Peacebuilding:

• Is a process of changing unjust structures through right-relationships
• Transforms the way people, communities and societies live, heal and structure their relationships to promote justice and peace
• Creates a space in which mutual trust, respect and interdependence is fostered

 Peacebuilding:

• Responds to the root causes of violent conflict, including unjust relationships and structures, in addition to addressing its effects and symptoms.
• Is based on long-term commitment.
• Uses a comprehensive approach that focuses on grassroots while strategically engaging actors at middle-range and top levels of leadership.
• Requires an in-depth and participatory analysis.
• Provides a methodology to achieve right relationships that should be integrated into all programming.
• Strategically includes advocacy at local, national and global levels to transform unjust structures and systems.
• Builds upon indigenous non-violent approaches to conflict transformation and reconciliation.
• Is driven by community-defined needs and involves as many stakeholders as possible.
• Is done through partners who represent the diversity of where we work and share common values.
• Strengthens and contributes to a vibrant civil society that promotes peace.

Catholic Relief Services, along with Catholic Charities USA, and the USCCB Catholic Campaign for Human Development, work in concert with Caritas Internationalis agencies around the world, in order to make peacebuilding a clear focus and lens of our work globally and locally.  For more details on peacebuilding, visit CRS Webpage and the Caritas Internationalis Work Group on Peace and Reconciliation webpage.

Some Resources: 

Caritas Internationalis Handbook on Peace and Reconciliation

 Caritas Internationalis -- some of whose members include Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services, and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development -- continues to update its Handbook for Caritas agencies throughout the world on Catholic theory on peacemaking and best practices.  There is a Caritas North America work group on peacemaking, of which Brian Corbin of the Diocese of Youngstown is a member. 

Reflective Peacebuilding: A Planning, Monitoring and Learning Toolkit Author: Hal Culbertson, John Paul Lederach, Reina Neufeldt, The Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame and Catholic Relief Services/USIP 2007

Abstract: The Toolkit emphasizes learning before, during and after the implementation of peacebuilding programs. It explores the connections between learning and effective peacebuilding practice, and suggest practices for reflection and learning as individuals and communities. The Toolkit looks at ethical considerations, the types of change that peacebuilding practice promotes, and tools to further understand change and develop indicators to trace those changes over time. The tools can stand alone or augment existing systems and practices. They are intended to help practitioners enhance their creativity in developing context-specific learning, monitoring and evaluation systems.

Catholic Relief Services Peacebuilding Activities, R.Neufeldt 2004

This collection of peacebuilding activities is meant to illustrate the types of activities CRS has undertaken since the mid-1990s. It is not a comprehensive list. Most of the activities mentioned are implemented over a period of one to four years. Some are still ongoing. Please contact CRS staff for more information on any of these initiatives.

Catholic Contributions to International Peace

Special Report of the United States Institute for Peace on the importance of the role of the Catholic Church in international peace making. Conclusion of report states: "Even though this report only covers the peacemaking activities of a limited sample of Catholic organizations, some conclusions can nevertheless be drawn about Catholic peacemaking. It is evident from this report that Catholic organizations adopt diverse approaches to peacemaking, ranging from the efforts of Pope John Paul II to end communism in Eastern Europe to the program of CRS to promote Christian-Muslim dialogue in the Philippines. Despite this diversity, the emphasis of Catholic peacemaking is more likely to be on high-level mediation. This is true even of Sant'Egidio, which emphasizes modest, person-to-person aid to the poor but focuses its peacemaking on high-level official peace agreements."