UK Christians nominated for Nobel Peace Price
-03/07/05
Pat Gaffney, general secretary of the British Section of Pax Christi, the worldwide Catholic peace network, and Kathy Galloway, leader of the ecumenical Iona Community, are among one thousand women from more than 150 countries jointly nominated for this yearís Nobel Peace Prize.
The announcement, made in Berne, Switzerland last week, is an initiative of Gaby Vermot-Mangold, a member of the Swiss parliament. ëOne Thousand Women for Peaceí is being supported in twenty regions of the world, reports Independent Catholic News.
The project began in 2003 with the hope that the commitment of women working for peace might finally be acknowledged and made more widely known. Pat Gaffney and Kathy Galloway are among ten British nominees, who also include peace activist Jo Wilding, for her work on Iraq.
Gaffney has been involved in peace and justice work for more than 25 years. Initially a teacher, she worked in the education department of the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development (CAFOD) for 10 years, helping to establish the schools and youth education programme before moving on to Pax Christi in 1990.
Pat Gaffney has also made solidarity visits to Russia, East Timor and Palestine – drawing on these experiences to develop education and campaigning projects in Britain. She has actively resisted the UK governmentís policy of promoting arms sales and deploying nuclear weapons, taking part in acts of protest and Christian witness which have led to arrest on eleven occasions and imprisonment on three.
ìTo be nominated with this wonderful group of women is an honour,î Gaffney told ICN. ìThe project captures what peacemaking is about, the arduous and tough daily struggle to offer different values and visions of the world. Peacemaking is also about creating networks and communities. We can do nothing on our own. Working for a movement like Pax Christi is a reminder of this.î
The Thousand Women for Peace project plans to develop a travelling exhibit with texts and pictures on the women, and also a book in order to make better known their life.
UK Christians nominated for Nobel Peace Price
-03/07/05
Pat Gaffney, general secretary of the British Section of Pax Christi, the worldwide Catholic peace network, and Kathy Galloway, leader of the ecumenical Iona Community, are among one thousand women from more than 150 countries jointly nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
The announcement, made in Berne, Switzerland last week, is an initiative of Gaby Vermot-Mangold, a member of the Swiss parliament. ëOne Thousand Women for Peace’ is being supported in twenty regions of the world, reports Independent Catholic News.
The project began in 2003 with the hope that the commitment of women working for peace might finally be acknowledged and made more widely known. Pat Gaffney and Kathy Galloway are among ten British nominees, who also include peace activist Jo Wilding, for her work on Iraq.
Gaffney has been involved in peace and justice work for more than 25 years. Initially a teacher, she worked in the education department of the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development (CAFOD) for 10 years, helping to establish the schools and youth education programme before moving on to Pax Christi in 1990.
Pat Gaffney has also made solidarity visits to Russia, East Timor and Palestine – drawing on these experiences to develop education and campaigning projects in Britain. She has actively resisted the UK government’s policy of promoting arms sales and deploying nuclear weapons, taking part in acts of protest and Christian witness which have led to arrest on eleven occasions and imprisonment on three.
‘To be nominated with this wonderful group of women is an honour,’ Gaffney told ICN. ‘The project captures what peacemaking is about, the arduous and tough daily struggle to offer different values and visions of the world. Peacemaking is also about creating networks and communities. We can do nothing on our own. Working for a movement like Pax Christi is a reminder of this.’
The Thousand Women for Peace project plans to develop a travelling exhibit with texts and pictures on the women, and also a book in order to make better known their life.