Nearly 100 Catholic Church leaders and specialists in peace and reconciliation convened in the Central African country of Burundi for the Third International Conference of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network (CPN), from July 24-28. Joining them were six faculty and staff members from the Kroc Institute.
     The conference examined the church’s peacebuilding efforts in the Great Lakes region of Africa. Among the issues discussed were community-based reconciliation in Rwanda, trauma healing in Burundi, efforts to achieve political stability in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the role of the church in other countries in supporting these efforts.
     The conference was held at a critical time for the church’s peace and reconciliation initiatives, according to Bishop Jean Ntagwarara of Bubanza, president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Burundi.
     “The holding of this CPN Conference is a chance, or rather a grace, a gift from God for our sub-region, so often misdirected by repetitive and interminable wars,” he said. “We hope that it will permit the international community to become more familiar with our problems, the causes of our conflicts and the efforts undertaken by the Catholic Church in trying to contribute to peace.”
     The conference was sponsored by the CPN, in collaboration with the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Burundi and Catholic Relief Services, and with support from the Kroc Institute and the German Catholic aid agency, Misereor. It was dedicated to the memory of Archbishop Michael Aidan Courtney, the Apostolic Nuncio in Burundi whose work for peace led to his murder in 2003. Those attending from the Kroc Institute were Director Scott Appleby, faculty fellows Larissa Fast, Patrick Gaffney, Thomas McDermott and Robert Dowd, and events coordinator Colette Sgambati.
     A full conference report will appear in the next issue of Peace Colloquy.