupstudyinthespiritualityand Principles, Practices and ResourcesbyKenButigan,
practiceofactivenonviolence.Paperback,320pages MaryLitell,OSFandLouisVitale,OFMReflections
From Violence to WholenessbyKenButiganwithPatriciaBruno, onthestoriesofSt.FrancisandSt.Clarethatilluminatenonviolence
OPAten-partcurriculumforgroupstudyinthespiritualityand asarelevantspiritualpracticeintoday’sworld.AvailableinEnglishand
practiceofactivenonviolence.AvailableinEnglishandSpanish, Spanish,Paperback,124pages
Paperback,170pages Pilgrimage Through a Burning WorldbyKenButigan
Peace Grows!byRosemaryLynch,OSFandMaryLitell,OSF. AcompellingandinsightfulaccountoftheNevadaDesertExperience
anditsspirituallygroundednonviolentchallengeto
ThispacketofmaterialsdevelopedaspartofPaceeBene’s nucleartesting.Paperback,234pages
NurturingaCultureofPeaceprogramforuseinworkshopsand
retreats.Includesacurriculum,musicCD,andavideo(VHS Gandhi Jesus: The Saving Power of
orDVD).Maybeorderedseparatelyorasapackage. NonviolenceByTerrenceRynne.Anexplorationof
thelifeofJesusandtheteachingsofGandhithat
Traveling with the TurtlebyCindyPileandIrene putsnonviolentactionattheheartofChristian
Woodward.ASmallGroupProcessinWomen’s salvation.Paperback,228pages
SpiritualityandPeacemaking.Paperback,287pages
A Persistent Peace: One Man’s Struggle for
Letter from Imperial JailbyLouieVitale,ofm a Nonviolent WorldByRev.JohnDear,SJ
BookletonLouie’sreflectionoffivemonths –Autobiography,Hardback,437pages
inprisonfromanti-torture
nonviolentaction.Paperback, Roots of Violence in the U.S. Culture: A Diagnosis
20pages. Toward HealingbyAlainRichard,OFM.Explores
theoriginsandcurrentcausesofviolenceinU.S.
Sanctus: Reflections on the culture.Paperback,156pages
Word and our World
PoemsandReadingsbyPeter Love in Action: A Direct-Action Handbook for
Ediger.HisjourneyintononviolencebeganduringWWIIwhenhewasaconscientious Catholics Using Gospel Nonviolence to Reform
objectorservinginCivilianPublicService. and Renew the ChurchbyRichardK.Taylor
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